Night 6: The Discrete Blade
A figure stood outside Titans Tower. The figure could only be described as being impossibly beautiful. His skin was very pale and seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. His facial features were perfect and angular - high cheekbones, strong jaw line, a straight nose, and beautiful, full lips. His hair, which looked to be in casual disarray, was a deep blue color. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses. He was dressed in a navy blue tuxedo and a light blue dress shirt, and also wore a crucifix around his neck. He stood at 6'2", and had a slender but muscular build. "Well, well, well…" said the figure. "So this is where Shadow has been all this time?" He looked the tower up and down. "Can't say I blame him, it is quite beautiful. And speaking of beauty…" The man looked up and saw a pair of shapely legs dangling over the edge of the tower.
Starfire had found herself spending a lot of time on the Tower's roof lately. She would come up here to think and clear her mind. The night air always helped with that. "Well now, you are quite an exquisite creature of the night," said a voice. Starfire looked down and saw the figure standing on the side of the Tower, looking up at her.
"Eep!" squeaked Starfire in shock as she scooted backward. The man merely walked up onto the roof of the Tower. He looked at the moon.
"It's lovely tonight is it not? It's the kind of night that makes me want to have a drink…" said the man. Starfire blushed at the man's voice.
"What's going on up here?" asked Shadow as he and Robin appeared in the roof. The figure looked at Shadow and smiled.
"Shadow! My good friend. It has been far too long," said the man with a large smile.
"Ren…" said Shadow in a cold voice. "Why are you here?"
"What? I can't stop by to see and old friend and meet his fledgling?" He turned to look at Starfire. "And what a lovely fledgling she is. Tell me, are you two…lovers?"
Starfire blushed at the insinuation. "We are not lovers," answered Shadow. Starfire was surprised to find herself frowning at this.
"Then in that case…" He turned back to Starfire. "Would you like to accompany me on a night on the town, my lovely little fledgling?" Starfire once again found herself blushing while Robin bristled, but Shadow answered for her.
"No, Starfire is not another toy for you to play with so leave her alone. She is mine and mine alone," warned Shadow with an icy glare. "And how did you know I have a fledgling?"
"Well, since she's seen with you and she smells like us I can only assume she is…" said Ren.
"Master," Starfire spoke up. "You know this gentleman?"
"He's an old…acquaintance of mine that I had the unfortunate luck of meeting, Starfire," Shadow said.
"Aw, it couldn't have been that bad," said Ren with a grin. Shadow's stoic face curled into a look of annoyance.
"Who are you?" asked Robin.
"You may call me the 'Discrete Blade'," Ren said. "And you do know my name from the 'Shadow Dancer', right?"
"Shadow Dancer?" echoed Robin.
"My title," Shadow explained. "Vampires once they display a unique ability are given titles. I call myself Shadow because of this since I abandoned my mortal name. Nearly all vampires discard their former human names but there are some exceptions who like to keep theirs." He locked eyes with Ren. "Now, Ren, why are you here and don't lie to me. I can tell when you're lying."
"Now, why would I lie to you? I became bored with my old life in London after that whole Highgate fiasco back in the 70's and decided to start over here in America. I've been living in New York until I saw your face appear in the newspapers. I decided to drop by and have a little fun. But before I hit the town I thought that it would be rude to not stop by and greet my old friend," answered Ren.
Shadow sighed as much as he hated to deny it Ren was a friend…an annoying friend. They'd been through a lot together and bumped into each other randomly. They, of course, contrasted each other in a lot of ways.
"Alright, I'll buy that, so what are you planning to do here aside from visiting me, Discrete Blade?"
"I hear that there is a wonderful party in town tonight. Would you and your fledgling like to accompany me?"
"You know I'm not the partying type, especially after last time…" said Shadow, a cold stare held on Ren.
"How was I supposed to know she was the Czar's daughter?" shrugged Ren.
"Oh, please Master! It would be most enjoyable!" said Starfire excitedly.
"I'm not sure…" said Shadow. He then looked at Starfire who was giving him her puppy dog pout. "If you promise to stop doing that…fine."
"Glorious!" exclaimed Starfire happily who hugged Shadow.
"I knew you'd get a girl all over you, Shadow," chuckled Ren and Shadow gave him a silent glare while trying to remove Starfire's grip from him.
Ren was invited into the Tower and upon meeting Raven he kissed her hand. Shadow rolled his eyes at seeing his friend flirt. Cyborg and Beast Boy were also present.
"So, he's a vampire too?" Cyborg asked Shadow.
"He is," Shadow replied. "Ren Cullen, also known as the Silent Blade of Discretion, or the Discrete Blade."
"And you're the Shadow Dancer," Beast Boy added. "That is a girly title." Beast Boy chuckled but then his shadow turned into a monster which swallowed him up and spat him out into the wall.
"My full title is 'The One Whom Dances with the Shadows'," explained Shadow. "Shadow Dancer is just an abbreviated version."
"And he's here for a friendly visit, huh?" Cyborg asked.
"He somehow knows how and where to find me," replied Shadow, "Even when I don't want him to. He's a womanizer and he uses it to charm women to bed before he feeds on them. He never kills as far as I know."
"But he's called the Discrete Blade for a reason," Robin commented. "Why?"
Shadow shrugged. "It's not my story to tell even if I know."
"And how did you two meet?" Robin asked.
"It was in Russia before the Russian Revolution," Shadow answered. "I met Ren at a ball celebrating the Czar's youngest daughter's birthday. He knew I was a vampire. I was there on…business."
