Night of the Vampires

It was nighttime at a cemetery at some unknown location, where a black man stood in the center of a circle of graves.

Surrounding the black man were five men with pale skin, sinister red glowing eyes, and fangs.

"You fell right into our trap."

"We have a grave just for you."

"You have a big bounty on your head."

"Are you scared?"

"Oh, he's scared."

The black man simply grinned, revealing his own fangs. "Bring it on."

The pale men all lunged at their victim, who simply drew his katana to cut them all down in one circular swing.

Four of the pale men burst into sparks while the last one fell back with a gash on his stomach.

"You will pay for this. He will see to it. Our master, Baron Blood! Say your prayers, Blade!" The man declared as he disintegrated into sparks.

The swordsman, Blade, gazed into the distance. "Where are you… Baron Blood?"

Down in the lab at the Avengers base, Lucia, along with Tony, watched Jocasta work on the dimensional wormhole generator.

[Data input is complete. We must wait an allotted time for the simulation results.] Jocasta said.

"Okay, I think that's it for today," Tony said.

"How long will it be before the wormhole generator is ready anyway?" Lucia asked.

"Three days, give or take," Tony answered.

"That's what you said yesterday," Lucia said.

"Relax. Research is a battle of self-control," Tony said. "You'll never get results if you're too impatient."

"Makes sense, I guess," Lucia said.

Then, Pepper entered the lab. "Tony? Isn't it about time to get ready?"

"Yeah! Let's go, Lucia," Tony said.

"Go? Go where?" Lucia asked.

"A charming and educational detour," Tony replied.

Soon, the mermaids, Kaito, and Hippo were at a museum.

"Whoa," Lucia said as she marveled at a Pteranodon fossil hanging from the ceiling.

"That's a Pteranodon fossil from 66 million years ago," Noel said.

"There's so many," Lucia said, then she noticed a Tyrannosaurus fossil. "And that one's a Tyrannosaurus, right?"

"That's correct," Tony said. "Okay, time for a lecture on Earth's mightiest reptiles."

"I'm all ears, Professor Stark!" Lucia said.

Then, the gang continued on with the tour, checking out more fossils.

"Never thought I'd be in a museum after closing," Caren said.

"That is because Iron Man is the owner of this museum," Thor said.

"AMAZING!" Coco let out a loud shout, gaining everyone's attention. What caught her eye was a radiant gemstone.

"Oh, you have a good eye," Tony said.

"This is the museum's 'crown jewel,' the Rainbow Teardrop."

"Wow, it's breathtaking," Wasp said.

"It sure has a strange glow to it," Captain Marvel added.

"'It is believed that the Rainbow Teardrop contains mystical powers. And thus, many pirates have attempted to steal it.'" Lucia read the description for the Rainbow Teardrop.

"Pirates, huh? Is the security up to the job?" Hulk asked.

"There does not seem to be any guards," Vision asked.

"My museum doesn't need guards. Everything's monitored by a fully-automated hi-tech surveillance system 24/7. At the slightest sign of trouble, all the shutters instantly slam down… and within 90 seconds, dozens of cop cars show up. I'm thinking of selling this security system around the world!" Tony bragged. "'Ensuring your safety and peace of mind 24/7: Stark Auto Security System! For an annual fee of…'"

Before he could finish, however, the lights suddenly went dark.

"Uh-oh," Coco said.

"So, I trust you've added a 24/7 customer service hotline to this system?" Cap jokingly said.

"Pretty good joke, coming from you," Tony said. "It's just a little power trouble. The backup generator should be…"

He was then suddenly interrupted by what sounded like someone in pain.

"I thought we were the only ones here!" Hanon said.

"Let's go!" Lucia said, and the gang sped to look for the person who cried out.

"Help me! Please!"

"Where are you?! Hello?!" Rina called out.

"Alright, everyone. Let's split up," Cap suggested, and the group split into smaller groups and went their own way.

However, on the ceiling, spying on them, was a pale man, like the ones that Blade fought.

Lucia and Seira ran through various exhibits, to no luck.

"Not here either. Alright, let's try the next exhibit," Tony said.

"Please wait," Vision said, thinking of Seira, who was exhausted after all that running.

"I'll be fine," Seira said while trying to catch her breath.

"Are you sure?" Lucia asked.

"Go on ahead. We will follow soon," Vision said.

"Okay," Lucia said before running ahead.

"Vision, I'm sorry," Seira apologized.

"There is no need to apologize," Vision said.

"Having a small pipsqueak like me slows down all the time," Seira said.

