A.N I own Nothing.
Good news, my wrist is almost completely healed. If I had to put a number on it I would say it is 89% better as for my mum she is doing extremely well. She no longer needs the support of a Walker, Wheelchair, Cruthers or a walking stick to move around. We still use the Wheelchair if she wants to go out around town but other then that she no longer needs it. She is still slow and has her neck brace on but we are hopeful that will come off next week.
Anway with this good news I am now trying to get back to regular updates, it may take a couple of weeks but I will do my best. Thank you to all my readers for there patience and support these last few months it meant the world to me and I probably could not have gotten through this very difficult time without it.
So to show my appreciation it is a Double Chapter day. I have posted 2 Chapters instead of 1.
Thank you again and enjoy as always Please Review.
Gotham, Batcave
Alfred Pennyworth was in the middle of cleaning the display cases Batman had built in the Batcave, each one holding the various uniforms the Bat-Family had used throughout the years. He had just finished on the completely black Bat Girl outfit used by Barbra Gordon when the unmistakable sound of the Batwing echoed through the massive cave announcing Batman's arrival.
"Master Wayne has returned I see," Alfred observed. He pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch "and before midnight too…miracles can happen,"
Alfred made his way to the landing pad that was the resting place for the dark aircraft, he arrived just as the Batwing landed. The hatch then opened, releasing a hissing noise as the cabin pressure was released.
"Welcome home sir how was...Oh." Alfred stopped talking as he took notice of the Dark knight's appearance.
He raised an eyebrow but kept his face completely straight and professional.
"Have you developed a sudden interest in face painting, sir?" Alfred asked calmly, referring to the several humorous yellow doodles on the Cape Crusaders face.
"Fired," Batman grumbled as he walked past the butler and headed towards the Bat Computer.
"Am I correct in assuming those are not your own masterpieces?" Alfred asked, ignoring his sudden termination of employment and following the Dark Knight.
Batman growled.
"No? How disappointing,"
"Immediate termination," Batman responded.
"I was hoping they were examples of a massive improvement in your artistic prowess. Since they are light years beyond the crayon drawings you had made when you were still that rambunctious six-yr old," Alfred continued.
"No pension, no redundancy, no reference and no time to get that bottle of scotch from your writing desk," Batman grumbled. He sat down at the computer and started to type, but the butler continued.
"You were such an energetic child, always looking for the next adventure, which was usually an imaginary treasure hunt through my flower gardens," Alfred remised "Well I am quite sure my petunias can rest easy since you have greatly mellowed out since then,"
Batman stopped typing and he swiveled his chair round to look directly at Alfred who still held a very straight and professional face.
"Are you done?" Batman asked.
"Indeed sir," Alfred responded.
"Good," Batman said and returned his attention back to the computer.
"So did you make any new friends during your trip? Perhaps one with fangs and shares your evasion to sunlight?" Alfred asked sarcastically.
"No,"
"Pity you two would have so much in common. Did you at least catch your killer?"
"Unfortunately my target escaped, but he won't avoid me for long," Batman said before typing Alucard's tracking device code into the Bat Computer, a few seconds later the results showed up on the screen.
"Signal not found…Flash," Batman hissed in annoyance.
"And what has the Scarlet Speedster done this time?" Alfred asked.
"When I returned to the Batwing its computer alerted me that a small EMP had gone off. A few moments before Flash met up with me, he was holding an EMP gun," Batman claimed.
"So a dead-end sir?"
"More of a minor setback, thankfully I have a plan B," Batman said before typing again, this time a map appeared on the screen and in the center of it was a blinking icon shaped like a bat.
"Plan B as in Bat," Alfred stated.
Batman sent the coordinates to the Bat Wings computer and stood up, he walked back over to the plane and prepared to leave once again.
"Sir, if you are going out, may I suggest you wipe your face or at least change your cowl," Alfred offered.
Batman glared at him.
Somewhere in Europe
The House of Mysteries reappeared at another location and when the group exited they found themselves in front of an old ruined village. Time had not been kind to this area, as only the base foundations of buildings remained. The stonework was covered in black soot and dust and overgrown by the unattended grass and weeds.
Alucard looked around and spotted a nearby patch of familiar white flowers growing nearby.
"Those flowers…I've seen them before," Alucard said in a soft but sad tone. We walked over and squatted on his knees, gently touching the withe flowers.
"Well, they grow all over this area," Constantine claimed.
"My mother loved these flowers…as did a close friend of mine," Alucard said sadly.
"A Vampire lady who likes flowers? Now tell the one about a Vampire, a Werewolf and Frankenstein walking into a bar," Constantine mocked
Alucard shot Constantine a very dangerous warning glare and the sorcerer got the message and wisely shut up.
"Fine, stay here and smell the flowers. I'm going to take a look around," Constantine said and walked off.
Alucard turned his attention back to the flowers and Julius walked up to stand beside him.
"I know what happened to your mum, but what happened to your friend?" Julius asked. Once Constantine was out of hearing range.
"I don't know…but he most likely died when…." Alucard answered but trailed off.
"When your dad went mad,"
Alucard nodded.
"Yes, he was human too and he was not in the castle when I arrived with Trevor and Sypha," Alucard claimed. He remembered being disappointed that they did not see or run into his friend while storming Dracula's castle "Either he died while I was recovering or he lived and died after I locked myself and the castle away…either way, he would be long dead now,"
"Wouldn't your father have protected him?"
"Doubtful, he was not a general like the forge masters nor did he have any magical talents or abilities…my father would have had no use for him during his war except as food,"
"I'm sorry," Julius said sympathetically.
"Thank you… but I came to terms with his death centuries ago," Alucard assured.
He stood up and took one last sad look at the flowers before turning away from them.
"Come…we have a vampire to find," Alucard said and walked off in the direction Constantine had gone. Julius followed him.
Alucard and Julius caught up with Constantine and the three walked around the ruined village. Eventually, they came to the only building that was more than ruined stonework; a church. Like the rest of the area, it was overgrown and the graves had not been tended to and the carvings and writing on the stones had faded due to time.
The church itself had no roof or door and all the windows were broken and the glass had been long gone. However, the four outer walls remained; they weren't perfectly preserved but they were still standing.
"I think we have arrived," Constantine said.
"A church? I thought creatures of the night couldn't go onto sacred or hallowed ground?" Julius asked.
"They can if it's un-consecrated," Constantine answered "besides this s the only building in the area that doesn't look like a base for a Lego set,"
Alucard wanted to know what Lego was but instead he closed his eyes and focused his vampire hearing, listing for any sounds that they weren't alone or there mystery vampire was already here or not. He heard a sniffling nose and a soft whimpering.
"Someone's here," Alucard said snapping his eyes open.
