Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing the Darkness ❯ Chapter 2 - Rebirth ( Chapter 2 )

Author's Note - Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. It is heartening to read them. Here's the second chapter. I have mixed feelings about how it came out and may consider revising it in the future. Then again I may just be a pessimist…

 

Disclaimer - I have never and will never own Teen Titans

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2 - Rebirth

 

Laser powered handguns were first produced by weapons manufacturers several years ago. First they were distributed to military and law enforcement officials then one year later they were made available to the general public. It was hailed by many as the “safest” firearm money could buy. Its main selling point was the ability to regulate how powerful a blast it gave off. It was totally ineffective on its lowest setting, a stun gun on its medium setting, and it only truly became a lethal weapon when on its highest setting. By contrast an older gun is never anything but lethal. While members of the NRA initially and still do reject it in favor of older projectile weapons, a safety conscious public readily embraced ray guns. These days you'd be hard pressed to find anyone, cop or criminal, who doesn't use it as his or her primary weapon.

 

One man, however, took the concept and ran with it. He devised an entire suit capable of generating beams of light so powerful that, on one occasion, they melted an entire armored truck into a shapeless mass of steel. That man was Dr. Light. What I remember most about Dr. Light has nothing to do with the man, his personality, his abilities, or his goals. What I will always remember is the manner in which I defeated him.

 

I will always remember his screams, his pleas, his declarations of surrender, and how much I enjoyed it all. The twisted smile I wore throughout the whole ordeal was testament enough to that. Light had to spend some time in a psychiatric ward afterwards. It was one of the only times I've ever felt remorse for a villain. To this day whenever he tries something all I have to do is show up on the scene and he'll give up.

 

Sometimes I wonder if that thing that attacked Dr. Light was the real me. If maybe all these years all that I've been suppressing is my true self. That deep down I always have been and always will be “daddy's little girl.” It is then that I hurriedly dismiss all those thoughts and meditate to clear my mind. I am not a monster, I refuse to believe that I am, and I refuse to become one…

 

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There was peace…. yes there was, I remember that much although everything else is a total blank. While I am unable to recall where exactly I was after I'd lost consciousness I know that there was peace and that I was happy there. I then felt a profound feeling of displacement as the peace and happiness I felt were suddenly and violently shattered. It was then that, like a happy fish that is suddenly caught in a fisherman's net and dragged gasping to the suffocating surface, I awoke.

 

I felt incredibly disoriented, as though I'd just been awoken from a deep slumber. My memory of the night before was just as disoriented, bits and pieces here and there but nothing resembling a clear picture. My mind at first reasoned that I was sealed in a room whose perimeter was surrounded with fabric. It took me only a moment to realize that this was merely a white bed sheet that had been pulled up and over my head. Pulling the sheet down I found myself in a bed in the infirmary of Titans Tower. There were a total of five beds each mounted to the floor along the full length of the rectangular shaped room. On the wall over each bed was mounted a computer display that would show the patients vitals when turned on. The one over my bed was inactive.

 

Although my senses were fuzzy in these first few moments, I still could discern that the room was reasonably while a scant amount of sunlight came in through the drawn curtains. I also found it unusual that no one was here when I awoke. Even if the others hadn't been my friends it was simply common courtesy to at least have someone wait by my bed when I was in this state. But, what state was I in? Aside from slight pangs of hunger and a general feeling of exhaustion I felt perfectly fine. Why then had I awoken to find myself in the infirmary?

 

Propping myself up on my elbows, I attempted to sit up. As I lifted my body from the mattress I felt a slight stiffness in the left side of my neck. Once I'd moved myself completely into a sitting position I brought a hand to my neck and felt the cushiony material of a large bandage, the pressure I now applied to the region created a slight, dull ache.

 

Looking to my right I found my blue cloak hanging on a coat hook mounted upon the wall. Swinging my legs out from under the covers and off of the bed I found that whoever had taken off my cloak hadn't bothered to remove my shoes in the process. Despite my exhaustion I managed to stand quite easily upon the infirmary's tiled floor, only stumbling slightly as I attempted to walk. As I motioned to reclaim my cloak I stopped at the last moment as I noted the large bloodstain whose position on the left side at the collar matched the location of my bandage.

 

“I'll just get another when I get back to my room,” I spoke aloud.

 

It was now that a faint sound finally pierced the silent din that had hung over this room since the moment I'd awoken. It seemed to emanate from the supply closet at the other end of the room. As I listened closely to the sound I soon realized that I was hearing voices, specifically those of my teammates. Whatever their conversation, it was muffled by whatever distance lay between us. Yet, above the muffled dialogue I could discern one clear sound. I could hear someone crying. From the slight traces of her voice that leaked into each painful sob I could tell that the one I heard was Starfire.

As I stood there wondering what she could be crying about, the answer finally came to me and gave my situation some semblance of sense at last. The fact that I'd awoken alone in the infirmary, finding all the equipment shut off, the bed sheet pulled over my body, and Starfire's crying all seemed to point to one ridiculous (at the time) conclusion. They'd thought I was dead.

