"Corvid!?"

Tim and Dick dropped their controllers as they looked up at Bernard in shock. Tim jumped off the couch and raced towards him while Dick looked him up and down with a frown.

"He shouldn't have woken up this quickly," Dick said to himself.

"How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?" Tim asked, checking Bernard over for a moment before slipping under his arm to help support him. "Let me help you."

"You're Corvid."

Tim looked away. "What are the chances I could convince you it's cosplay?"

Bernard stared at him.

"Yeah, I figured." He helped Bernard over to the couch and Dick got up so Bernard could lay down.

"You're an angel."

Tim flushed.

Dick snorted and turned towards the kitchen. "I'm going to grab him something to drink."

"I'm not an angel," Tim said, sitting next to Bernard's hip.

"A demon then," he sighed. It sucked that his theory was wrong, but they couldn't all be right. "Wait, you've listened to me talk about my theories for years and never said anything!"

Tim opened his mouth.

"Hold on, I'd known you for years before Corvid showed up. How does that work?"

Tim closed his mouth and put his face in his hands.

"And what's the deal with Wayne? Does he know you're a demon? Is he a demon? Are all your siblings demons? Oh my God! Your whole family's the Colony! But how can Wayne be a demon? He had parents. Well-known parents from a well-known family. Was he possessed? Are you possessed? Should I call Darla?"

"I thought you explained it to him before you turned him," Dick said, coming out with a steaming mug.

Flinching, Tim moved his hands from holding his face to tugging on his hair. "I might have just told him he was going to change, but not what he was, you know, going to change into, exactly."

"Tim!"

"I told you I wasn't thinking straight. He was dying and I had to move fast."

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose and passed Bernard the mug, which looked and smelled exactly like what had been in the IV.

"What is this?"

Dick gave Tim a pointed look.

"Blood," Tim said, face blank.

Bernard tried to pass the cup back to Dick. "I'm good."

"It'll help you feel better," Tim insisted.

"I know you grew up with stuff like blood pudding and old British home remedies, but -"

"Actually, Tim grew up almost entirely on human blood and coffee," Dick snorted and Tim jabbed him in the side.

"Oh. Uh, yeah, that makes sense." Right, Tim was a demon. Demons would eat… yeah.

Tim sighed. "Bernard, I'm not-My family aren't demons. Or angels or anything like that. Bruce just played it up when people started saying Batman was a demon because of the fear it inspired. We can't do all the stuff people seem to think we can, like traveling through shadows or ripping our heads off and putting them back on. It's just a lot of training and makeup."

"Robin can move so fast it's like he's in two places."

"Carrie and Damian are both Robin. Robin has mostly been two people ever since Jay and I shared the role after I joined the family."

"Batgirl can turn invisible."

"Cloaking device."

"You can fly.

"Jetpack."

"Nightwing has no bones."

"Dick's just like that."

"Lark can see the future."

"Oh, Duke actually can do that. He's a meta with photokinetic abilities," Dick chimed in. "He's the light sheep of the family, if you will."

Tim jabbed him again.

"So most of the Colony are just normal humans." That was certainly not an idea he'd ever considered or heard of. It explained how fit Tim's family was, though, and quite a few other things too. "But then what did you mean about changing me? And what's with the blood?"

"I didn't say we were human," Tim argued. "We're just a lot lower on the power scale and we don't really use what little powers we do have in the field."

"So you're metas?" But then why act like Duke was the exception.

"No, we're, uh… vampires."

Bernard stared at Tim for a moment, then looked up at Dick.

He gave a comforting smile, which showed off a pair of fangs.

"Tim, I've seen you out during the day before," Bernard said slowly. Then the blood left his face. "Wait, was Stephenie Meyer right?"

Dick burst out laughing.

"Please don't ever say that in Jason's presence," Tim begged, pushing his brother away when he tried to use him as a crutch. "Sunlight doesn't affect us at all. We do lose our powers during the day, though, which is where the idea of us being creatures of the night came from.

"No sparkles," Dick cackled with a nod.