The group quickly headed into the church. Inside the foundations were a lot of rubble, broken pews and support beams and tiles that had fallen when the roof collapsed. An over tuned Alter and broken holy relics. Alucard looked around the ruins trying to find where he had herd the small nose coming from. He raced over to a corner where some rubble and heavy stone was piled up.
"Something is under here," Alucard said.
"This will take forever to move," Julius said.
"Good thing I know a spell that reverses gravity in a small area," Constantine claimed, he reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll "It will get rid of this in no time,"
He was about to start reading it when Alucard moved forward and easily lifted the heavy stone blocks in one hand and tossed them away like they weighed nothing at all.
"Or we could do that," Constantine said and put the scroll back in his coat.
Once Alucard had removed the rubble a small trap door was revealed to be underneath. He opened it to find a small space and inside was a young blond girl bound and gagged, she looked up at the group in fear.
"That'...that's the last girl," Constantine said as he bent down to pull her out and sat her down on the stone floor "You're alright Luv, we got you,"
Alucard eyed her critically searching for any signs of injury.
"She does not appear to be injured," Alucard observed. He then gently moved her hair away from her neck and the girl flinched at the touch "No bite marks either,"
"Of course not, I was expecting guests," a new voice said.
Julius, Alucard, and Constantine turned around and there sitting behind them on one of the few intact pews was a young man with short purple hair wearing a nice white sleeved shirt with purple vest and black pants. His eyes were red and two small fangs were seen coming out of his mouth.
Alucard stared at the stranger frozen in complete and utter shock. The stranger stood up and walked up to the group, both Constantine and Julius got on guard but Alucard made no move...in fact, he was completely and utterly frozen. The young man stopped about ten feet away from them, his eyes solely focused on Alucard.
"Hello Master Adrian...it has been too long," the young man said doing a respectful bow.
"It...It can't be..." Alucard said in shock.
"Adrian...who's Adrian?" Constantine asked.
"L... Lyudmil..."Alucard whispered ignoring Constantine "you are...you are alive?"
"Well...not exactly, I'm sort of on the other side of the spectrum these days," Lyudmil said,
Constantine and Julius looked between Alucard and the vampire that had appeared before them.
"I'm sorry did I miss something?" Constantine asked "do you know this bloke Twilight?"
"Alucard who is that?" Julius asked
"Alucard? Why are you going by that name?" Lyudmil asked "Your mother and father hated it,"
"Say what now?" Constantine asked confused.
"Lyudmil...how are you here?" Alucard asked.
"I'm confused. Who is he and can we go back to that name thing?" Constantine asked.
"Don't you remember Adrian? I am here today all because of you" Lyudmil said, as they were both ignoring Constantine.
"I...I don't understand" Alucard said.
"Okay ignoring the whole name thing, for now. But judging by this girl's reaction I think it's safe to say this is the vampire we're looking for," Constantine said.
Alucard looked at Lyudmil in shock. He then looked down at the girl behind them who was struggling to get away from the newcomer and staring at him in fear. She was close to crying.
"Lyudmil...you didn't kill those girls...did you?" Alucard asked.
"Of course I did, I had to feed after all," Lyudmil answered.
"But...why did you leave them in those towns?" Julius asked.
"To frame Lord Adrian of course," Lyudmil said.
"Frame Twilight?" Constantine asked.
"Well he is the only vampire left and if humans started showing up dead drained of all their blood I knew it would get his attention,"
"I don't understand, why would you do that?" Alucard asked.
"And who is Adrian?" Constantine asked again and again was ignored.
"When I heard you had sided with the humans I was shocked. The very idea that someone of your lineage would lower yourself to such filth is...disgusting" Lyudmil spat out in disgust.
"Okay now I am really confused," Constantine sighed "Is there someone else who can explain what is going on?"
"Lyudmil...you have to listen to me..." Alucard tried.
"Listen to you?" A new voice called out.
The group then watched as an imp-like man with red skin emerged from the shadows, his hair was black with a silky sheen, he also wore a particularly tight leather suit. He had large bat wings coming out of his back, small horns sticking out of the top of his head and a tail hanging out the back.
"Why would he listen to you? Since you are the one who turned him in the first place," the stranger said and landed next to Lyudmil.
"I'm sorry who the bloody hell are you?" Constantine asked.
"That's an Incubus," Julius gasped.
"And I am certain he runs that brothel we were at," Alucard stated.
"Indeed I am, Magnus at your service," Magnus said with a bow "I must say it is an honor that our prince visited my humble establishment. Had I known I would have prepared…something special for the mortals,"
"Look mate I'm flattered but I don't swing that way," Constantine said "also is no one else going to ask about what he means buy a prince visiting his brothel,"
Everyone in the chapel gave him a deadpan look.
"What?" Constantine asked.
"He doesn't know," the Magnus stated.
"Know what?" Constantine responded.
"Lord Adrian….did you not tell your servant who you were?" Lyudmil asked in surprise.
Constantine looked between the vampire at his side and the one opposite him. He then looked at Julius, who was focused on the two in from of them. It appeared that he was the only one who was left out.
"Is there something you want to tell me Twilight?" Constantine asked "something that would make this whole conversation make more sense,"
"Not right now, no," Alucard answered "and I have no idea what you are talking about Magnus, I could not have turned Lyudmil…my fangs have never touched his throat. I don't even know if I have the power to create a vampire,"
Constantine raised an eyebrow at that.
"Are you sure about that?" Magnus asked.
He then formed a ball of energy in his hand before shooting it at Alucard with such speed he was unable to avoid it when it hit the vampire his eyes rolled into the back of his head and collapsed to the ground.
"Alucard," Julius yelled "Twilight!" Constantine cried out at the same time.
Flashback
Alucard was hurt, he didn't know why but the pain from was coming from his chest and it was unbearable. Even though he was a vampire he could feel the wound and it wasn't healing.
He also felt like he was moving and arms around him, it was very hard to focus as he could hear a voice talking to him but could not make out what was being said.
"Don't worry master, we're almost at the gates," the voice said again.
Alucard lifted his head slightly and looked up to see he was being carried by someone. A human, though he could not make out the human or what they looked like. One thing he did know was he was hungry…very hungry.
He was hurt, in pain and hungry; Alucard knew the only way to start recovering was to feed. Blood would heal him, blood would make heal him, blood would make him stronger and above all blood would fill his starving belly.
He reached out and in one swift movement, he had flipped the human who was carrying him onto the ground and held him there. Panting in both the pain and from the excitement of being able to feed Alucard leaned in closer to the prone human.
"Master…Adrian what are you doing?" the human asked in shock as he leaned closer and opened his mouth.
"No don't, Lord Adrian...wait please!" Lyudmil begged as Alucard sunk his fangs into Lyudmil's neck.
End Flashback
Alucard groaned and opened his eyes to see both Julius and Constantine hovering over him with worry on their faces. He sat up and placed his hand on his forehead; trying to make sense of what he had just seen.