"Your strong heart is plenty to make up for it," Vision reassured. "You are the best partner I could ask for. Believe in yourself."

"Thank you, Vision!" Seira said.

However, while they spoke, a pale man came down from the ceiling.

Seira, hearing a noise, turned around only to see nothing, but then, the pale man revealed himself.

Seira's loud scream was heard as Blade stood outside the museum with the sound of thunder in the air.

Meanwhile, Lucia had met up with Caren, Kaito, and Hippo.

"Any luck?" Kaito asked.

"Nothing," Caren said.

"Me neither," Luca replied.

But then, Seira's scream was heard.

"Miss Seira!" Hippo shouted.

Then, there were sounds of Hanon, Noel, Rina, and Coco's screams.

"And that was everyone else!" Lucia said.

"What's going on here? Did someone hack my security system? I'd like to know who did that…" Tony said.

"Please don't flatter yourself…" Jubei said as he revealed himself. "Tim got quite a laugh with your 'security.'"

"You again?" Tony said.

"The Celebrity Seven? What're you doing here?!" Caren demanded, and Jubei simply took out the Rainbow Teardrop from his coat to the heroes' surprise.

"Imperious merely ordered me to steal the gem, but I figured I could eliminate you Avengers as bonus. Y'know, two birds with one stone," Jubei said.

"Two birds with one stone? Sorry, that's my line," Tony said. "Actually, make that three birds. A museum tour, take down the bad guy, and squeeze you for intel on Imperious's sudden interest in gemstones and my Final Repulsor energy!"

"You are a fool if you think you can take on the Avengers on your lonesome!" Thor said.

"I agree, and that's why I didn't come alone," Jubei said.

Then, laughter was heard from the ceiling, and the teens and Hippo looked up to see dozens of the pale men, but there was one figure among them who had green skin and was dressed in a red and purple bodysuit.

"Things just got a lot creepier," Tony said.

"Caren, time to D-Smash!" Thor said.

"Right!"

But then, the sound of an ax being dragged was heard, along with Seira's voice. "Vampires are real…"

"Seira!" Lucia called out.

"They are creatures of darkness that lurk within the shadows of the night," Seira continued to say.

"What a relief! You're okay!" Lucia said.

"Wait, something doesn't seem right," Kaito said, and his suspicions were proven true when they noticed Seira's eyes glowing red.

The pale men on the ceiling laughed as Seira started running toward her friends with the stone ax, lifting it above her head.

"Seira!" Lucia shouted before moving to dodge the ax.

Then the pale men descended as Seira attacked her friends with the ax.

"Miss Seira! What's gotten into you?! Please stop it!" Hippo pleaded.

Then the momentum of the ax made Seira step backward, but she was supported by the green-skinned man.

"I've taken this girl into my family. Listen well, my name is Baron Blood, Ruler of the Night! Now that I've been freed from my DISK, I will reign once more!" Baron Blood introduced himself. "I helped myself to a fair share of blood. Once she was bitten, that was it. The girl is no longer who she was."

Baron Blood's words shocked the teens.

"You fiend!" Thor shouted.

"Seira's… a vampire?" Lucia asked.

"Lucia, calm down. I promise I'll find a way to reverse this," Tony reassured her. "First things first: We take out this Baron Blood. Hurry and D-Smash."

Lucia and Caren got the DISKs ready to D-Smash, but before they could…

"Don't try it, Caren," Noel said as she suddenly appeared, and she wasn't the only one as there were also Rina, Hanon, and Coco.

"No way… Sis… Rina… Hanon… and Coco?!"

Then, Baron Blood unleashed a sound wave attack.

As the teens and Hippo tried to resist, the vampires laughed.

"Now, become my servants," Baron Blood said.

Then, Blade made his move, jumping through the window, and shattering the glass. This distracted Baron Blood as he halted his attack.

"How dare you!"

"Who are you?" Caren asked.

"The sword that slays a vampire in one swing… My name is Blade."

"My archnemesis Blade. You've been quite busy attacking my army while I was sealed inside that DISK, eh?" Baron Blood said.

"I'm nowhere near finished, Baron Blood. Not until I've destroyed every last one of you. Come at me."

"Wait! Our friends are over there!" Lucia said.

"They're not your friends anymore. Baron Blood and his family are very infectious even among vampires. It's not just blood that they seek. Half of their fun comes from making their victims suffer…" Blade said. "And those who have been bitten… can never go back to normal."

That sent a shiver down the heroes' spines. "You're kidding…"

"Best you can do… is putting them out of their misery," Blade said as he held his sword tight.

Baron Blood then chuckled. "Fight him."

