A/N: Thanks so much to Tiffanylorain15 and FlowerChild23 for reviewing the first chapter, to Issyjewel1697 for adding this to your favs list and to Chidorifool101 for adding this to your alerts. You guys are the best!

DISCLAIMER: Everything you recognise belongs to Warner Bros., Joel Schumacher, Janice Fischer, James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam. Everything else is mine.

Rated 'M' for strong language and vampire stuff.

Heathens

A single spotlight shone down on the middle of the circus ring. Somewhere backstage, a smoke machine was working overtime, hiding the floor of the ring in a layer of thick fog about a foot high. The delicate, metallic tune of a music box drifted out from hidden speakers, adding to the surreal atmosphere under the big top.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of the darkness, seeming to have materialised from the very shadows themselves. Even standing just outside the circle of light, there was something about the figure that exuded confidence and dangerous allure. Slowly and confidently walking into the light, the figure revealed itself to be a devastatingly handsome man. The dark purple tailcoat he wore did nothing to hide his enviable physique. In fact, it drew attention to it. Even the intricate green embroidery that ran along the front of the coat, the edge of its collar and cuffs of its sleeves, and the extravagant yellow neck cloth that blossomed below his finely sculpted chin did little to emasculate him, but instead seemed to add to his mysterious appeal.

And then he spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Welcome, one and all, to Le Cirque des Ténèbres!"

His voice was rich, commanding – sinful. A soft sigh rippled through the tent. As he spoke, his hands seemed to conjure images out of the fog.

"Here, we invite you to leave your worldly cares at the door and join us as we take you on a journey to a realm where anything is possible. Where one may walk through fire unscathed, dance in the air, bend the limits of reality, and even cheat death."

He plucked his top hat off of his head and tossed it in the air. As the audience watched, spellbound, it burst into a flock of swallows that swooped down over them before spiralling around the man and dissolving into the fog. Applause broke out amongst a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs'. The man grinned.

"I am Belteshazzar, your ringmaster. And here is where our story begins."

As he slowly backed away, returning to the shadows, a length of white silk cascaded down out of the seemingly endless darkness above the ring. It fluttered back and forth, whipping wisps of fog up from where it had settled over the ground. Suddenly, it was pulled taut, the end of the silks disappearing into the very centre of ring. The audience gasped in disbelief as a pale, thin arm reached out from the midst of the mist to grasp hold of the silk. Whispers of amazement flitted through the crowd as another arm appeared and, as they slowly made their way up the silks, a girl pulled herself out of the fog and, apparently, out of the ground. She climbed until she was several feet up in the air before fanning her legs to scoop up the silks between them. Twisting her body into the silks and crossing her legs, one over the other, she released her arms only to reach for the silk that dangled below her instead. Hanging upside down, she spun the silks in a lazy circle that got increasingly bigger and bigger, which in turn spun her faster and faster. There followed a series of tricks that showcased her enviable flexibility and incredible strength, as at times she hung only from one arm yet made it look effortless. As the melody of the music box, which had been playing softly in the background throughout the girl's routine, built up to a crescendo she scooped up the silks between her legs again before wrapping it several times around her hip. And when the music came to a thunderous climax, the girl burst into a dazzling drop that had the white silk purling before her. She came to a sudden stop mere feet from the ground, dangling upside down; the picture of perfect grace and elegance. She arched her back to reach below her, her fingers just brushing the fog, when another arm emerged from the mist and took hold of her hand. Instead of being surprised, the girl stretched out her other hand, smiling beatifically as she helped a boy, who looked to be around seven or eight, climb out from the fog. His ashy blonde curls contrasted starkly with her dark tresses, and where she was fair, his skin was sun-kissed.

The music box tune began to morph into something more garish as Belteshazzar, who had been watching the girl from the shadows the entire time, stepped back into the light. Smiling enticingly at the both of them, he reached into his coat for a glowing crystal orb. Keeping his eyes on the boy, he rolled the orb onto the back of his hand and then back onto the flat of his palm. He coaxed the shining sphere up his arm, across his shoulders and down his other arm, where he flicked it into the air only to catch it on the back of his hand again. He rolled the orb back into his palm and presented it to the boy.