"You okay Twilight?" Constantine asked.
"No...I don't believe it" Alucard responded in horror "I…I could never…"
"It doesn't matter if you believe it or not the fact is he is a vampire and you are his sire," Magnus said.
"I…I would not condemn anyone to such a fate," Alucard claimed. Though he was now very unsure.
"It is nowhere near as horrible fate as when you killed Dracula and condemned us all to hell!" Lyudmil shot back.
Constantine froze and stared at Alucard.
"You did what?" Constantine whispered.
"And then after slaying Lord Dracula even though you stole your father's place as Lord of Castlevania, you have yet to finish his work. But that wasn't enough for you…you took his name, you coward!" Lyudmil yelled
"I'm sorry did he just say your dad was Dracula?" Constantine asked "Dracula is...was real?"
"You mean you didn't know," Julius stated smugly.
"YOU DID!?" Constantine yelled.
"Of course,"
"But now you can take your rightful place and continue your father's dream of wiping away the human scourge that plagues the earth," Lyudmil said.
"This is a really weird night," Constantine nodded in agreement.
"No," Alucard declared and he stood back up.
"What?" Magnus asked dangerously.
"I will not continue my father's work," Alucard said seriously.
"And why not? with you power and the powers of Castlevania you could easily wipe them all out," Lyudmil said "and I will be by your side just as it should be,"
"My father thought the humans were easy targets too...he thought he would have no trouble getting rid of every last one," Alucard "but in the end...it was he who us, the creatures of the night that were defeated in the end and the humans won,"
"Only because you sided with them, you gave them the power overthrow us and win the wat," Magnus said.
"It wasn't a war it was genocide," Alucard shot back "Someone had to stand up, someone had to end the madness,"
"It wasn't madness it was paradise, humans fled for their lives. We fed endlessly and played with our food and never ever got tired of hearing them scream or beg for their miserable lives,"
Constantine and Julius could not believe what they were hearing.
Lyudmil listen...the humans need to be left alone," Alucard "this isn't our world,"
"It was once and you can make it ours again," Lyudmil claimed "Unleash your fathers' armies, free his legions of hell and let them finish what they started 500yrs ago,"
"Never, I may not have had the power to stop my father before but I have the power to stop history from repeating itself," Alucard said drawing his sword.
"Hmm...see Lyudmil he doesn't care about you or what you want,"
"You were right...the humans have tainted him," Lyudmil agreed.
Magnus did not point out the fact that Alucard was already tainted with his human blood in him but he decided against it as he could not take on Alucard by himself. However, he merely smiled wickedly.
"Well we could always show him the error of his ways...you'd like that wouldn't you Lyudmil?" Magnus teased.
"Yes...very much so," Lyudmil agreed.
"In that case while you work with our wayward prince, I will have some fun with the other two," Magnus smiled and looked at Constantine and Julius predatory.
"I...I don't like the way he's looking at us," Julius said uncomfortably.
"Yeah me neither," Constantine said and took a few steps back "you do know how to use that whip of yours right?"
"Oh a whip...how fun," Magnus said happily.
"I...I don't think I want to use it now," Julius said.
The incubus summoned his own nine-tailed whip, it was short and black and he neither Constantine or Julius liked the look in his eye.
"So boys...let a real master of the whip show you how to use it," Magnus said and he charged straight at Julius and Constantine.
"Julius," Alucard cried out, he was about to rush forward and defend the Belmont heir but a flash of purple caught his eye and he instantly blocked a blow from Lyudmil who had drawn his own sword and attacked the vampire prince.
"heh...your skills haven't decade at all," Lyudmil complemented "Just what I would expect from the son of Dracula,"
"Lyudmil wait we don't have to fight...give up on this foolishness. Come and live with me again," Alucard tried.
"Oh so now you care...Now you want me to live with you?" Lyudmil yelled angrily and attacked again.
Alucard blocked blow after blow, he was a bit off guard as he did not recall Lyudmil ever being so skilled in swordplay before and he was also hesitant about attacking him.
"All that time you were with your father...off studying magic, off learning how to fight...I was learning too," Lyudmil claimed "I spent many long days and nights with Hector learning how to fight...to defend you and you repay me by abandoning me and trading me in for someone else,"
"No...Whatever made you think that I would trade you for someone else?" Alucard asked.
"You really want to know? I saw you...I saw you with them," Lydmil yelled angerly.
Flashback
Lyudmil was walking through the forest; he was close to the main road leading towards Tragovise, but not so close that he would be seen by any who still used it. He wasn't supposed to be out here, he was supposed to be in the castle.
Most of the vampires didn't know why Lord Dracula kept him around. Lyudmil was not a general nor did he have any particular talents in battle. He had only been turned into a vampire a little over a year ago and had not broken his human habits; he had yet to master any of his vampiric powers.
But the order for him to stay in the castle had come from Lord Dracula himself, so no one questioned it. There was a rumor going around that Dracula favored Lyudmil like he did the human foragemasters. But unlike the foragemasters Dracula didn't give him any attention, he didn't call Lyudmil to his side and the number of times the vampire king had spoken to Lyudmil since he was turned could be counted on one hand.
Lyudmil was also forbidden to take part in any battle, raid or strategy meeting and was only allowed to patrol the Castlevania grounds. But here he was, out walking through the dense forests; Lyudmil knew if he was caught there would be dire consequences.
However, he had overheard an interesting rumour Adrian had been spotted. The night Gresit was supposed to fall, not long before dawn, Adrian had been seen fighting off the night hoard. No one had seen the Prince in a year, having fled Draculas rage the night his mother had been killed.
Many, including Lord Dracula had believed Prince Adrian had died, succumbing to the devastating injury that his father had dealt him in a fit of rage and grief. At first Lyudmil had dismissed the rumor as nothing more than mere gossip; however, sightings of the thought to be deceased prince kept being reported. What was even more disturbing was that Prince Adrian seemed to be traveling with a Belmont and a Speaker Magician.
So Lyudmil snuck out of the castle to find the lost Prince and confirm whether it was Adrian or an imposter.
On one hand, Lyudmil was convinced that if it was Prince Adrian than he would return to the castle to join his father's campaign. After all it was no secret that Prince Adrian adored his mother as much as Lord Dracula did; surely he would want to wipe out the humans who had murdered her.
On the other hand, if it was an imposter Lyudmil would not stand for it and deal with whoever was posing as him.
Lyudmil watched the battle in awe; he could not believe his eyes. The reports had been true, Prince Adrian was alive and he was right in front of him.
'It's him...it's really him. Lord Adrian's alive, he survived,' Lyudmil thought happily '
Lyudmil watched the battle and once the demons had been slain he was about to reveal himself, however a before he could a new voice made him hesitate.
"Oi Fangs, you still alive?" a gruff voice yelled.