"Yes, Master," Coco, Hanon, Rina, Noel, and Seira responded before moving forward.

"Don't think badly of me," Blade said as he prepared to fight.

"Stop!" Lucia demanded as she and Caren tried to hold Blade back while Kaito and human-form Hippo got in his way. "There's gotta be a way to change them back!"

"I wish there were, it would make my life easier," Blade said.

"Tony'll find a way!" Lucia argued.

"Let go!" Blade demanded.

"Not a chance!" Caren said.

Seeing no other options as the other five mermaids approached, Blade took out a lighter, lit it, and threw it toward the ceiling.

"Get ready for some water damage," Blade said as the fire made contact with a sprinkler.

The sprinklers quickly activated and started showering water down to the floor.

"Water? Don't tell me…" Baron Blood said, and soon, the vampires started screaming in pain and giving off smoke.

Lucia and Caren, who had turned back into mermaids, watched in awe. But then, they noticed their friends, who had also turned back into mermaids, also screaming in pain, although there didn't seem to be any smoke coming from them.

"What's happening to them?!" Jubei asked as all the vampires around him suffered.

"I mixed holy water into the sprinkler tanks. Problem solved, just one step," Blade answered as he held up a bottle of holy water.

"Everyone!" Lucia said as she saw her friends suffering.

Kaito tried to help them by firing a beam of light at the sprinkler, destroying it.

Seeing this made Lucia remember Tony's words. "Lucia, calm down. I promise I'll find a way to reverse this."

"Tony, help us!" Lucia sprung to action.

"You too, Thor!" Caren followed.

"Mighty Thor! Iron Man!"

"D-Smash!"

"For the glory of Asgard!"

"Time to slay some vampires!"

"What happened here? Who's this guy?!" Iron Man asked.

"The water! The water's hurting them!" Lucia explained.

"Help Kaito take out the sprinklers!" Caren said.

"Repulsors! Mjolnir Throw!" Iron Man and Thor destroyed all the sprinklers with their attacks, stopping the shower of holy water.

"I was careless…" Baton Blade muttered.

"Shouldn't've done that," Blade said. "Those five over there are no longer your friends, they're just monsters now."

"Watch your tongue, stranger!" Thor said.

"What he said. From where we stand, they look nothing like monsters," Iron Man said.

"I must… recover… Time for tactical retreat!" Baron Blood said.

"Alright. At least I got the jewel I came for," Jubei said before using the teleporter to Warp himself, Baron Blood, and the five enslaved mermaids away.

"Guys!" Caren shouted.

However, they were not safe just yet as the other vampires were still present.

"Wow, they seem like an angry bunch," Iron Man said. "Not enough Vitamin D?"

A vampire then lunged at the girls, but hippocampus Hippo rammed into him, and Iron Man and Thor took the chance to get the teens away from the vampires.

Blade took out a two-bladed shuriken and threw it at the vampires, cutting down dozens and causing them to disintegrate.

"He said there was no way to turn them back to normal!" Lucia asked.

"What do we do?!" Caren asked.

"Listen, guys. We won't let you lose anyone you love," Iron Man said.

"He's right. We swear upon our honor," Thor added.

Then, two vampires came lunging in.

"Repulsor! Lightning Strike!" The attacks knocked the vampires back, but they were hardly fazed.

"Stubborn, aren't they?" Iron Man said as he blasted another vampire.

"Regular weapons won't work on them. You need something made of silver," Blade informed as he cut down another vampire.

"Why would my armor have silver weapons?!" Iron Man asked rhetorically before turning toward Lucia. "Lucia, run!"

"You too, Caren!" Thor said.

"Lucia, this way!" Caren said, grabbing Lucia's hand and leading her away.

"Hippo, help Iron Man and Thor fend off those vampires!" Kaito said as he ran after the girls.

"Understood," Hippo said.

Caren, Lucia, and Kaito soon ended up in the medieval exhibit.

"Let's rest here," Caren said, however, sounds of vampires were heard.

"They're still coming!" Kaito said.

"Lucia, let's do it!" Caren said, and Lucia nodded.

"Pink Pearl Voice!"

"Purple Pearl Voice!"

"Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!" Lucia and Caren announced as they began to sing.

However, this did not deter the vampires as one came down from the ceiling, only stopped by Kaito's beam.

"Thanks, Kaito!" Lucia said.

"I can't believe that didn't work," Caren said.

"Guess we really do need silver," Kaito said, then he noticed silver swords on display.

Then, the vampire tried to attack again, but he was cut down by Kaito, who had grabbed one of the swords from the display.

"Are you alright?" Kaito asked.

