(A/N: Like I said in the previous chapter, there will be some sensitive themes in this. I would definitely read cautiously and, fair warning, there will be gore in this, but not too much, I promise. It could be a little disturbing to some, but hopefully not too, too much. That's all I have to say as of now. I hope everyone enjoys it.)
X~O~*Y*~O~X
"B-Blood?!" Beast Boy shrieked at the top of his lungs. "This- This is a joke, right? Please, say you're just kidding!"
"I am not," Heilen's voice was calm and slightly stern.
"So, how will blood help him?" Robin inquired.
"Tyro Yagon evolved from a carnivorous species," he started.
"We know that," Beast Boy interjected, he sounded stressed.
"That being said, their desire for meat and for blood still exists within them to this day," he explained. They still looked at him in confusion, so he gave them an explanation, "The reason why I say he needs to be given blood is due to the amount of nutrition it contains."
"Nutrition?" Gwen repeated. "You mean there are certain nutrients in blood that he can ingest that will improve his health?"
"Yes," he answered. "Blood is rich in iron, protein, and numerous other nutrients vital to health. Humans cannot tolerate it, they did not evolve to."
Robin gave this some thought and found himself agreeing with what he was saying. "You do have a point. If he really is anemic, blood would have everything he needs to develop a tolerance to the cold."
"But, wait, if he's a carnivore, how is he able to eat fruit without any problems?" Ben asked, a little confused.
"I said he evolved from a carnivorous species, not that he is," he claimed. "Tyro Yagon are actually omnivorous, although they do prefer meat to plants."
Ben felt like an idiot for saying that, "Oh, my bad."
"So, does this mean that one of us has to donate blood to him?" Kevin asked.
"No need, we have plenty in storage," he responded. "However, before it can be given to him, I would like to collect a DNA sample in order to determine his blood type."
"Well, that's going to be a problem, he doesn't have DNA," Slade mentioned.
"All I require is a small skin sample," he replied.
He picked up a tool similar to what a dermatologist might use and took his sleeved arm in his hand. He moved his hand down to his hand in order to take a sample and that's when he discovered the secret XL was trying to keep hidden.
He dropped his arm, which fell limply onto the bed, and let out a sound that sounded like a gasp. Everyone looked at him with shock, confusion, and concern.
"What happened? Did you find something?" Robin questioned, he almost sounded like he was close to shouting.
"His skin is dry," he answered.
"And that's such a big deal, why?" Kevin asked, although he was disinterested.
"Tyro Yagons need their mucus for many reasons, protection from potential predators, a natural moisturizer to keep their skin healthy, and to regulate their body temperatures in order to prevent illness and dehydration," he explained.
"What?!" Cyborg did everything but shout. "Well, how long will it take for him to regenerate it?"
"Unfortunately, quite a while," he responded. "It only helps to protect them in warm environments and Augstaka is quite cold, it could potentially take hours, or even a number of days."
"Okay, before we get ahead of ourselves, why don't you take this opportunity to take a DNA sample to help with his stomach problems?" Gwen suggested. "We'll figure out what to do about his skin later."
He decided that arguing would most likely be futile, and she did have a point. If he tried to solve his skin problem, it would hinder his opportunity to take a DNA sample, considering there's no DNA in the mucus, not even minute traces.
He used the tool to lightly scrape the back of his wrist. He called out to another assistant and they took the tool from him. They came back a moment later to inform him of the results of the test.
Once he was informed of this, he informed them of the results, "He has a rather rare blood type known to you as Rhesus-negative."
Beast Boy looked at him in confusion, "Huh? What the heck is Recess-negative?"
"Rhesus," Raven corrected him. "Rhesus or Rh-negative means he lacks a certain protein in his blood."
"Roughly about fifteen percent of Earth's human population has it," Gwen explained.
"And only one-fifteenth of one percent of all Tyro Yagon have it," Heilen added. "It is thought to be the result of a mutation."