The child looked to the girl, who had sat up in her silks during the ringmaster's little display. Still holding onto one of her hands, the boy gently tugged on it, as if asking her to come down. The girl eyed Belteshazzar warily and shook her head.

Belteshazzar tossed the glowing orb to the boy who reached out to catch it one-handed. But when he touched the orb, it exploded into a cloud of fireflies. The boy laughed in wonder and the tugging on the girl's hand became increasingly more insistent. When Belteshazzar produced another crystal sphere from the depths of his coat, the boy fought free of the girl's grasp and ran towards the ringmaster. But as the boy reached him, Belteshazzar snatched him up, spinning on the spot so that the fog swirled up around them. And then, as with the swallows before them, they too seemed to dissolve into the mist. The girl scrambled down from her silks, which fell to the ground behind her the minute her feet touched the floor of the ring, and ran through the roiling fog where they had disappeared.

Yet the fog kept circling around the spot Belteshazzar had last been standing in, the movement getting faster and faster until, from the epicentre of the spiral, a spark ignited, transforming the whirling fog into a reeling wall of fire that encircled the girl. The audience cried out in awe, the first few rows lifting their hands up to protect their eyes from the glare of the flames, amazed at the actual heat they could feel. And then, just as suddenly as the fire started, it curled back in on itself, retreating to form a column in the middle of the ring that then dissipated to reveal a bare-chested, dark-skinned man.

The audience marvelled as he caused flames to spring from one hand to the other, swallowing it before breathing it out again like a dragon. He juggled five, seven, ten balls of fire, tossing them high up into the air before catching each ball in his mouth. He threw tongues of fire at targets that sprung up around the ring, hitting each one with deadly accuracy. The flames danced up and down his arms but did not seem to even singe him. Through it all, the girl tried to get his attention, asking him if he had seen the boy, imploring the man to help her find him.

Each act flowed seamlessly into the other. From out of a wall of fire, a roaring lion burst forth, signalling the transition to the next performer. Every entrance was so spectacular and attention grabbing that no one spared a thought to wonder how the previous performer made his or her exit from the ring. Every now and then, Belteshazzar and the boy would make a brief appearance in the ring, interacting with the act that happened to be performing. With each successive act, the boy's initially angelic countenance seemed to grow darker and darker. And with each successive act, the girl grew bolder and bolder in her attempts to recruit the others' help in retrieving him.

After the dark-skinned man came a woman who could talk to animals, each beast she introduced into the ring seemed far more dangerous than the last yet she controlled them all with ease. Here Belteshazzar introduced the boy to her snakes, encouraging him to pick them up and let them coil themselves around him. Then came a couple on a flying trapeze with increasingly death defying stunts who tossed the boy in the air between them; a troupe of gymnasts who could bend their bodies into impossible shapes, freaking out both the boy and the audience; a brother and sister duo who possessed unbelievable strength, concluding their act by each balancing an elephant that carried Belteshazzar and the boy on one hand; and a woman with amazing reflexes whose act was basically one elaborate fight scene that had her dodging or catching flying projectiles that were thrown or shot at her.

Belteshazzar had just handed the boy a slim throwing knife, egging him on to join in the fight, when the girl finally caught up with them, cartwheeling and back-flipping through the woman's act in order to do so. The boy's silvery blonde hair was now streaked through with black. His eyes had seemed to take on a yellowish tint and his ears certainly looked like they had more of a point to them. Those in the first few rows of the audience could've sworn that tufts of grey fur had sprouted over the child's elbows and, if they looked closely enough, his hands and bare feet had taken on a bonier, claw-like appearance.

The boy was not happy to see the girl. When she made to reach for him, he lashed out with the knife, causing the audience to gasp in terror. With this act, the boy underwent yet another transformation – he grew a long black tail. Where the child had not seemed to notice the other little changes in him, there was no ignoring this extra, furry appendage. He gave a cry of shock, dropping the throwing knife as he grabbed at his tail.