"Thanks to you," Caren said.

Meanwhile, Iron Man rammed into a vampire and dropped him over the railing onto the lower floor, but then the others swarmed over him, and despite his efforts to dodge, he was eventually caught and pinned on the ground.

The vampire over him then opened his mouth and revealed his fangs, ready to bite. However, when he tried to bite Iron Man, he only ended up breaking his fangs thanks to the latter's armor.

"I can refer you to a good dentist… but it'll cost you a fortune!" Iron Man then shook off the other vampires pinning him down.

Back with Thor and Hippo, the latter had changed to his human form with his Warrior garb.

Hippo struck a vampire with his staff, then Thor threw Mjolnir at him.

The vampires all lunged for Thor, but he struck them with lightning from Mjolnir.

Hippo continued to use his staff to block attacks, strike the vampires, and support himself.

Then Iron Man arrived on the scene, blasting down some vampires who eventually got back up.

"These vampires are resilient," Hippo said.

"And they have great numbers as well," Thor said.

"No kidding. Guess you really do need silver weapons…" Iron Man said.

"Tony!" Lucia's shout was heard, and with her were Caren and Kaito. "Catch!"

Lucia passed Iron Man a silver sword, and Caren did the same for Thor.

With the silver swords, exterminating vampires became a whole lot easier.

"Where did you find these?" Iron Man asked.

"The Medieval section," Lucia replied.

"Do you know how expensive this is!?"

"Is this really the time?" Lucia asked.

"Well, at least it's insured…" Iron Man admitted as he and Thor marched toward the remaining vampires. "The knight of steel has arrived!"

After slaying all the vampires, the team and Blade retreated to the base.

In the living room, they reviewed the footage of the fight.

"Pepper, once more from the top," Tony said.

"Alright," Pepper began rewinding the video.

As the video was being rewound, Lucia turned to Blade and sighed.

"My mother… she was bitten by a vampire when she was still pregnant with me," Blade admitted to the teens' surprise. "After that, she perished at the hands of a vampire after I was born." He gritted his teeth, showing his fangs as he remembered that memory. "That's when I swore that I wouldn't rest until every last one of them was slain… No exceptions."

"No way! We won't let you hurt our friends, no matter what!" Lucia declared, and so did her friends.

"Even if that means battling me?" Blade asked.

"Yes!" Lucia replied.

"Impatient kids, aren't we?" Tony said. "I have a question for the vampire-hunting specialist. When they attack people, where do they aim for?

"Always the neck," Blade replied.

"I thought so," Tony said.

"Have you figured something out?" Thor asked.

"See, they sink their fangs into a person's neck and draw blood from there. If so, then the victims should always have bite marks on their necks. Right?" Tony said.

"So what's your point?" Blade asked.

"The museum surveillance footage. Most of them weren't useful, except for this one. Take a look."

The footage showed Seira after her encounter with the vampire, and even though her eyes were glowing red, she had no bite marks on her neck.

"There are no marks!" Hippo said.

"Right, and she hasn't sprouted fangs either," Blade said. "But they struggled from the holy water!"

"Can you think of why?" Tony asked.

Blade thought hard and soon realized the answer. "Placebo effect!"

"Exactly," Tony said.

"Placebo?" Lucia asked.

"Right. Let's say someone has a cold and you give them flour, claiming it's medicine. With that in their heads, they'll start feeling better because they believe it. The version we're seeing here is called the nocebo effect," Tony explained as the footage showed the five brainwashed mermaids under the holy water and the same with the actual vampires. "You can see smoke coming from the real vampires due to damage, but not the mermaids."

"So those girls were brainwashed into thinking they had become vampires. He tried to control you through hypnotic soundwaves," Blade said.

"Wait, so that means…" Lucia said.

"If we defeat the vampire master, Baron Blood, then his spell will be broken," Blade finished.

"In that case, we can fight them together, Blade!" Caren said.

"Looks like even a vampire expert makes mistakes, huh?" Tony said.

"But there's one strange thing I don't understand. Baron Blood loves to feast on humans, and non-humans like mermaids would be like a rare, uncommon delicacy to him, yet why were those girls passed over?"

"And that's where I come in. Really, there's only one answer if you look at things scientifically," Tony said. "Wanna hear it?"

"I'm listening," Blade said, however, Tony gave him a smug grin, as if expecting something.

"Tell me, please," Blade said more politely.

"Gladly. Y'see, Lucia and her friends' bodies have a certain something that makes them more special," Tony said.

"What kind of something?" Blade asked.

"Our Limited Biocodes!" Lucia said, figuring it out.

To be continued…