"A mutation that later becomes a recessive trait in a select few families," Slade spoke. "A one in a million chance."
Heilen left to retrieve the blood, he did not trust an assistant to retrieve it when it could mean life or death. He doesn't like to leave his patients, but he felt confident that nothing would happen to him.
He returned with three pouches of blood from storage. Only one would be needed for the time being, but an emaciated person would be starving for more.
When they saw the color of the blood, they noticed that it was red, like human blood. Did that mean that it was, in fact, human blood? It was possible.
He attached a long, thin tube to the end of one of them, the other two were cast aside for the moment. He opened XL's mouth and carefully slid the tube down his throat. Once it was as far as it could go, he hung the pouch on a hook and released the valve; gravity would take care of the rest.
The red fluid poured into the tube and began to slowly flow through it. It spilled into his throat like a water faucet and proceeded to make its way down to his stomach.
He groaned when the blood hit his esophagus and started to move his head around from side to side. He opened his eyes when roughly half of it was gone, but his vision was horribly blurry, he could not make out what was filling his stomach.
When he could finally see clearly, the first thing he saw was not the doctor or even his 'father', but what the substance feeding him was. He recognized that glorious red liquid anywhere.
He sits up in the bed and grunts slightly as he does. After that, he couldn't remember much, all he saw was black in his mind and red in his eyes.
He pulled the tube out of his mouth and yanked the pouch off of the hook. He tore the cap off and drank the rest of the blood like a ravenous, dehydrated animal desperate for water.
Some of it missed his mouth and trailed down both sides of his side and his chin and neck. It gave him a slight vampiric appearance, especially now that his sharp teeth were clearly apparent.
He drained it dry, not sparing a single drop, and tossed the empty pouch aside. Adrenaline was rushing through his body and he let out a roar similar to the one while on Soron, which startled those who did not hear it before.
Fatigue suddenly came crashing down onto him like a tidal wave. He laid back on the pillow, his eyelids were beginning to fall.
He flinched when he felt something on his shoulder, his eyes glazed over hungrily when he saw what it was. It was a hand, but he didn't care, because it wasn't a hand in his mind, it was meat.
Everyone who was watching everything that was going on was completely shocked by his actions, although weren't surprised. That was until they saw what he did next.
He opened his mouth near his wrist and closed it shut. In a split second, the hand was severed from the wrist and yellow, slightly transparent blood dripped out. He took the slightly bloody limb and began to tear at the flesh with his sharp teeth.
"Holy shit! He just bit off his goddamn hand!" Beast Boy shrieked before he fell to the floor.
"Is he alright? Should I have him examined?" he asked. Surprisingly, his voice did not show any hints of pain, despite the fact that he just lost a limb.
"He'll be fine, this happens all the time," Raven responded.
"Doesn't your arm hurt?" Gwen questioned. "You did just lose your hand."
"It is nothing, it will regenerate shortly," he replied.
He then picked up the tablet and began to take pictures of the injury. This could be the first time an injury such as this, inflicted by a being of a separate galaxy, has ever been documented.
Robin decided to take a look at it for himself. "May I?"
"Please, I insist," he rested his arm into his gloved hand.
He examined it and was surprised to see that the muscle and tissue wasn't jagged, but smooth, like it had been cut cleanly. Seeing that almost made him afraid, it was only a brief bite, but it was apparently strong enough to rip off the hand from the arm with ease. He now felt sorry for Beast Boy, but was relieved that shark skin was too thick for him to bite through without some amount of effort.
He glanced at XL and watched as he effortlessly ripped off chunks of flesh and ate them. He couldn't help but to feel sorry for the severed limb.
He looked back at the injury, but before he could continue his examination, the missing limb grew back before his eyes. It was certainly surprising, but also very intriguing to be seen first hand.
Heilen flexed his fingers and clenched his fist a couple of times. It felt numb, but that was expected and the feeling would return in due time; he wasn't worried.