Lyudmil watched as Alucard looked over towards the source of the voice and saw a brown-haired human walk towards him; he was accompanied by a female speaker in blue robes. Lyudmil's eyes went wide as he spied the Belmont crest on the man's shirt.
"I am unharmed," Alucard responded "I am more than a match for such low-level demons,"
"Oh, so these were the expendable ones huh…good to know," Trevor stated.
"Will we encounter bigger and stronger demons as we travel?" Sypha asked.
"I suppose…though it will not be until we are close to the castle," Alucard claimed "The bigger and tougher ones are used as castle guards,"
"And here I thought a vampire king would have vampires guarding his creepy vampire castle," Trevor sighed.
"My father is not overly fond of opening his castle to other vampires and dose so only when necessary," Alucard stated "he does not trust them…and the few he does he keeps at arm's length,"
"Good to know, shall we get going?" Trevor asked "we have an undead dictator to kill…empisise on the word dick,"
"Trevor," Sypha scolded.
"Belmont is right Sypha…we must move on," Alucard said and looked in Lyudmils direction "we are being watched after all,"
"Where?" Trevor demanded and got his whip ready.
Alucard pointed to where Lyudmil was hiding and Lyudmil turned and ran, he didn't care about being stealthy, he just wanted to getaway. Alucard, Trevor and Sypha herd the bushes ruffle and the sound of someone running in the trees but the sounds indicated that whoever it was watching them was fleeing from the trio.
"Whatever it is it's running away," Sypha said "What was it?"
"A vampire….I think," Alucard responded.
"Should we be worried?"
"No…it was a low ranked one. Possibly one that had been turned recently," Alucard claimed.
"Are they still there?" Sypha asked.
"No…they have fled and it would waste too much time and energy to go after them," Alucard stated "Perhaps we should cover our tracks from now on,"
Lyudmil ran for a good hour and once he was sure that he was not being followed he stopped to gather his thoughts. Lyudmil knew he would not be able to hide his presence from Prince Adrian, however, he did not expect his friend to give his position away, and to a Belmont no less.
"Why…why would he do that?" Lyudmil asked himself "Just what did the humans do to him?"
After a few moments, Lyudmil started heading back to the Castlevaina. If he was lucky he would be able to get back before Prince Adrian arrived and warn Lord Dracula and his generals.
End Flashback
"I saw you with that speaker witch and that hunter...a hunter Adrian how could you...hunters have tried to kill you before and you just run off with one," Lyudmil yelled and his attacks increased.
Alucard jumped back and landed a few feet away from the other vampire.
"You saw us…how?" Alucard asked.
"After I overheard rumors of your survival, I went to find out if they were true or not. I looked for you and when I found you I watched you kill some of the night hordes on the road,"
"You were the vampire spying on us?" Alucard gasped "Why didn't you come out from hiding?"
"I was going to but then you revealed my location to that Belmont and Speaker you were with…A Belmont Adrian. How could you trade me away for a Belmont and a lowly Speaker,"
"You misunderstand...Trevor and Sypha were my friends," Alucard defended.
"So was I...Did I mean nothing to you?" Lyudmil shouted angrily.
"I thought you were dead," Alucard claimed.
"I was dead and you brought me back," Lyudmil yelled and he launched at Alucard again. He continued to lash out at Alucard with his blade, each strike was stronger than the last; yet Alucard did nothing but defend. This only enraged Lyudmil further.
"Lyudmil stop…Please, you need to stop," Alucard tried "Let me explain things,"
"You want to explain things…fine. Then explain why are you holding back... where is your magic...your strength your teleportation...fight me like you fought your father!" Lyudmil cried out.
"Wait, Twilight has what powers now?" Constantine asked, he was trying to stay out of reach of the incubus' whip as and he was still very confused as to how Alucard knew these people and now he was hearing of powers that Alucard had that are exclusively to extremely high ranked vampires.
"Because I don't want to hurt you," Alucard tried.
"Too late," Lyudmil cried "Five hundred and twenty-five years too late,"
Constantine made a mental note to ask Alucard about it later...if he survived the incubus first.
"Come now boys let's have some fun," Magnus said in a way that made his opponents feel very uncomfortable.
The incubus then lashed his cat of nine tails at Constantine and Julius, the young Belmont dodged out of the way while Constantine summoned a magical barrier of golden light to block the attack.
"You've probably heard this before, but no means no," Constantine said before shooting bolts of magical energy at the incubus who quickly dodged the attack.
"True, but I never listen," Magnus said before charging at Constantine and attempting to strike him with his cat of nine tails.
"Well if that's not the shocker of the century," Constantine said as he jumped away from the whip.
As Constantine and Alucard battled Lyudmil and Magnus, Julius stood off to the side battling his own insecurities and doubts in his abilities.
"I've got to do something," Julius said out loud as he watched the fight.
"I can't just stand here, Trevor wouldn't stand around and do nothing," Julius continued, he then grabbed his family whip from his belt. Julius reeled back his arm in an attempt to strike at Magnus but when he tried to throw his whip forward he was met with tension as if someone was holding onto the whip.
"What the...oh come on!" Julius yelled when he looked behind him and saw his whip was wrapped around one of the stone crosses.
"Let go!" Julius yelled as he tugged on his whip, trying to get it free.
While the young Belmont tried to untangle his weapon and Constantine battled the incubus, Alucard continued to match blows with his old friend.
"Stop holding back!" Lyudmil yelled as he lashed out with his sword, though Alucard continue to block the strikes.
"Lyudmil listen, what you are planning is futile…I will never unleash my father's armies," Alucard claimed.
"The humans have made you soft! They've made you weak!" Lyudmil yelled "If you were even half the vampire you are meant to be then you would have stood by your father and aided him in his revenge,"
"No...if anything they've made me stronger," Alucard said the two continued to trade blows with their swords "And you should know better than anyone that I am half the vampire I am meant to be,"
Alucard contemplated using his magic but he did not wish to permanently harm his friend.
"Lyudmil I am half vampire but I am also half-human…do you have any idea how hard it was for me to choose humanity over the night?"
"It could not have been that hard since you chose the humans so readily,"
Lyudmil just listen to me…we can work this out," Alucard begged.
"There's nothing to work out; either one of us dies or you fulfill your destiny!" Lyudmil yelled he then charged at Alucard, the vampire prince instinctually swung his sword in an attempt to cut off Lyudmils head but quickly hesitated, giving Lyudmil the opportunity to slam Alucard against the wall and pin him.
"Now we..." Lyudmil stopped talking suddenly when he noticed something on Alucard's collar; he pushed some of the fabric away to reveal a tiny bat-shaped piece of metal.
"What is this?" Lyudmil asked as he plucked the piece of metal from Alucard's collar, Alucard took one look at it and his eyes widen.
