Robin dodged what would have been a serious claw to the face. He dove to the left and blocked another, turning to run in attempt to run out into the open so that he could move better. He worked fine in close spaces, but open offered him more room to… well, fly.
The man chased him a couple feet, expecting to get a hit in on the bird's back, but was surprised to find him flip frontwards and reposition himself midair so that he faced his opponent.
Robin threw three birdarangs, all of which the man either dodged, or hit away. He charged Robin, but Robin tossed down a flash bomb. The blinding light disoriented the pale man, causing him to stagger forwards a bit while Robin flipped over and landed on his back, kicking him down onto his knees as he jumped off.
The Boy Wonder landed quite a distance away, retaking his stance in patience for the man to get back up.
"I was going to make this easy on you and your friends," the guy began as he stood up and steadied himself, "but if you're going to be like this, I guess I'll have to use means other than brute force."
Robin backed up a bit, edging a little closer towards Superboy's form. He mentally counted the seconds before the clone would wake up again.
"I'm not tiring you out am I? I was just getting started." He stated in a cocky tone.
"Au contraire;" the man smiled, "It would seem both of us are holding back." He relaxed his posture, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his eyes started to glow.
Robin's ears started ringing, his vision getting fuzzy. His balance wavered and Robin fought to keep himself standing. He dropped the birdarangs he was holding and clutched his head.
The man started to walk towards him, "I'll admit, you are more skilled than I. But even so, I still have an advantage over you; just like so many others." Robin dropped down onto his knees, leaning forwards so that his head was inches from the floor. He fought the voice ringing through his head.
"I could help change that, Robin." The man stated, kneeling down beside the bird. "You have the potential to be so much more." He clutched Robin's hands, to which were holding his head, and lifted his face up to his. "Open your eyes, it's easier if you just open your eyes." He said with a deathly calm.
He fought, he fought so hard. Batman's training kicked in immediately after it started, but his strength was beginning to fail. He groaned from the pain in his head, still refusing to give in to the persuasive acts of his adversary. But the proximity, it seemed to make things worse. The cold hands covering his didn't help either. It felt like he was suspended in the air, one hand slipping from its grip on a thin bar.
The voice rang through his head, getting louder each time. It hurt, it hurt so much. He couldn't… he…
Robin's eyes opened slightly, peering into the gaze of the pale man. As soon as he looked into those eyes, he felt himself slip away. His body instantly relaxed and he stared into the eyes of the other.
The man smiled, dropping Robin's hands away from his ears and onto his lap before letting go of them. He lifted his right hand up and waved it once across Robin's vision.
"Sleep." He stated, and Robin's eyes closed. His upper half fell forward before being caught by the man. He reached down and unclipped his utility belt, tossing it aside before lifting the boy up into his arms.
The man turned and walked off, heading down the tunnel and up to the surface where he found a helicopter waiting for him. One of his men reached their hands out, taking Robin from him and placing the unconscious hero in the seat. The man climbed on board and held onto the rim. The copter rose from the ground, and began to ascend into the air.
Feet tapped rapidly on the hall's floor as both Aqualad and Zatanna ran towards the loading bay. Upon reaching the door, they found there to be none; nothing but a huge hole, and the doors laying on the ground near Superboy.
"Superboy!" Aqualad yelled as he ran towards him. He knelt down beside the clone and lifted him up, jolting him from his unconscious state as he did so.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a caring tone.
"Of course I'm alright. Where's M'gann? Did anyone find her?!" he stressed, quickly standing up with balled fists. Zatanna walked by both of them, something further on catching her eye as she paid little attention anything else.
"Relax," Aqualad said as he placed a hand on the clone's chest, easing him off. "Robin and Wally got her, I'm sure of it. Do you know where Artemis is?" he asked calmly. Superboy's body loosened up at the voice of reason and he glanced around the room with his enhanced vision. He noticed a bit of green behind some crates near the door.
"Over there." He stated while pointing in that direction. Aqualad followed his finger and saw it too, rushing over to find it in fact to be Artemis.