 

I wanted to laugh. Here I was feeling perfectly fine in the infirmary and they were just a few feet away mourning my apparent death. Yet, at the same time I felt for them a great reverence. In spite of my personality, my mannerisms, and how unapproachable I must have seemed they still cared about me this much. I wanted very much to alleviate their pain, to let them know that I was alright. With that goal in mind I strode across the full length of the room towards the door to the supply closet. While it did seem unusual that they should be in there I ventured a guess that they'd gone in there after my apparent death to discuss the situation while still being close to my body.

 

Once I'd reached the door I took hold of the knob cautiously. I had no way of knowing how they'd react to my miraculous revival. I wondered whether they'd be shocked or overjoyed upon seeing me. I would certainly be interesting to see their reactions. With that thought, I slowly opened the door and stepped over the threshold.

 

“You know, you really should wait before jumping to conclusions about my health. See, I'm not…dead,” I found the room to be totally devoid of life. My teammates were nowhere to be found. The supply closet wasn't so much a closet as it was a small room adjacent to the infirmary. Its walls were lined with shelves containing every conceivable medical instrument or substance while large cardboard boxes were stacked on the floor here and there throughout. I roamed the room half expecting to find my friends hiding behind one of the piles of boxes. I was completely alone here. Yet still I could hear their voices.

 

I moved towards the center of the room to gain my bearings and trained my ears to the sound of their conversation. I soon realized that the sound was not coming from this room but from the main common room of Titans Tower, two stories up from where I stood. But…that was impossible. Although I considered my hearing to be good, I knew it certainly couldn't be that good, however muffled the conversation sounded. Was I merely hearing things? Was I going insane? I rubbed at my ears in the same manner one would to swat away a buzzing fly but to no avail. I could still hear them talking.

 

As I considered this newfound dilemma my senses were suddenly overpowered by a different sensation. A scent that at first had been barely noticeable once I'd entered the supply closet now had become an incredibly intoxicating aroma. It gained so much of my attention that my surprisingly strengthened hearing was pushed aside for the moment. This wonderful fragrance tempted my nostrils with the promise of unspeakable pleasure. I needed to find the source, wherever it was.

 

With a strange desperation I found myself searching shelf after shelf of medical equipment and substances ranging from alcohol to distilled water, disinfectant to syringes. All the while I sniffed at the air straining myself to find the object of my search. At last I was lead to a small refrigerator stored on the floor at the farthest corner of the room. As I drew closer to it the scent as well as the previously minor pangs of hunger became increasingly more palpable and intense. I knelt before the device and sniffed the air one final time. There was no doubt whatever lay inside was the source of this enchanting aroma.

 

Upon opening the door I at last found the source of the scent that had mystified me till now. This was the infirmary's supply of blood meant for transfusions. The shelves of the refrigerator were stacked full of IV bags filled with human blood. However, all my hunger strained eyes could discern before me were shelves upon shelves of food, all of it for me. My instincts took over completely as I reached out to claim the first bag my hand could touch.

 

Trembling with anticipation and completely lacking rational thought I brought the small plastic bag to my mouth and bit down on the material as hard as I could. My teeth pierced through the plastic with ease and I then began to drink the liquid now flowing form the tear I'd made. This was truly a day of firsts for me. At the time all of them were eventually received as mixed blessings. Yet, none of the negative aspects of my actions reached my mind, as I tasted blood for the first time. All my thoughts revolved around the magnificent taste that was now claiming my mouth. No delicacy I'd sampled before or since could equal this experience in sheer intensity or ecstasy.

 

I closed my eyes, savoring every sensation that rippled through my being. As I drank I felt a tender warmth begin to form in the pit of my stomach and spread slowly throughout the entirety of my body. It felt very much like slipping into a warm bath. Every ounce of fatigue and pain I'd felt before was washed away. The dull ache of my neck wound became nothing more than a memory. I found myself clenching both sides of the IV bag with my hands; desperately forcing what little blood remained out in one great burst.

 

Once it was over I rested on the floor with the emptied IV bag still in hand, my eyes closed, a pleased smile tugging at the corners of my lips, savoring the afterglow of what I'd just experienced. After I'd recovered from what had just transpired, I opened my eyes and experienced the world as though it were for the first time.

 

Consuming the blood had apparently had a vitalizing affect on me. As I gazed at my surroundings I now saw them in incredible detail. I must have spent at least five minutes simply reading the labels on shelved bottles from a distance. In addition, if I listened closely to the conversation above me I could actually make out what was being said as well as who was speaking.

 

“God damn it!!!!” I heard a sudden pounding sound as though someone struck a wall with their fists. “It's all my fault. I should never have rented that stupid movie. I practically ran her out of here with it. And now she's dead cause' of me. The second girl to die cause' of me. I must have all the luck,” Beast Boy was seemingly yelling at himself rather than any other person.