Belteshazzar laughed as the boy shot him a look of utter betrayal. The girl moved to place herself between the ringmaster and the child. Belteshazzar raised a hand and snapped his fingers; the sound an impossibly loud crack which echoed through the tent. The chaos that had been surrounding them with the woman's act came to a sudden standstill. The lights dimmed until everyone but Belteshazzar, the girl and the cat-boy faded into the shadows. The music box melody started up again and thick fog began to creep back into the ring.

The sense of danger that had initially surrounded the ringmaster increased tenfold, though it did not make him any less attractive. He extended a hand towards them, a sinister invitation that had the boy peeking out from behind the girl to hiss at him.

With another snap of his fingers, six spotlights lit up the aisles between the bleachers on which the audience sat, revealing each of the performers that had appeared that night. They began to approach the ring with slow, measured steps; like predators stalking their prey. Not a sound could be heard throughout the big top as the audience watched with rapt attention. The girl and cat-boy backed away from Belteshazzar and the others until they stood under a single bright spotlight in the centre of the ring, back where they had begun.

As Belteshazzar and the performers closed in on them, the girl and cat-boy looked around desperately for a means of escape. The girl looked up into the light, shielding her eyes from its glare and suddenly seemed to recognise where she was. Falling to her knees, she felt around in the fog for something. The others were barely a foot outside of their circle of light when the girl raised her hand triumphantly above her, holding a metal ring aloft that had the end of a length of white silk wrapped around it.

What happened next defied the laws of physics as the girl tossed the ring in the air. But instead of falling back towards them after a few feet, gravity seemed to have lost its hold on the metal ring as it sailed continually upwards and disappeared in the darkness that covered the roof of the tent. Belteshazzar and the others had stopped in their tracks at this unexpected turn of events but as the girl grabbed a hold of the silks, they were spurred into action.

But the girl and cat-boy had seemed to come to an unspoken agreement to stand their ground. Instead of climbing up the silks, the girl whipped its end towards the nearest threat, the sister in the strong team duo. The end of the silk wrapped around the other girl's waist and when the girl tugged sharply on the silks still in her hand, it sent her spinning away into the shadows, like a human top.

Roaring with rage, her brother charged the cat-boy, who easily leaped over his head, landing silently behind him to kick the other boy towards the girl who waited to wrap him in her silks. The fight that ensued between the girl and the cat-boy against Belteshazzar and his performers was at times comical and nerve wrecking at others. But it was never outright violent. One by one, the girl and cat-boy took care of the others, dodging fiery projectiles, flipping and twisting gracefully out of the reach of lions and tigers. Together, they knocked out their opponents or sent them spinning into the darkness with a flick of the girl's silks, never to return, until only Belteshazzar remained, fuming and looking entirely put out at the unexpected turn of events.

The trio faced each other in a strange kind of Mexican standoff. The cat-boy snarled at the ringmaster. The girl wrapped her hand tighter around her silks. Belteshazzar suddenly smirked, pulling himself up to his full height before bowing mockingly to them. Just as the cat-boy pounced and the girl whipped her silks towards him, the fog around his legs flared up and the ringmaster once again vanished.

The cat-boy looked around him in confusion before slowly making his way back to the girl who enveloped the child in a fierce hug. The audience watched in amazed silence as the girl ran her slim hands through his hair and in that simple action seemed to wipe the black streaks out of his curls. She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his arms and over his elbows until she held his hands in hers. Everywhere her hands passed over broke whatever spell it was that had caused the boy's animalistic changes and soon his olive skin was as smooth and fur-free as her own. When she ran her hand along his tail, the boy giggled as if the action had tickled him, and then he stared in awe as the tail disappeared in a wisp of black smoke.

Walking hand in hand towards the silks, the pair wrapped their free arm around the pearly white material. An invisible force began to pull the silks back up into the darkness above the ring, lifting them off the ground. Sharing a secret smile, they disappeared into the safety of the light.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the last tinny notes of the music box faded away. And then the audience erupted into thunderous applause.

Remy was removing her heavy stage makeup when Belteshazzar came up behind her, settling his hands upon her shoulders. He grinned toothily at her in the mirror.