Suddenly the building shook violently causing everyone to become off-balance, this gave Alucard the opportunity to kick Lyudmil away. Once freed Alucard looked up to see four spear-like objects had pierced the ceiling, they then split apart forming grappling hook heads before ripping the roof apart.
A blinding light filled the dark church, the occupants covered their eyes but once they adjusted they could see the Batwing hovering above the now roofless building, the cockpit opened and a dark figure shot out of the vehicle, the figure then landed in the church but remained hidden shadows.
Before anyone could react Batman pressed a button on his belt, the light that came from the batwing then turned a bright purple, suddenly Lyudmil let out a blood-curdling scream as his flesh started to burn and smoke drifted from his skin.
"What is this!" Lyudmil yelled in agony.
"Looks like Batsy is giving you the tanning salon treatment," Constantine smirked.
Magnus ran to Lyudmil and talked him into a nearby shadow, he attempted to cover him with his body; preventing the light from harming him further. Once they were out of the way Batman looked at Alucard and headed his way.
"Hey Batsy!" Constantine called out as he got in the Dark Knight's path "Look you're still not pissed about..."
Constantine didn't get to finish as Batman pulled a Taser from his belt and stabbed Constantine in the chest with it, the magic-user yelled in pain as the electricity ran through his body and caused his hair to stand up.
"Yep...you're still pissed," Constantine acknowledged before collapsing on the floor. Batman stepped over his body and continued to Alucard before stopping in front of the vampire and glared at him. Alucard looked at the lights for a moment and then turned his attention to Batman.
"Interesting, are these the lights that mimic sunlight you told me about?" Alucard asked
"Yes," Batman responded "Looks like they work on vampires,"
"A light that mimics the effects of Sunlight that can be used at night…yet it still doesn't affect me," Alucard said intrigued "Truly humans had come a long way,"
"They were not for you," Batman said before picking up the tracking device Lyudmil had dropped and showed it to Alucard "This also acts as a microphone,"
"Ah that explains it...you heard?"
"Care to explain why another vampire is running around?" Batman asked.
Before Alucard could answer he heard something approach from the air, Alucard looked up and saw the rest of the Justice League heading his way.
"Batman you really should wait for the rest of us," Superman said as he and the others landed.
"How is it that you all have the ability fly faster than any rocket, yet I'm always the first one to respond and arrive to threats like this?" Batman asked.
"You were not very clear in your message," J'onn claimed.
"Perhaps you should try listening harder then," Batman snapped back.
Alucard eyed Batman and the rest of the League, they were positioned around him and he knew that it would be very difficult to escape from them. He also knew that they would have an advantage over him if a fight broke out.
Alucard took a glance at both Magnus and Lyudmil; they both appeared to be hiding from the UV lights. But the rest of the League was either ignoring their presence or they no longer considered them a threat. Alucard didn't know which but he knew to count a demon or any creature of the night out while t was still breathing (or not in Lyudmils case) was a very deadly mistake.
One he would not make.
"Where is Flash?" Alucard asked, noticing that Flash was not amongst the League.
"Watchtower infirmary," Wonder Woman answered "Batman knocked him out,"
"Why?"
"He drew on my face and cowl when you left me immobilised," Batman growled.
"I did not tell him to do that," Alucard said quickly.
"So who is that," Green lantern asked and gestured to Constantine "and who are they," He added and looked at Lyudmil and Magnus.
Before Alucard could explain what was going on Julius got his whip free and came over ready and eager to fight.
"Ah ha...now you will feel my..." Julius declared but he looked around and realised that he wasn't needed "Oh...is the fight over?"
"And who's the kid?" Hawk Girl added to Green Lanterns line of questioning.
"Oh wow...you're the Justice League," Julius said in awe.
"That's us," Green Lantern responded.
"Did he bring you out here or hurt you in any way?" Superman asked and gestured at Alucard.
"What are you talking about? Alucard would never hurt anyone from my family," Julius claimed.
"How do you know his name?" Hawk Girl asked.
Before Julius could answer a large fireball at the Ultraviolet machines and they exploded causing debris to fall onto the inhabitants. The tied up girls eyes widened in fear as a large chunk of metal fell towards her. However before it hit the green energy caught the derbies and was lifted away, Superman ran over to the girl and used his super speed to get her to safety before coming back in about three seconds.
The league looked over and saw Magnus had a hand raised and pointed towards Batman's plane. He fired another fireball spell.
"Hellfire," Alucard cried out and threw his own spell, it intercepted Magnus and the two collided in an explosion.
"Wait...how did he..." Batman asked
"Magic... get away from here now," Alucard advised.
Alucard looked past Magnus at Lyudmil and saw that he was getting back up and now that the Ultraviolet rays had gone Lyudmils injuries were very slowly starting to heal. However Alucard knew he would be weak until he had fed again.
Lyudmil was not the only one who was getting back up as Constantine had recovered from Batman's Taser.
"Too late to flee," Manus said and he flew towards the league.
However before he could reach them Julius moved n front of the heroes and cracked his whip, the holy weapon hit the demon's arm and it was not only severed but also exploded. Magnus screamed in agony from the contact with the mythical whip and was thrown across the church.
"Hey, I hit him," Julius said happily as Magnus writhed in pain.
"Holy shit," Constantine said in shock "you not only took his arm off but blew it up,"
Magnus forced himself up and glared at the young man with hatred and contempt.
"That whip...a Belmont...YOUR A BELMONT!" Magnus screamed in rage.
"Yeah what of it?" Julius shot back.
The incubus turned to look at Lyudmil; they had to take him out first.
"Lyudmil he's a Belmont. His family is the one who turned our prince against us," Magnus claimed.
"But that hunter would have died centuries ago," Lyudmil claimed as he stood up.
"He must be a descendant," Magnus claimed "the fact that he wields that whip is proof. We must deal with him, all Belmonts are the enemies of the night,"
"I see...then he dies," Lyudmil declared "But first,"
Lyudmil floated up to into the sky and raised both his hands; a large dark blood-red coloured sphere formed just above his hand and he aimed it at the Justice League, Constantine and Julius. It was rapidly growing in size and would easily take out the whole group.
'That spell...only vampire lords can do that...did I...did I really kill and turn my only friend?' Alucard thought.
"What is that?" Superman asked.
"Oh that's not good," Constantine said and took a few steps back "we should run,"
He turned intending to flee from whatever spell Lyudmil was casting only for a ring of Fire to surround the group. J'onn collapsed from being so close to the flames and Superman pulled him to the center of the circle and found that even he was recoiling from the intense magical heat.
"Don't think you can escape that easily," the Incubus said wickedly. He then looked up to the sky "Lyudmil, kill them all and end the Belmont Line,"
"With pleasure," Lyudmil responded and he threw the dark ball of energy at the group below.
The League were at a loss on what to do, they could not escape the flames as they were too hot for even superman to pass through and if they tried to escape by air they would hit Lyudmils spell. However, if they did nothing then the spell would hit them anyway.