Robin narrowed his eyes and continued to watch as Ren bragged about his exploits to Starfire who was awed. Shadow never told her anything about his past so this was a refreshing change.
"Master!" Starfire jumped towards Shadow.
"Yes, fledgling?" he asked.
"I think I may have a dress for tonight but I am not sure. Would you please give me your opinion?"
Shadow blinked and shrugged. "Alright, but could you please let me go?" Starfire was hugging him again. He wasn't used to public displays of affection like this and Ren snickered.
"Don't take too long, lovebirds," Ren called to them as they exited the room. He eyed Raven who was sitting in the kitchen reading a book. "Would you like to go too? Proper etiquette does compel me to invite the friends of my friend. Especially ones as lovely as you."
"Cute" said Raven in her dry tone, "But I have no intention of being with you."
"Oh, I know," said Ren, surprising Raven a bit. "A lovely creature such as yourself is not for a one night escapade through ecstasy. No, for someone like you, the joy comes from the hunt. But, my invitation still stands. So, I believe you have some questions for me?"
"Have you ever killed anyone?" asked Robin, getting straight to the point.
"Not through feeding. Even as a fledgling, my Mistress always had me by her side and taught me the proper ways. The only ones I have killed are hunters that threaten me, my Mistress or my lovers. I only feed on my lovers, but not enough to kill or change them. Only enough to reenergize myself and give my companion as much pleasure as possible."
"Why do they call you the Discrete Blade?" asked Cyborg.
Ren flicked his wrist and a knife flew into his hand out of his jacket. In the blink of an eye he was twirling it on his finger, the R badge from Robin's uniform dangling from his fingers. Ren licked the blade before it vanished back into the confines of his suit. "I believe this is yours?" said Ren as he handed Robin back his badge.
Cyborg and Beast Boy looked bug-eyed at this. They didn't even see him move.
"So," began Ren. "Who would like to join me tonight?"
Shadow was in Starfire's room and well…he was fidgeting. Pink wasn't a color appropriate for a vampire and Starfire's room was a mixture of pink and purple. It hurt his eyes. Silkie was on his lap and as disgusted as he was towards the small creature, he'd grown fond of it in a strange way. Shadow looked towards the changing partition where his fledgling was changing her clothes. He could make out her silhouette and he was forced to look away. She was very curvy and physically attractive.
The vampire shut his eyes. He shouldn't be thinking such things of his fledgling but still…he wondered about Ren's words. Lovers? Did they really look like that? They were teacher and student and nothing more but Shadow, despite not showing any emotion on his face, was clearly fond and held strong feelings for her, feelings that were not unlike the ones he had for his mistress.
"Done!" Starfire announced, ceasing Shadow's thoughts. When she walked out from the partition his eyes widened at this vision of loveliness.
The dress she wore went down past her knees with a slit up the left side of the skirt and was held up by thin spaghetti straps. She wore a silver necklace around her neck and pearl earrings hung from her ears. She even wore bracelets. She didn't have any makeup which was unnecessary since she was already beautiful to begin with. She was wearing white high heels and had a purse slung over her shoulders.
He could barely recognize her.
"How do I look?" she asked. He was silent. "Master?"
What could he say at a time like this? Be honest. "You look…words do not do you justice…" She was beyond beautiful to him and he cursed his thoughts. He was her teacher! Nothing more.
She flew towards him and kissed his cheek, an action that startled him but he didn't recoil in disgust. "Thank you!" she thanked her master.
The door slid open and Ren was leaning against the doorframe. "So, are you both ready?" He eyed Starfire appreciatively. "Well, what do we have here? Who is this beautiful creature?"
Shadow felt something rising in him. Anger, perhaps? He wasn't an emotional vampire but the image of Ren and Starfire…it made him want to kill the Silent Blade of Discretion. He calmed himself down and stood up from the bed, placing Silkie on the sheets. "So, did you invite the other Titans?"
"Well, it wouldn't be fair and I even convinced that beautiful little bird to come with me," smirked Ren.
It amazed Shadow on how Ren could be so carefree about these things. Focusing his power as his title was The One Whom Dances with the Shadows he changed his clothes to be more appropriate for this party. Ren smiled.
"You look as handsome as ever, my friend," smirked Ren.
Shadow frowned and he felt Starfire loop her arm around his. He wasn't uncomfortable but contact like this felt alien to him.
"Our carriage awaits," declared Ren as he stepped from the doorway. "Let us go."
Name: Ren Cullen (created by Shadow Element 13)
Race: Vampire
Ren Cullen is a vampire who enjoys in exploiting the "sexy creature of the night" image that vampires have acquired over the centuries. Whenever he changes names, he takes the name of one of the most popular vampires at the time, currently taking Cullen from the character Edward Cullen from the Twilight book series, though he absolutely despises the series. Ren is an old "friend" of Shadow's. Ren is nearly 150 years old, having been born somewhere in Eastern Europe, though he claims to not know exactly where anymore. Ren is also an expert knife-user. He is also considered to be extremely fast, even by vampire standards. The combination of his speed and prowess with a knife renders his attacks almost invisible to the naked eye. Ren is normally calm and easy-going, easily capable of hiding his true vampiric nature. He enjoys flirting. Ren has also traveled all over the world. He claims his favorite place in the world was Japan, because the Love Hotels were very convenient. However, when someone he cares for is threatened, he shows that he's a vampire equal to Shadow in power, and quite possibly even more vicious.