"Jason's going to fill your bed with glitter again," Tim hissed.

"And I'll rock it again."

"But will Artemis?"

Dick flinched as he sobered up.

Bernard looked between them with a frown. He still had so many questions, but first, "So that explains the blood, but not the saving me thing."

"I turned you," Tim said. "It was the only way to save you."

"But I can't be turned."

The brothers stared at him.

"What do you mean?" Tim asked.

"Remember how you bailed on Easter horror night?"

"You guys celebrate Easter with horror movies?" Dick muttered.

"Jesus rose from the grave so I suggested we watch zombie movies to celebrate. You know, in respect to their religions," Tim explained to his brother quickly before turning back to his friend. "In my defense, Joker had hidden egg bombs all over the city so it was all hands on deck. I didn't want to ditch you guys."

"Okay, but since you weren't there we decided to play a drinking game. Then we were watching Zombienie and I just-I was really drunk so I started getting upset and worrying about getting bit by a zombie. I was freaking out and Darla, in her infinite drunk wisdom, said she could place an enchantment on me that would protect me against any kind of minor contagious magic. Like zombies and vampires and werewolves and stuff. Then she did it."

"You-She-Why didn't you tell me?" Tim asked.

"I did. I called you while we were doing it. Remember?"

Tim raised an eyebrow. "I remember getting a call from you about how you'd never have to eat my brains now. And when I tried to get you to clarify, you just said something about my brains being big and tasty before hanging up."

Blushing, Bernard bit his lip. Had he said that? "Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, wait, if you were enchanted, how did Tim turn you?" Dick asked.

"He couldn't have," Bernard argued.

Tim stared into the distance for a moment before jumping to his feet. He raced over to the laptop on the dining room table and started typing on it. A moment later Bernard heard a call being placed.

"Hey, Tim," Darla answered. "Have you heard anything about Bernard? I should be able to get to Gotham by lunch tomorrow, then I'll tear that Chaos Monster to shreds."

"It's okay. Bernard's here. But, uh, hypothetically, would the enchantment you placed on Bernard to protect him from contagious magic end when he died?"

Bernard frowned when Dick stiffened, but stayed quiet.

"… What happened?"

"I said hypothetically." When she didn't respond, Tim said, "Long story. I promise I'll tell you later if you just answer the question."

"… I can't believe you two. Bernard finally asks you out and you two pull this. Yes, it would end the moment he died. I expect a full explanation when I get there, Wayne."

"Yep, got it. Thanks, Darla." Tim hung up.

"You two were on a date?" Dick asked, voice blank.

"Is that really what you want to talk about right now?" Tim groaned and pressed his face into the table.

Dick threw his hands in the air. "You'd rather talk about how you made a strigoi."

"I didn't mean to!"

"What's a strigoi?" Bernard asked.

"It's a zombie vampire."

The three spun around to see Red Hood leaning against the door to the balcony, his muzzle hanging from his hip and his voice distinctly Jason's.

"How long have you been there?"

"Just got here. Oracle sent me over to see how you're doing, but I'm guessing blondy asking about strigoi means the answer is not well."

Dick started for the door. "I'll catch the others up with what I know while you talk to Bernard."

Tim didn't respond. He didn't even move until the balcony door shut behind his brothers. He came back over to the couch and sat down next to it. He grabbed the mug off the coffee table and fiddled with it for a second before handing it to Bernard.

The blond stared down at the blood. "I'm a zombie vampire?" Did that mean he only ate zombie brains?

"No, ignore Jason."

"Then what's a strigoi?"

"It's-If a human dies after getting bitten by a vampire, there's a very, very small chance they can come back as a strigoi. It doesn't happen if that person had started turning or more than five hours had passed since the bite, and the chances are one in fifty, but it can happen. Strigoi don't have anything in common with zombies except the coming back to life thing, but plenty of other things also involve coming back to life so Jason was just being a jerk."

"So strigoi are just undead vampires? But aren't all vampires undead?"

Tim shook his head. "Another misconception. Mostly because strigoi and vampires often get combined or are considered two of a kind, even by people who know about all this stuff."

