Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, only the plot.
A Haunting Memory Returns
Chapter 11: Hints of a Crusade
God is good,
God is great,
God is what makes this world straight.
I am cruel,
I am bad,
I am proof of a world gone mad.
God betrayed me,
God destroyed me,
God had thought me to be unholy.
Now we shed,
Alas not hair,
For hair is intangible, compared to blood...
Dracul had work to do, he demanded that the mercenaries leave him be. He slowly limped to his office and locked the door. He turned back to take in the sight of his new quarters. The warehouse has become far too messy for his mercenaries, so they had to find somewhere else. Dracul heard of an abandoned amusement park, this was where they were to make their new hideout. Unfortunately, it had been occupied...
Dracul had walked through with the ten of his men, taking glances side to side at the supposed eye candy of technology. A broken down roller coaster to his left and an eerie little fun house to the right. As he continued he saw a booth with a beaten up looking sign reading, "Historic l Bo th: L arn All a out the Re ai sance." with letters faded out.
He scowled at the sign. These idiots knew nothing of the Renaissance. Imbeciles...
That's when they all noticed lights coming out of the Theater. As they came closer, they began to hear music.
"What the hell...?" Levi asked.
"It sounds like, pop music..." Jon added in.
"Pop?" Dracul asked with massive skepticism in his voice.
"That trashy crap the stupid teens listen to these days..." Gato grumbled.
"Sounds delightful..." Dracul growled.
As they approached the entrance they discovered that Jon was right, it was indeed pop. And the inhabitants, teenagers. They had walked in slowly, and found the slobs inside, dancing, drinking...
"Ew..." Gato murmured when he saw a couple making out.
It wasn't long before they were noticed.
"Hey, what's with the gramps comin' all up in here?" a muscular white boy called out.
The boy took a step closer and Dracul could see him more clearly. He was wearing sunglasses, torn up jeans, and a shirt stating, "U MAD BRO?" (What the hell was that supposed to mean?)
"You old farts can't just be comin' up in here. This is a private party. Now leave before Stephen and I bust out the guns."
He held out his right arm, and pointed at his "guns". A black boy, apparently the one called Stephen, called out, "Hell yeah! We hit you so hard we knock you back five centuries. Ya dig?"
A young girl, wearing clothes that were far too revealing came up and stroked the white boy's chest, before purring, "You tell them Shaun..."
"What the hell is wrong with the children of this generation?" Jon asked Levi, who simply shrugged.
"As tempting as your offer is, Shaun, this is our land now. I'm afraid you'll be the one to leave." Dracul said in a sweet voice.
"I'ma kick yo sorry ass." Shaun said, rolling up his sleeves.
He walked straight to Dracul and picked him up by the collar, before bringing his right fist back.
"Get your hands off'a him you lowly son of a bit-" Levi growled before being interrupted.
"Now now Levi, I am not in need of your service." Dracul said, his voice now in a hushed monotone, like what you'd hear when you were greeted by an automated message, but this one far more threatening.
Dracul examined the boy, looking straight to the forehead.
"Such a lack of ambition," he murmured in his monotone voice, "that deserves a severe punishment..."
Shaun just grinned at Dracul.
"I'm gonna piss on your corpse."
Dracul reached into his pocket, his hand quick as lighting, and without warning a needle was injected into Shaun's skin. A few of the teenagers freaked out, looking back and forth for an exit, in case things went sour. Shaun's eyes widened, became bloodshot. He began to twitch uncontrollably. The girl who had been throwing herself all over him began to wail. Dracul was dropped to his feet. Shaun collapsed on the floor, still twitching, red foam now pouring out of his mouth like water out of a faucet. The teenagers began to scramble in all directions, screaming that a homicidal maniac was on the loose.
Dracul smiled at the memory. He had just finished developing the poison. He remembered leaning over Shaun's body whispering, "I cannot thank you enough. You served as an excellent test subject. Now tell me, do you suddenly feel limp in your legs?" before bursting into mad laughter.
Not only had he whipped some good for nothing hooligans into shape, he got this base at the same time. Glorious, simply glorious...
"Now... to the matter at hand."
He stood up and gathered his notes from his desk, he was going to solve quite the mystery. Why that girl felt so much compassion for the boy. How he felt the same way about her. How the hell could a union like this occur in such an imperfect world? Impossible! A running gag trying to make him hesitate, only for them to slap a pair of handcuffs on him. Still, when he looked within her mind, that's all he saw. He decided to do a little research. He had several documents describing love and whatnot. He began to write on the blackboard in his room. None of it made sense...
"Love is the feeling of belonging, where which each person is paired with their soul mate." read one document.
"Often symbolized by a heart." he murmured.
It looked nothing like a heart. Dracul would know.
"Wait... the heart, cardiovascular system, endurance, aha!"
He began to scribble all over the blackboard, making hurried marks everywhere. Within a few minutes, all of his thoughts had been collected onto the chalkboard.
"The heart resembles cardiovascular endurance, which seeing the boy is a speedster, he has plenty of, therefore making him the perfect mate. Yes." Dracul stepped back to admire his work.
You really are over thinking all of this. Love is not that complicated.
Dracul sighed at the sound of the voice, time for another spoonful of worthless wisdom. His bloody favorite...
"Tiresome as always, must we have this conversation again?"
Of course! Besides, it's not like there's anything else to do, is there?
"You really enjoy being a talkative twit don't you, I would glue your mouth shut if I could."
Oh... here you are making threats thinking that you're a man.
"I am compared to you."
You're not much of a man if you don't know how to love.
"Enlighten me."
You should know, we-
"You..." Dracul corrected.
The voice shut up for a minute, taking time, as if carefully choosing the next words.
We were one of the same back then. No need to grow so detached.
"I'm ever so sorry, would you like a hug?"
She was beautiful you know... not like the other girls, her appearance was much more natural. Long brown locks, the cutest little-
"By God, would you please get on with it?"
She accepted us for what we were. She taught us how to trust the world again. How to live life...
"I had nothing to do with her. Every time I look at the portrait, I don't see anyone I recognize."
Eh? Okay, how about Rouge then? Can you relate to her? I do remember her taking more than just a liking to you. Did you return any of her feelings? What about when she-
"Tell me, does it seem as if I do things out of compassion? I played along so I could get what I wanted. You were there, after I got what I needed I left her behind, why? Because she was no longer of use. Unlike you, I'm not weak. I follow Plato's wisdom, not Martha Nussbaum's. Life is a wild jungle, if you want to survive you have to put yourself first."
The question is, do you even want to survive?
"I have unfinished business."
Ah yes, your crusade.
"I'm finished speaking with you."
The voice silenced, and Dracul put his hand to his forehead. He looked at his agenda and smirked. It seems that he's collecting something from a certain speedster. And he knew just how to get what he wanted.
End of Chapter...
Yet another chapter. I hope you liked it. 'Twas fun to write. Please review. Remember to vote in the polls. Thank you for your time.