Green Lantern put up an energy barrier, however he did not know if it would hold or make any difference. However, before it could fully form Alucard jumped up in front of the large energy ball and took the full brunt of the spell.
"GAHHHHHHH!" Alucard screamed and was blasted away through the wall of the church and slammed through several gravestones before landing a fair way away from the church. Alucard moaned and twitched from the blast and the landing.
The shockwave from the spell colliding with Alucard was enough to extinguish the ring of fire.
"I...I don't understand...why would he...why would he do that?" Lyudmil asked.
Magnus smiled.
"Well done Lyudmil," Magnus smirked and floated over towards the fallen Vampire prince.
"Get away from him," Julius yelled and charged at the incubus; snapping Lyudmil out of his thoughts.
He watched at Magnus swatted the boy away with ease after taking a stake from him, Magnus then used his foot to shift Alucard onto his back, he sat on and held the stake above his heart.
Lyudmil instantly forgot about everyone else and raced over to Magnus.
"Wait stop, this wasn't the plan," Lyudmil claimed as he landed behind the incubus "We need him to free the armies of hell,"
"Armies of hell?" Superman asked worriedly.
"Yeah, you blokes missed all the important bits," Constantine commented.
"Who cares if he won't do it then I will kill him. Besides we don't need him anymore," Magnus claimed.
"I don't understand," Lyudmil said.
"Don't you get it, he sired you. You're his vampire offspring if he dies then you have claim to Castlevania, you can unseal Lord Dracula's armies yourself,"
"Dracula's…armies?" Hawk Girl asked. Unsure if she had heard correctly.
Lyudmils eyes went wide, he hadn't thought of that.
"N...No..." Alucard said weakly "you…you can't…you can't bring them back…"
"But…if that's the case then...luring him out here was never about bringing him back to our side," Lyudmil realised.
"Of course not, what respectable creature of the night would follow him. He's a half breed. It is repulsive to think that our Master, The great Lord Dracula, King of Darkness would ever breed with a human; let alone produce heir," Magnus said in disgust.
"The only reason you killed those girls and left them lying around was to kill this traitor. Besides you're much more powerful than he could ever be...you're a pure-blooded vampire, not a filthy half breed," Magnus said "Once this filth is dead the humans will follow,"
"No..." Lyudmil said softly.
"What?"
"I said no...You WILL NOT HARM LORD ADRIAN!" Lyudmil screamed in rage
Alucard smiled, it appeared his old friend was still in there. Lyudmil summoned his sword and attempted to strike Magnus however his blade was caught by the incubus tail.
"Humph, I would have thought you would have been more corporative...after all you wanted revenge,"
"On the humans, not on Lord Adrian,"
"It matters not, all that matters is he dies so Lord Dracula can return," Magnus claimed "So my prince," he added mockingly "any last words?"
Alucard took a quick glance at the league and then looked directly up at the incubus.
"Do you know the two differences between you and me?" Alucard asked.
"Excuse me?" Magnus responded. He clearly was not expecting a question.
"Vampires are far stronger and more powerful than sex demons," Alucard answered.
"Yet I am the one with a stake over your heart," Magnus sneered.
"True…but that is only one difference. Do you know the other?" Alucard asked.
"I'm not a filthy half breed,"
Alucard reached out with his mind and his sword flew through the air at a high speed, Magnus turned to look and his eyes widened just as the blade sliced his head off. Alucard skilfully caught the sword in his hand.
"I have a sword," Alucard smirked as the incubus body hit the ground.
Alucard pushed the decapitated body off him and picked up the wooden stake. He stood up and turned to look directly at Lyudmil. The other vampire took a step back as Alucard walked over and stopped in front of him.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No, I'm..."
"Good," Alucard said and sheathed his sword "I…I apologise,"
"For what?"
"Turning you into a vampire," Alucard claimed "it is not something I ever wanted to...I hope you will forgive me,"
Lyudmil was in shock, after everything he had done to Alucard, betraying him, attacking him, trying to kill the other humans who were aiding him; all that and it was Alucard who was apologising and asking for Lyudmils forgiveness.
"I don't understand why are you apologising...why are you asking me for forgiveness when I'm the one who betrayed you?" Lyudmil asked "You nearly died because of me,"
"I know...but this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't bitten you," Alucard claimed.
"Five hundred years have done nothing to that noble personality or yours I see," Lyudmil sighed "Still...how did you know summoning your sword like that would work?"
"When I was younger…I had a very close and good friend who convinced me to practice controlling my sword with my mind. He said I should always have a way to access my weapon even if I was ever disarmed or forced to part with it," Alucard said with a smile "he always gave the best advice,"
Lyudmil blushed out of embarrassment and smiled.
"Oh...umm I try but..." Lyudmil stuttered but was interrupted when Alucard grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I am relieved to see you…and happy you have returned," Alucard said.
"It is good to see you too Lord Adrian," Lyudmil said "I fear I have much to answer for,"
"Yes…you do. But we will figure it out," Alucard said.
"I do not think these humans will understand," Lyudmil said "especially the scary one,"
"He is very...set in his ways," Alucard agreed.
"I do not believe this will end well for me," Lyudmil said.
Alucard glanced back over at the Justice League; he had to agree with Lyudmil this would not end well for him.
nodded and followed Alucard back up to the church where the rest of the league was waiting
"So, does anyone want to explain what is going on?" Superman asked.
"Alucard didn't kidnap and kill those girls," Batman spoke up.
"You believe me now?" Alucard asked.
"No I believe the evidence," Batman said. He then pulled out what looked like a tape recorder and pressed a button.
'Lyudmil...you didn't kill those girls...did you?' Alucard's voice asked from the device.
"Of course I did, I had to feed after all," Lyudmils voice followed, Batman pressed the button stopping the recording.
"A Vampires image doesn't show up on film, but your voices come in loud and clear," Batman claimed.
"What magic is this?" Lyudmil gasped "What kind of warlock are you that you can replay voices and words that have already spoken?"
"It is called Technology," Alucard stated "humans have developed much of it in the last five centuries,"
"Technology…what a fascinating form of magic. Truly the scary one must be a great and powerful sorcerer indeed," Lyudmil admired.
Batman raised his eyebrow at that and Superman had to hold in his lather at the thought of Batman being a great sorcerer. If flash were with them he would get a kick out of this conversation.
"Huh…Deja Vu," Green Lantern commented.
"Well looks like Batsy got you cold on that Bat Record of his," Constantine said before resting his arm on Batman's shoulder.
"Take it off or I will break it off," Batman warned and Constantine quickly backed away.
"You have some explaining to do. Why did you kidnap and kill those women?" Wonder Woman asked.
"I do not need to explain myself you harlot," Lyudmil shot back.
"What did you just call her?" Hawk Girl demanded.
"Lyudmil," Alucard warned.