He raised his arm to examine it for any anomalies, which occasionally happens, regeneration is not without risks. For the most part he found nothing wrong, that was until he noticed that he was bleeding, and it was in the exact same area where he was bitten.
He was less concerned and more curious by how this happened. Highbreed skin can typically withstand most venoms and, as far as he knew, Tyro Yagon do not have any known venom.
Robin noticed how intrigued he was and asked, "What happened?"
He lowered his arm, "I am bleeding."
"Maybe you should get it looked at," Gwen suggested. "You don't know what he could have transferred to you."
"I am less concerned with a disease and more intrigued by why this is happening," he responded.
"I'll tell you why, it's because he bit you," Kevin rudely interjected.
"It should not be," he claimed, "it should have ceased when my hand regenerated."
"Maybe it's some kind of venom or something," Cyborg thought out loud.
"To my knowledge, Tyro Yagons do not have venom," he replied. He then realized or remembered something, "They do, however, have an anticoagulant in their saliva."
"What's that?" Ben asked.
"Anticoagulants prevent the blood from clotting, they are often prescribed to reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes in people of high risk," he explained. "It also prevents an injury from coagulating, thus allowing it to continuously bleed."
"And you aren't worried about that?" Gwen inquired.
"No, I am not," he answered. "We have the best medical care here, this is nothing."
"Okay, so since you're fine, what about him?" Kevin asked, pointing at XL, who was still chewing the flesh off of what was left of the hand.
The top layers of it were long since gone and the under layers were severely chewed to the point where it looked like hamburger meat. A couple of parts were gone completely, revealing the bone underneath.
"We have to wait, it is far too dangerous to attempt to get between him and his meal," he told them.
"We don't have time to wait, we need to get this over with so we can get Angelos out of him," Robin slightly exaggerated.
Instead of arguing with them, he moved aside and gestured to his bloodthirsty patent, "By all means, you have my permission."
They looked at him and watched as he savagely ripped out the artery in the wrist. An arc of blood burst out of it and showered him and the bed he sat in. He ate it like he was eating a bowl of spaghetti and quickly swallowed it.
Beast Boy was quick to take a step back. He knew from experience to not get in between an animal and its meal.
Ben started to play with Ultimatrix, "Okay, so I'll just turn into Four Arms or something and pin him-"
Heilen interjected to inform him, "I would not recommend you try, it is said when Tyro Yagon tears into flesh it causes the levels of adrenaline in their bodies to increase tenfold."
"And when their adrenaline increases…" Robin started.
"Their strength increases," Slade finished.
"Not to mention that he probably has enough energy to run around the entire city several times over," Kevin remarked.
"So, anyone have any bright ideas on how we're gonna get him to calm down?" Cyborg asked.
Gwen looked at Raven, "What do you think? Should we try our magic?"
"My sleep spell will only work if I can touch him and I don't think he'll let me get close enough to him," she responded.
She then considered her own spells, "Now that I think about it, if I used one of my spells while he's worked up like this it could have some unfortunate results."
"Okay, any other ideas?" Ben questioned.
No one had anything to say, Slade had an idea but even he wasn't sure if it would work. From the perspective of Heilen, it was slightly amusing to see them struggle to develop any suggestions on how they were to get through this to move on. However, he knew that enough was enough, it was time for him to help them with this. He also didn't know how to explain to his Supreme Leader if he suddenly walked in and asked for an assessment.
"Is there something he particularly enjoys, such as a hobby?" he suddenly asked.
Kevin shrugged, "We wouldn't know, we just met him yesterday."
"You might have met him yesterday, but I've known him for nearly a decade," Slade spoke.
He took out a familiar dark red device and a pair of black headphones. XL's music player and headphones.
"When and why do you have that?" Ben asked.
"I took from him when he collapsed," he answered.
"So you took what's probably the most important thing in the world from him?" Kevin remarked. "That's a little harsh."
'Give me a break,' he mentally retorted, 'he's seen much worse.'