Zatanna's breath hitched in her throat as she stood up from where she knelt. Something was in her hands. Superboy glanced her way when he heard her gasp.
Aqualad sighed, "She's still unconscious." He announced, lifting her up into his arms and walking over to the other two. When he looked at them, Superboy was staring at Zatanna and Zatanna was staring at a familiar utility belt in her hands. She looked up at him with barely contained tears, Robin's belt clutched tightly to her chest.
"How… when…?" Their leader breathed softly.
Suddenly, Superboy lifted up is head, his eyes wide. "I hear a helicopter!"
Zatanna looked at him with fire in her eyes, glancing back at Aqualad. Both of them did.
"Go." He stated, his voice stern. "I'll find Kid and get the Bio ship. Get him back."
Zatanna needn't be told twice, for as soon as the order was given, she was off with Superboy at her heels. Both of them exited the tunnel, sliding to a halt as they looked up into the dark sky. It was barely visible, but a single light from the helicopter's underbelly gave way to its discovery.
"thgilf!" Zatanna yelled, a cloud of glittering smoke forming around her ankles before lifting her off the ground. She dashed upwards, chasing down the helicopter as Superboy jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
Aqualad ran out of the tunnel and down the street towards the other end of town where the Bio ship was waiting in an empty parking lot. He tried to run as fast as he could without jolting Artemis too much. It couldn't be helped from the movement, but he did all he could so as to not hurt her or waste any time.
Three of them, three of his teammates had suffered at the hands of this vampire thing… whatever he was. Artemis, M'gann, and now Robin. Superboy himself was injured by the man, being unconscious for how long while that thing hunted down Robin. And now he had him, why or to what end he didn't know. He and Kid Flash's profiles were included in that search, why just go after Robin?
A huge gust of wind woke Aqualad up from his thoughts. He stopped running, hearing a gasp and then a crash from behind him. Turning around with Artemis still in his arms, he saw Kid Flash struggling with his balance before running back up to him.
"Kid;" he stated, a plan forming in head. There still might be time…
"Aqualad!" Kid Flash yelled. After seeing his leader while running by, he immediately stopped, sliding and then falling down while trying to turn back around. Now he was speed walking back over to him, seeing Artemis in his arms made his body quiver.
"You found Artemis?!" he said while looking on with fear and peace.
"Yes," Aqualad replied, "I believe she will be fine once we get her back to the Bio ship."
"Here, I'll take her—"
"No," Aqualad commanded firmly. "I need you to follow up with Zatanna and Superboy. That man, the vampire, he took Robin. They're heading west."
"What…?" Kid Flash breathed out in shock.
"Kid, you're faster than me any day. If you hurry, we still might be able to get him back." Wally's eyes studied the Atlantean up and down. This wasn't happening, right?
"Go, I'll get Artemis back to the ship." Aqualad hollered back as he began to turn and run away. Wally stood there for a split second, taking everything in before his legs started back up. He dashed off, heading in the direction Aqualad told him.
Rob… first he attacks M'gann, then Artemis and now Rob? Why? These thoughts ran faster through his head than he himself towards his destination.
Zatanna was beginning to catch up to the helicopter now. But even she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything by herself even if she did manage to get on board. With anger fueling her strength, she uttered a spell all the while staring daggers at the flying vehicle. Right before the spell was complete, she stopped flying and hovered, stretching out her hand towards the copter. Her voice echoed through the night air just as an invisible force brought the helicopter to a complete stop.
The passengers inside jolted from the sudden stop, the pale man stumbling forward a bit before catching himself. He growled and looked up at his pilot.
"Why did you stop!?" He yelled, strutting into the small cockpit.
"I didn't!" his pilot defended with fear, pushing forward on the handles, indicating that it wasn't him who was currently in control of the helicopter.
Superboy landed down on a supermarket roof, immediately jumping back off. He dove high into the sky, closer and closer to the helicopter stuck in its place. He brought back a fist and screamed. All of his might went into the punch, slamming into the side of the chopper causing it to nearly tilt ninety degrees.