"Fine, I did it to frame Lord Adrian of course," Lyudmil responded.
"Who's Adrian?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Lord Adrian to you," Lyudmil hissed "How dare you, a woman question me or even speak his name without the proper title or even permission to open your mouth,"
Hawk Girl narrowed her eyes.
"Diana you hold him and I'll hit him with my mace," Hawk Girl said and activated her mace "After ten minutes we'll switch,"
"Agreed," Wonder Woman responded.
"Adrian is…my real name," Alucard stated. The League turned in the vampire's direction.
"Really?" J'onn asked.
"Did you truly believe my parents named me Alucard upon my birth?" Alucard asked surprised.
"Uh…kind of," Superman admitted sheepishly.
"So if this guy's a vampire then who is he?" Hawkgirl asked and looked over at Constantine.
"Tell you what Luv, how about you and I go out for drinks later and you can learn all you want about me," Constantine said with a sly smile.
"After we're done with the vampire, your next," Hawkgirl threatened.
"That's John Constantine, he's an exorcist and demonologist who specializes in the occult arts." Batman supplied.
"How do you know Constantine?" Julius asked.
"Batsy and I have worked one or two cases together. But that's all water under the bridge, right Batsy?" Constantine asked. Batman gave Constantine a glare that clearly said the water wasn't under the bridge.
"Okay, and who's the kid?" Green Lantern asked.
"I'm..."
"Julius Belmont, ten years old from Wessex England, grandson of Richter Belmont, heir to the Belmont fortune and legacy," Batman explained.
Julius looked at the Dark Knight in shock "Wow...are you a psychic?" he asked.
"No, your grandfather filed a missing person report with Scotland Yard," Batman claimed.
"He...he did?"
"According to the official report he made statement,"
"Batman have you been hacking into international police files again?" Superman asked.
"What kind of statement?" Julius asked, ignoring Superman.
"You damn coppers better find my bloody grandson so I can teach him a lesson" Batman quoted. Julius' face turned a paler shade than both vampires who were standing nearby; he turned to look at the Vampire prince.
"Can I live with you in Castlevaina for a while?" Julius pleaded.
"How long is a while?" Alucard asked.
"The rest of my natural life," Julius claimed.
"No…I think it is best if you go home,"
"But Grandpa is scary when he's mad,"
"None the less I cannot take you to my castle," Alucard claimed "I like living and you Belmonts have a habit of killing my kind,"
"That's right kid, leave the big scary castle to the adults," Constantine said.
Alucard narrowed his eyes.
"You are not getting in either," Alucard claimed.
"Why not? Don't you trust me?" Constantine asked.
"No," Alucard said flatly "I would not trust anyone with the knowledge that is in Castlevaina,"
"What...even after everything we've been through?" Constantine asked in a fake hurt tone.
"I will not let them in them into my castle unless absolutely necessary," Alucard said and gestured to the league "What makes you think I will let you in?"
"Because I'm much better looking," Constantine tried.
Alucard marched right up to Constantines' and leaned very close to his face so he was looking at the hunter directly in the eyes.
"Mark my words sorcerer, I will never ever give you access to my castle," Alucard said seriously.
"Oh well...I guess I'll just have to find my own way in," Constantine shrugged.
"You will never get in as long as I refuse to allow it. And even if you did you would be unable to obtain any knowledge," Alucard said seriously.
"That sounds like a challenge," Constantine grinned "Just so you know I have a habit of getting my way eventually,"
Alucard turned and headed back to the league and he explained everything.
Lyudmil confessed that it was he who was killing the girls and that he did it both out of spite and his own hatred for humanity as well as his necessity to feed.
He purposely left them their bodies to be found as a way of drawing Alucard out. Lyudmil also confessed that he had used his vampire powers to lure those men to the brothel and how he and Magnus had used the patrons to sate both there appetites. Alucard was a bit surprised as there were more deaths on Lyudmils hands than he first thought.
"But why would you go through all that trouble?" Superman asked.
"Because you turned Lord Adrian against us," Lyudmil claimed.
"Uhh...we did what now?" Green Lantern asked confused.
"But was it not Alucard who offered to lend his services to the Justice League?" J'onn asked.
"It was, we didn't force him the help us," Batman agreed.
"I believe Lyudmil is referring to what happened centuries ago…before I went to sleep," Alucard stated.
"So what happened over five centuries ago that would make you want to frame him now?" Superman asked.
"When the armies of darkness attacked, you humans took our prince away," Lyudmil explained "You took him from his rightful place and made him fight and kill his own kind,"
"Um…could someone clarify what that means please," Hawk Girl asked.
"There was a great war over five hundred years ago, the monsters back then were let loose on the people and began slaughtering them indscrimantly," Julius explained "Alucard fought in the war against the night with my ancestors,"
The League stared at Julius in shock. Superman, Green Lantern and Batman all thought back to what they knew about history and none of them could remember anything about a demon war.
"What year did this happen?" Superman asked.
"1476," Julius answered "Though I suppose it really started in 1475 when Dracula declared war the night his wife was murdered,"
"But that coincides…with the missing year of history," Green Lantern realised "About midway through 1475 nothing was recorded until early 1478. Historians and Scholars have always been baffled as to why,"
"That's right; no one wanted to remember it. Everyone was more concerned with survival, no one recorded it. After the war ended the church covered it up, not even they have records of that time period," Julius explained "My family and Alucard are the only ones who know what really happened…but even my family's records are pretty vague and limited on the subject,"
"Is this true?" Batman asked Alucard "Was there a war in the year where no history was recorded?"
"It was more akin to Genocide than an actual war...the church and already hunted down and killed anyone with the power and knowledge to stand against my father long before it started," Alucard explained "I did not know that the church completely erased it though…then again it does sound like something they would do,"
"But that doesn't explain why you believe we turned Alcuard against you," J'onn stated.
"At the start of the war…you humans took Lord Adrian away and turned him against us," Lyudmil explained "if it weren't for your corruption he would have stood by us and fought with us,"
"Lyudmil the humans didn't turn me against my own kind...in reality, my father did," he claimed.
"No your father loved you," Lyudmil argued.
"Do you not remember how my father nearly killed me in his grief?" Alucard asked "the night my mother died?"
Lyudmil looked down; he remembered very well, he had panicked when he saw Dracula standing over Alucard's bloodied body and an insane and raged look in his eyes.
"I remember," Lyudmil claimed "I thought Lord Dracula had killed you,"
"If you had not come when you did...he probably would have killed me," Alucard stated "I suppose I should thank you for getting me to my secret keep and putting me in my coffin,"
"Wait...what?" Lyudmil asked.
"The one under Gresit," Alucard clarified "The one I built in secret,"
"I...I never did that," Lyudmil claimed.
Alucard blinked in surprise.