"Well, I'd say that was a rather successful opening night, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose that depends on your definition of success."

Belteshazzar laughed good-naturedly, turning the girl around and reaching out to tilt her chin up so that her eyes met his.

"A sold out performance with a standing ovation?"

Remy gently pushed herself off where she had been leaning back against the dressing room table, stepping out of Belteshazzar's hold in the process as well. Around them, various cirque folk, both performers and stagehands, were bustling about, either resetting the ring for tomorrow evening's show or getting ready for their shorter acts along the main drag.

"Then yes, I would say it was a smashing success."

Belteshazzar watched in amusement as Remy crossed over to a clothing rack, her entire body humming with irritation. She slid the straps of the white satin shift that had been her costume during the show off her shoulders, unperturbed as it pooled to the floor around her ankles. She shrugged on a cropped sweater and pulled on a pair of track pants. Twisting her dark hair into a messy bun on the top of her head, she secured it with a hair tie she found in one of her pockets.

"What's bugging you?"

Remy closed her eyes, sighing in annoyance, before she shook her head.

"Nothing. I'm just tired, that's all."

Belteshazzar snorted.

"Right. Are you sure it's not because you're hungry?"

Remy's eyes snapped open as she glared at the older man who looked far too pleased with himself.

"No, I'm not hungry. Tonight's show was exhausting. Especially with all those 'magic tricks' you wrote into the show."

Belteshazzar crossed his arms, leaning back against the dressing table, the perfect picture of careless hauteur.

"Oh please, I know what you're capable of Remy and tonight's show barely scratched the surface." A light of understanding dawned in his eyes. "You felt it too, didn't you? Well, that's interesting."

Remy seemed to deflate at this. She tugged at the fraying edge of one of her sleeves.

"I don't understand why we're here."

Just then, Leander ran up to her, the boy's angelic curls bouncing in his enthusiasm. He had certainly seemed pleased with his performance in the show. It was the first time that Belteshazzar had cast him in a leading role, although he'd had smaller parts in other acts in previous shows.

"Remy! Remy! Remy! Aren't you ready yet?"

The boy's energy was certainly infectious and Remy found herself smiling easily back at him. She reached out to ruffled his hair.

"Yup, I am!" She looked back up at Belteshazzar. "We'll see you later then."

"Wait!"

Belteshazzar approached them. Remy frowned. Leander shuffled his feet impatiently.

"Leander," the man intoned, "empty your pockets, please?"

"Aww, Mr. Belteshazzar, sir," the boy whined.

"Sylvaine mentioned that she caught you with one of her snakes earlier. You know you're not supposed to wander around with her animals, Leander."

The boy pouted up at him.

"I was just taking him out for a walk, sir. He doesn't like being cooped up in his tank."

Remy gave the boy a wry smile.

"And who else are you planning on taking out for a walk tonight?"

Looking between the ringmaster and the girl, Leander realised that there was no convincing them. He sighed dejectedly. Reaching into the pocket of his hoodie, he pulled out a hairy tarantula that barely fit in his hand. Remy laughed.

"Let me guess. She was bored?" she asked, thoroughly enjoying the disconcerted look on Belteshazzar's face as he gingerly accepted the arachnid from the boy. If there was one thing Remy had learnt in the many years since she had been with the cirque, it was that their ringmaster was not the biggest fan of spiders. "Well, I supposed we'll leave you to it then. Don't worry, Lee. Mr. Belteshazzar will make sure Sylvie gets her tarantula back."

Remy laughed as she guided Leander out of the dressing area at the back of the big top. They ducked out of one of the back entrances, walking in between the numerous camper vans that made up their little travelling village. She had promised him that she would bring him to the boardwalk that night as he had spent most of the day doing his bit to help them get set up for that evening's show. And with most of the boardwalk's usual customers drawn to their cirque, it would hopefully not be that crowded. Ironically, Remy hated crowds.

They walked out onto the main thoroughfare somewhere between Jasna's makeshift stage and Generys' tent. Remy waved when Jasna caught her eye, catching the older woman in mid-swallow of one of her swords.