"So what's the difference then?"

"Strigoi drink blood like vampires, but they - you - don't need as much. It's because we need to get nutrients from the blood while you're only supplementing your life energy. So if you're injured, you'll need more to heal yourself. You'll also need normal food daily like a human, unlike us. We're both able to transform into an animal from a group that's natural to our kind, but only we can influence our sister animals. Our strength, speed, and senses are slightly better than a human's, but yours will be the same as they've ever been. In return, you can heal faster than we can and you have the ability to turn invisible. Something to do with manipulating life energy as light, I think. Alfred would be able to explain it better."

"Ok." That was… a lot. He took a sip without thinking and was surprised when he didn't taste blood. The taste was as indescribable as the smell, but it was good. He took a few more sips, remembering what Tim had said about feeling better. The pain in his chest did start to lighten and he felt more awake, energized, his thoughts ordering out some. "I've got a lot of questions."

"I figured."

"But first, is there something wrong with me being a strigoi? Dick looked kind of freaked."

"No, it's not you. Being a strigoi is fine. It's making a strigoi that has a bit of a stigma. A strigoi's death isn't always an accident."

Bernard had grown up in Gotham. He knew there were messed-up people out there. "Vampires have killed people trying to make a strigoi."

"People have killed a lot of people trying to make a strigoi. It's not always the vampire's fault and it's not the only way strigoi come about, but there's always this worry whenever one pops up. Dick's just worried I could get into trouble. It should be fine, though. Jason Blood's the resident overseer and he's friends with Bruce so he'll hear us out. The Kanes might kick up a fuss, but they don't like us at the best of times so there's nothing new there."

"There's a vampire called Jason Blood?"

"Oh, he's not a vampire. Let's just say he's got more in common with Darla and leave it at that. Not my story to tell."

Bernard nodded and took another sip from the mug. Then he realized something. "Have you guys ever taken a bite of the guys you fight?"

"Excluding B's whole thing with Selina?" Tim deadpanned and it hit Bernard that Selina Kyle-Wayne was Catwoman. Either that or Bruce was cheating, but he was guessing the former considering just how many cats she and Damian had. "Would you want to put your mouth on any of them?"

"Well, Deadshot's kind of a DIL-"

"Bernard!"

"And I'm straight, but Poison Ivy -"

"No! The answer's no! Please stop talking!" Tim groaned and Bernard snickered into his mug. He was so cute when he got flustered. "We don't feed on any of them! It's unhygienic and who knows what they've got flowing in their veins! We stick to the blood we buy from a bank!"

"So you've never fed on a person, then?"

"Not any more than what gets in my mouth during a quick bite, no. Dick has and I think Bruce and Kate might have too during their travels, but I don't think any of the rest have."

Bernard hummed. "So you guys are proper, civilized vampires then?"

"Yeah," Tim snorted.

"But you guys only drink human blood? Are you not able to drink animal blood?"

Tim made a so-so motion. "For both vampires and strigoi, it works similar to how xenotransfusion works for humans. There are only a few kinds of animals we can drink from, mostly apes and pigs. Anything else would make us sick. Drinking too much animal blood can also have adverse reactions and there isn't a need. Blood shortages happen, but not often thanks to modern medicine and we've got the benefit of not having to worry about things like blood types."

Bernard nodded.

"I'm sorry," Tim said, staring at his lap. "I should have talked to you about all this before I turned you."

"Hey, no. Tim, I was dying. I did die." That was also something he'd have to think about, later. "You saved me. That's what matters. Besides, I knew you were going to do something to change me and this -" he shook his mug a little "- is weird, but not anywhere as bad as Darla's heart almost being taken over by demonic magic. It's all good, Tim. Promise."

Tim gave him a shaky smile and Bernard returned it with a more genuine one.

He grabbed Tim's hand and brought it to his lips, fighting back a smile at the blush that took over Tim's face.

Darla pushed past Tim when he let her into his apartment.

Bernard was sitting on the couch with a steaming mug and looked up with a smile when she came in.