The force caused all of the passengers to fall over, Robin and two other men falling out of the helicopter completely. The pale man clutched the side of the chopper, and used it to get back up. Twisting around, he screamed with wide eyes of anger as Robin fell down towards the earth.
Zatanna gasped, all color practically melting from her face. She flew after Robin, reaching her hand out and chanting a spell. Her panic caused her to stutter, the spell messing up and disappearing before she could finish.
"No!" she cried, watching as Robin was every so near to the ground now. Her heart skipped a beat.
A black blur came running up and caught Robin right before the cold ground met his warm body. Kid Flash did a quick roll to better adjust to the extra weight.
"I got him!" He shouted to nobody in particular.
"Look out!" Zatanna's voice screamed from above him. From out of nowhere, the pale man slammed into the ground, barely missing Kid Flash in the process. The force caused Wally to trip and crash, sending both he and Robin penguin sliding across the cement. Kid tried to stand back up, but the vampire grabbed his neck with one hand and held him up off the ground. Kid choked, struggling with the man's iron-like grip.
"Get out of my way!" The man hissed with venom before throwing Wally across the street. Kid didn't allow himself to crash this time, however, and landed on his feet. He rushed the vampire, hitting him in the legs, and a few times in the arms as he made his way over to Robin's prone form.
The man growled, eyes narrowing into slits as he punched Kid flash, or at least tried to. KF was proving to be too fast for him to counter act, and Wally began to get a little overexcited. He became too predictable, and the man caught him just as he was about to kick him in the gut. He punched him in the side of the face, throwing him down to the ground.
Zatanna landed near them, running over all the while chanting another spell.
"Mih dnilb!" she screamed; a black covering sealing itself over the pale man's eyes. It was then that Superboy joined, landing and hitting the guy in the face in one fell swoop. He stumbled backwards, both hands grasping the blind. He ripped it off and punched Superboy in the face just as the Kryptonian dove for another strike.
Zatanna's voice came up from behind him, a new chanted nearly complete. The vampire quickly hit the clone again, grabbed his arm, and threw him at the enchantress. Zatanna cried out as Superboy's body collided with hers. He spun around just in time to dodge another one of Kid Flash's jabs, grabbing his wrist too and throwing him away.
"I could throw you kids around all day!" he taunted.
A black van drove up to the area, skidding sideways and coming to a stop just in time for Kid Flash to ram into its side door. He slid to the ground, unconscious. The doors opened and three men jumped out; one staying behind, keeping his gun locked on Kid Flash's body.
The other two ran over to Robin, lifting him up by the arms and legs before taking him back to the van.
The pale man walked up to a panting Superboy. Said ebony haired boy growled when he saw him, making an effort to punch the guy but he caught in. The vampire kicked him down, continuing to kick him in the head. With each hit, Superboy's head got planted further and further into the cement until he blacked out. A few more hits and the man was done, satisfied with the results.
Superboy lay there still alongside Zatanna who, was also unconscious, due to the collision with him.
The vampire took a deep breath, stumbling a bit as he placed a hand on his forehead.
"Master?" one of the men questioned, the others securing Robin inside the van.
"I'm fine," he spoke tiredly, "I just need to feed." He and his thrall returned to the van. Its' doors closed and its' wheels screeched to life. The vehicle drove off, leaving behind three battered heroes.
The Bio ship soared down towards the scene below, Aqualad guiding it. The Atlantean's breath got caught in his throat as he gazed upon his friends. He landed the ship next to their unconscious bodies, the back molding out into a ramp. He ran out, calling his friends' names. He stopped amidst them, the air around him silent, the whole street silent. Not a trace of a helicopter, no signs of the vampire or his men. The night was deafening.
Aqualad stood there, the only one left standing. Nothing could heal his broken heart.
I just want to thank everyone whose taken the time to review, favorite or follow my story, as well as simply reading it. Thank you guys so much, I really do hope you're all enjoying it.