He turned on the device and was about to pick a song when Beast Boy suddenly asked, "Hey, can I pick the song? I'm sure I can find something he'll like."
He handed it to him and he looked through the song list. He tapped on his pick and carefully made his way to the bed to set it next to him.
When it began to play, it seemed to calm him and his body started to move around in unison to the instrumental opening. Then, the song got to the lyrical part and he covered his ears. The distinctive sound of hip-hop music was audible even to their ears even though they stood some distance away.
Kevin picked up the music player and looked at the chosen song. "Yeah, I don't really like listening to Ludacris either."
Slade took it back and tapped on his planned pick. He set it down next to his 'son', taking a step back just to be safe.
The song "Dance with the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin began to play and, just like before, he moved in rhythm to the opening. The introduction rang out and he closed his eyes as it echoed in his ears. It wasn't long before he began to sing along to it.
I believe in you
I can show you that
I can see right through
All your empty lies
I won't last long
In this world so wrong
Say goodbye
As we dance with the Devil tonight
Don't you dare look at him in the eye
As we dance with the Devil tonight
Hold on!
Hold on…
He blinked a couple of times and slightly tilted his head to the side, "What happened? Another blackout?"
"Uh, maybe you should look at what's in hand," Ben answered in somewhat of an awkward voice.
He felt something wet and slimy in his hand and looked at it. It was a large tridactyl hand with the flesh stripped off. The muscle and tissue was chewed all to hell, if he didn't know better he would have thought it was finely ground meat.
He glanced at Heilen's wrist and saw that it was bleeding. He also saw all of the blood on the bed and on his hands. It wasn't hard for him to put the pieces together.
He frowned slightly, "Sorry about your hand."
"It is nothing," he reassured, "worry not."
"I guess you taste delicious," he joked mildly with a shrug and a slight smile.
"Highbreed are regarded as a delicacy by some," he mentioned. His tone was flat, typical for a Highbreed, but to him it almost sounded like he was joking.
His smile widened, exposing his sharply pointed teeth. Heilen could have gasped when he saw his teeth, they were magnificent.
"Keep your mouth open," he told him in somewhat of an eager tone.
He was confused by the request, but complied anyway and kept his mouth open for him. 'This is the second time today someone has told me to open my mouth,' he thought.
He picked up the tablet again and began to take photographs of his teeth. Every tooth in his mouth was as sharp as blades.
He closed his mouth and asked, "Are we done yet? I'm really getting tired of people asking me to open my mouth."
Gwen and Kevin both looked at Ben for an explanation, to which he just responded, "Don't ask."
Heilen put the tablet down, "Apologies, I tend to get ahead of myself whenever I discover anything new."
"I do, too, it's no problem," he smiled.
When he did, his pointed teeth were beginning to look blunted again. They were still sharp and carnivorous, but they appeared to be half-blunted and half-pointed.
While it was certainly interesting to see how they went from sharp to blunt in only a minute, it was a little scary to see the sharp points at the ends of each tooth. And while he was calm now, his teeth seemed to show that he might still have a hidden bloodthirst in the back of his mind. And that was a truly terrifying thought.
X~O~*Y*~O~X
(A/N: Well, how was it? Was it gory enough for you? I certainly hope so, it is Halloween.
I tried to keep a Halloween theme with the blood and the severed hand. I decided to give XL vampiric and even zombie characteristics when it comes to his meat eating habits to keep the theme.
That thing about blood being nutritious is true. Blood is full of proteins (amino acids), iron, and a million other nutrients that is vital for health. And be sure to remember XL's blood type, that will be brought up again.
XL's apparent hatred of hip-hop music is based on my personal music preference, I just don't like hip-hop at all. I have no problem with the artists, but the genre is just a no for me. I included the song "Dance with the Devil" because I feel that it's fitting with the theme. Some devote religious people even consider Halloween to be the "Devil's holiday".
Anyway, that's all I have to say and I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween. Again, stay safe and have a happy Halloween.)