"Surely it must have been you...who else would have known that I had built it. I made sure none of the other castles servants knew nor did my father,"
"Well someone must have known, I didn't take you there...after I got you just past the castle gates. I felt a massive pain in my back and then something pierce my neck. I wanted to keep going but I lost consciousness and when I woke up I was a vampire," Lyudmil claimed "But that was days later,"
"You...You were attacked while trying to get me out?" Alucard asked.
"Yes...when I woke up you were gone and no one could find you and nobody could explain how I was a vampire. I and everyone else always assumed it was you who turned me," Lyudmil claimed.
Alucard thought about what Lyudmil was saying, he did not have many memories of the night his father attacked him as he had been too injured to recall and lost conciseness shortly after. He supposed it might have been possible that he had instinctively grabbed Lyudmil and drank from him to ensure his survival...even if it sickened him to think that he would do something like that to his long-time friend.
But that would not explain why he became a Vampire. Alucard was only half-vampire and he did not know if there was enough vampire in him to turn someone. His father had once theorised that his mixed blood would dilute the effects of vampirism, making it impossible for Alucard to turn anyone. Though if a human was fed his blood they would likely still die, just not come back as a Vampire.
Alucard had no issue with that, it only meant that he would not be able to make more vampires; something he was very relieved about. Neither Alucard or Dracula had ever tried or tested what effect Alucards mixed blood had on humans; his mother had been against it and Alucard and Dracula were not going to risk angering her.
"I am sorry...my memories of that night are...hazy at best," Alucard said "I don't remember anything after my father attacking me,"
"Nothing at all?" Lyudmil asked in surprise.
"No...the last thing I recall is your voice begging me not to die," Alucard said "Days later when I finally regained conciseness I was in my keep, I always thought you had left me there as you were the only one I told where it was,"
"But I never made it...so...if I didn't put you in your keep then...who did," Lyudmil wondered.
"Well whoever it was they saved the world, if Alucard hadn't been in his secret keep than my ancestors never would have found him and by the time he had woken up on his own it would have been too late," Julius claimed "I for one am glad that he did get away,"
"Don't you dare speak to him as if you know him, worthless flea," Lyudmil snapped.
Julius frowned and Wonder Woman looked at Alucard.
"Do all vampires talk like that to humans?" she asked.
"Not all, most of them would not even bother speaking at all before ripping your skull out and using it as a beer mug," Constantine answered
The League looked horrified.
Alucard pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long moan.
"You know...I still haven't slain my first vampire," Julius said and he gripped his whip "I can rectify that,"
"Like something worthless as you could defeat me," Lyudmil snarled.
"Oh and there is the arrogance that vampires are famous for," Constantine added.
"I will rip your flesh from your bones," Lyudmil hissed "and feast on your organs,"
"As long as you keep we keep our clothes on mate, I've seen you're place of business and met your partner. Got to say not impressed,"
"Magnus was not my partner,"
"Oh, he was your Ex then. Well, don't worry too much mate. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that," Constantine smirked.
"Is there a way to shut him up?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Regrettably there isn't," Batman answered.
"Enough. There has been enough bloodshed this last week...let us not make more," Alucard intervened before a fight could break out.
"But he's a vampire," Julius whined.
"So am I,"
"Yeah but... you're a good vampire,"
"There is no such thing," Alucard claimed.
"It doesn't matter who is what, the fact is he killed 4 girls, he has to pay," Batman said.
"He's right...you're in the clear now but not him," Superman said.
Lyudmil hid behind Alucard.
"I was under the impression that there were no more vampires," J'onn said "or any other supernatural creature,"
"That...is a good point...how did you escape from hell?" Alucard asked Lyudmil.
"Um...well...I don't know...I heard a few of Lord Draculas generals escaped so everyone else tried to get out too...I didn't bother but then something pulled me out and the next thing I know Magnus is hovering above me with and telling me that he has a plan to free everyone but needs my help," Lyudmil claimed.
"Odd...incubus don't have that power..." Alucard said thoughtfully "Tell me which generals escaped from hell,"
"I...do not know, I tried to stay away from them. Even when I was alive," Lyudmil claimed "they were not fond of me even back then,"
"Small wonder why," Batman commented sarcastically.
"Alucard, I know he's your friend but he still has to answer for what he's done," Superman said.
"I know what he did was wrong, but..."
"But what?" Batman interrupted loudly gaining the attention of everyone in the church "What is it this time? Was he not loved enough as a child? Is his brain not wired right? Is it just in his goddamn nature?"
"Do you have any idea how many excuses I've heard for the reason why people act like complete monsters?" Batman demanded.
"I am not saying what he did was acceptable," Alucard tried.
"Then why are you defending him? No matter who's involved or where or when it's all the same," Batman continued "There's good and there's evil, there's right and wrong, innocent and guilty, injustice and vengeance. So I don't care if he's your best friend, twin brother, long lost second cousin twice removed, there's only one thing that separates him from the monster I deal with"
"And what is that?" Alucard challenged.
"Mine has a better smile," Batman said.
"That and the fangs, the immortally, deathly allergy to sunlight, the red eyes, the blood only diet, the godlike magic powers that come with being a vampire lord, sleeping in a coffin and oh…he's also a real Vampire," Constantine added.
Batman turned and shot Constantine one of his more terrifying glares that made the rest of the league wince. He then turned back to Alucard.
"Now are you going to stop me?" Batman asked.
"I did it once before," Alucard reminded.
"You're right you did stop me once, only once,"
"You have no idea what I am capable of,"
"You're right, I don't. But you have no idea how much I don't care,"
As the two continued their verbal showdown the other League members watched in worry unsure of what to do, at the same Constantine and Julius also watched though with unrelated opinions towards the situation.
"Is Alucard going to fight him?" Julius asked.
"God I hope so," Constantine said, he then conjured up a bowl of popcorn. "Come on Twilight! Box his pointy ears!" Constantine cheered excitedly and he shoved a handful of the buttery snack in his mouth.
"You're not helping!" Julius shouted.
"Lord Adrian wait," Lyudmil interrupted, causing both Alucard and Batman to look at him.
"The scary mortal is right...I have to answer for what I've done," Lyudmil claimed.
"Then you will come quietly and accept your fate?" Batman asked.
"Yes, but first I want to thank you Lord Adrian for your kindness all those centuries ago, thank you for everything and please...promise you won't lose your humanity like I did," Lyudmil requested.
"I won't, I promise," Alucard vowed.
"Good," Lyudmil smiled, he then snatched the wooden stake out of Alucard's hand and took a few steps back and pointed the stake towards his heart "Goodbye Lord Adrian…I love you," and he stabbed himself in the heart.
"NO!" Alucard cried but it was too late.
Alucard and the League watched as Lyudmils flesh and began to melt burn away, his body started to flake and in under a few seconds, Lyudmil turned to dust that quickly blew away in the wind leaving nothing but the wooden stake behind.