Outside Generys' tent, a scuffle seemed to be taking place. One of their strong men was trying to keep two groups of men separated. As Remy and Leander drew nearer to them, she realised that the groups were more boys really, and that there was far too much leather and denim between them, especially for a place as warm as Santa Carla.

"Oh! I know them!" exclaimed the boy, pointing at the four who seemed more entertained at the tussle than angry.

"And exactly how do you know them?" Remy asked sceptically. "We've been here for less than a day."

"You really need to get out more, Remy," Leander teased. "You'll never make any friends by hiding out in your trailer."

"Friends?" Remy scoffed. "You forget, Lee. I happen to know what happens to your 'friends'. And as for my trailer; I happen to like being a hermit, thank you very much!"

Her head snapped up as a yell caught her attention. Whatever had happened had caused the four to smirk while their strong man held the other side back. She sighed.

"Well, let's go rescue your friends then."

The strong man looked up in relief when he noticed their approach.

"How's it going, Angus?" Leander greeted the strong man with a cheeky grin.

"Lee," the man returned the greeting gruffly. "Remy. Caught these boys trying to start a fight in the middle of Genny's act."

Remy arched a brow.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time her routine started a riot." She turned to look each male in the eyes. Something about the four who stood on the other side of Angus rubbed her the wrong way, but she couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. "All right, boys. We've got some ground rules here at the cirque. One of them is no fighting on our grounds. Simple enough. But if you can't do that then I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to leave."

Remy zeroed in on whom she thought was the leader of the larger group, holding the bigger male's gaze until he looked away uncomfortably. She smiled.

"Now it's too bad you had to miss the rest of Genny's act. She really is quite talented. But if you'll follow Angus, he'll make sure you get complimentary tickets for tomorrow's show. No hard feelings, right?"

The strong man mouthed a silent 'thank you' as he herded them away. Remy turned to find that Leander had cozied up to the four boys while she had been dealing with the other group. He was chattering away with two of the blondes, talking a mile a minute and waving his arms about animatedly. Remy watched as the dark-haired boy ruffled Leander's hair and decided that, if they were putting up with Leander, they couldn't be as awful as she initially thought.

"Remy!" Leander called out, noticing that she had finished dealing with the other group. "Can they come with us?"

The boys didn't seem to mind that they had just been invited by a child to spend the rest of their evening with two complete strangers. Remy wondered if they were just too polite to disappoint him. She shook her head.

"I'm sure your new friends have better things to do, Lee." She looked up at the only one who hadn't interacted directly with Leander. "You really don't have to feel obliged to him."

The blonde smirked. Something about it irritated her, probably the fact that it was somewhat reminiscent of Belteshazzar's superior attitude.

"Not at all," he replied.

"See, Remy?" Leander enthused. "Let's go! Let's go!"

Remy sighed. She could feel a headache coming on. But dealing with a grumpy Leander would've been worse. She forced a smile onto her lips.

"Sure. You boys know anywhere we could grab a bite to eat?"

A/N: So the boys meet our main OC.

Remy's act was originally going to be based loosely based on Tanya Burka's performance of Rosa the Abandoned Bride (at least I think that's what the act was called). But then I realised that it wasn't really all that interesting to give a blow by blow of her entire choreography. Tanya's silks and hoop routines inspired me greatly when I first got into aerial silks and lyra and I still love her stuff. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the recording of her act on youtube anymore but the rough draft of it is still up under the title "Aerial Silks at the Museum of Glass". Not the best quality video since it was uploaded 8 years ago but still worth checking out.

To all the purists out there, yes, I know that aerial silks as an apparatus didn't come into use until 1995, but this is fanfiction. I think we're allowed a little creative liberty here, don't you?

I'm thinking of changing the title to "Heathens" after the Twenty One Pilots song. What do you guys think? It seems fitting to me, although not very Peter Pan related.

The next update might take a little longer because exams week's coming up and I still need to finish this grad paper. Time for Scribbles to graduate from grad school.

As always, I love hearing from you guys. Constructive criticism is always welcome but flames will be used to stoke the bonfire behind my school. It's been getting colder these days.

Love,

Scribbles

EDITED: 15/11/2016