"How was your guys' date?"

Tim choked and Bernard's grin grew.

"Is that really the first thing you want to know?" Tim asked.

"You're both alive and in one piece, so yes. We can discuss Tim's concerning call and who I need to kill later."

"You don't need to kill -"

"How'd the date go?" she cut across Tim and he gave up with a sigh.

"I got kidnapped," Bernard pointed out.

"I meant before you got kidnapped, obviously," she huffed and dropped into an armchair. "How was it going?"

Bernard opened up his mouth, but Tim spoke first.

"I didn't know it was a date."

The two stared at him blankly.

He shrugged. "Sorry?"

She pulled her phone out. "I need to text Stephanie."

"Don't you dare!"

"Tim, I asked you to dinner," Bernard said, watching as Tim stole Darla's phone.

"I thought it was just us going out as friends."

"If I wanted to go out as friends, I would have suggested Batburguer, not an upscale bar."

She shook her head. "You two. I should have known you'd mess this up without me. Did you even bring Tim flowers, Bernard?"

"What? Me? Why do I have to be the one to bring flowers?"

"Because you asked him out! I guess that answers my question, though." She tried to get her phone back, but Tim kept it out of her reach and dodged when she tried to grab it with magic. "Wayne! Give me back my phone!"

"Not if you're going to text Steph about this!"

"She's going to find out eventually!"

"Only if you tell her!"

She crossed her arms. "And why shouldn't I?"

Tim sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch. "What do you want?"

"I want Metropolis's number."

"Metropolis?"

"Tall, pale, and handsome in the leather jacket."

"Superboy?" Tim teased.

She rolled her eyes.

"Wait, do you know Superboy?" She turned to see Bernard staring off into space. "Oh my God! How many superheroes do you know?"

Tim rubbed a hand down his face. "Bernard joined a cult and got stabbed in the heart, and we're discussing my connections? Seriously?"

"You what!?" She rushed to Bernard's side and started checking him over.

"You'll pay for this, Wayne," he hissed over her shoulder before smiling at her. "I'm fine, really."

"You got stabbed. In the heart. "

"Yeah, but I got better."

She turned to Tim.

"He's a strigoi."

"Dying is not getting better!" she snapped, turning back to Bernard.

"That's rich coming from a fellow zombie."

"I was not fine after coming back. I was the opposite of fine. I nearly tried to kill Robin, remember?"

His eyes widened and darted to Tim. "Oh my God! She-That was…"

"Bette and I at the time," Tim finished.

"And she was head over heels for you. That must have been-Wait, Bette? But she's a girl."

"So's Steph and Carrie."

"I completely forgot you said Carrie was working with Damian. And Steph too? Isn't that weird?"

"Probably would have been if it'd been Jason and it got a little weird during Duke's year for multiple reasons, but we make it work."

"What are you guys talking about?" Darla asked, looking between the two.

"Tim's a vampire."

"Tim's whole family are vampires, what's your point? Wait," she turned to Tim, "you're the one who turned him? Why would bite him knowing he couldn't be turned? I'd think it was a kink but you didn't know you guys were on a date."

"I didn't know he couldn't be turned," Tim groaned.

"Bernard told me he was going to tell you about the enchantment."

"He was drunk."

She nodded. "That explains it."

"Rude," Bernard muttered. He poked Tim in the side. "How come you told her you were a vampire?"

"I didn't, and that's a good point," Tim said. "Since when did you know we were vampires?"

"Zatanna told me."

"That snitch!"

"So what exactly happened? Why'd you get stabbed and why were you close enough to help?"

Bernard bit his lip and looked up at Tim. "How much can we tell her?"

"All of it, actually. Something happened this winter while B and Selina were on their honeymoon and, well, I've been meaning to tell you both. I didn't want to do it over the phone, though, and getting us all in the same place has been difficult. And there was no way I was going to deal with one of you guys getting mad if the other found out first."

"Are you sure Zatanna didn't snitch about this too?"

"Considering she doesn't know? Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"What are you guys talking about?" Darla asked, narrowing her eyes.