 

“B, calm down alright. You could never have known this was gonna happen. None of us could've,” Cyborg spoke assuringly. “You're not to blame.”

 

“Cyborg, shut up! I may not have known this was gonna happen. But it doesn't change the fact that I was the one who rented the stupid movie, I was the one who went waving it in her face, I was the one responsible. If I'd never rented that movie she'd never have left and then she'd still be alive!”

 

“Beast Boy, calm down,” here was the voice of authority, the commanding demeanor of the team leader Robin. “No one here is to blame for this. The only person responsible is the one who did this to Raven. Whoever it is we'll find them and bring them to justice.”

 

Now Starfire's pained crying, which had continued throughout what I'd heard of the conversation ended and I at last heard her voice. It was devoid of all the sorrow and distress that that terrible sobbing carried with it. This was a voice filled with a raging anger the likes of which I'd never heard from the alien. “Direct me towards the degenerate responsible for this and I shall have them here in chains within the hour,” she seethed.

 

“Star, I'm sorry but it's just not that simple. Whoever did this didn't leave a trace I could find at the scene. They didn't leave any fingerprints and all the blood around the….body…..was Raven's. Without any witnesses, any evidence, or any suspects it could have been anyone. Brother Blood could've done it, or Mumbo, or it could have just been some random psycho who got lucky. Hell, with what we know I wouldn't even cross Slade off the list.”

 

“Then we shall visit them all and find out the truth. Raven, our friend, is dead. Do you understand!? We cannot just sit idly by and let this pass. We must act, and we must act now!”

 

If I'd awoken in the infirmary under any other circumstances I'd have rushed up to calm the situation down. I'd have revealed my “resurrection” to the others and things would have gone smoothly from there. I'd have headed up there and prevented Starfire from doing anything rash. But I didn't, I couldn't. Even the conversation which I could hear so clearly now seemed distant and inconsequential, for now I could see.

 

I felt as though for my whole life I'd suffered some debilitating visual impairment and was now suddenly cured. Everything around me, no matter how trivial, seemed new and intriguing to my eyes. Some part of my mind was screaming for me to snap out of this and realize what was going on, realize the implications of the fact that I'd just drank 250 ml of blood, but I simply could not. I was far too entranced by…everything. It sounds silly now but I found myself taking time to look at the ridges of medicine bottle caps, the stitching in the bed sheets back in the infirmary, the texture of the black material of my leotard, my own hands, feet, and limbs.

 

All this at last brought me to the window, with only the thick cloth barrier of the curtain separating me from a glimpse of the world outside. Without a second thought I stepped forward and flung the curtains apart. The blast of sunlight that now cascaded in through the parted curtains blinded me with its newfound fury. It was as though someone had flashed a dangerously powerful spotlight into my eyes, only ten times as worse. I closed my eyes in an attempt to block out the terrible light, but to no avail. The sunlight bore straight through my eyelids, searing my delicate eyes with white-hot pain.

 

In one last desperate maneuver closed my eyes and brought my hands up to cover my face. This made it somewhat bearable for the moment so I could quickly reach out and pull the curtains shut again. For a moment I didn't dare open my eyes. I buried my face in the shadows of the infirmary, hiding from any and all light that would harm me. I said that “I don't do fear.” Yet, despite that, I was very much frightened now. The sun's blinding brightness had been a shock of reality to me. The infirmary had seemed lit when I awoke, yet I now realized that the lights weren't even turned on.

 

As I withdrew my hands from my face I found my vision to be slightly blurred after the whole experience but they eventually cleared up again. This allowed me to see and feel the thick layer of blood that had stuck to the palms of my hands. I brought a finger to the area around my mouth and withdrew it to find it equally covered in blood. I frantically rushed to the bathroom adjacent to the infirmary. I had to see.

 

The bathroom was equipped in the event that someone would require a long stay here. It had a toilet, a sink, and a bathtub in case someone was so seriously wounded that they couldn't return to their own room. The mirror over the sink would serve my purposes well enough. I walked towards the looking glass slowly, afraid of what I would see yet still desperate to.

 

Some popular literature states that vampires have no reflections; at that moment when I gazed upon my mirror image I so wished that it were true. What I beheld chilled me to the bone. For the most part I looked relatively the same. My hair was still purple, my skin was the same complexion it had been before, and my chacra stone was still in place on my forehead. But the eyes that looked back at me were not my own. Sharp light red ones had replaced my familiar violet hues. This certainly wasn't a sign of my fury being released, these were my own eyes turned suddenly red.

 

The lower portion of my face, particularly the area around my mouth, was covered in blood. The paleness of my skin made it stand out all the more by contrast. It was then that I saw the reason for the ease with which I bit through the IV bag. Two sharp fangs jutted out of my upper jaw as if they'd always been there. The fangs as well as the rest of my teeth had a slight red tint to them from the blood I'd consumed. Experimentally, I lightly pressed my finger against the sharp point of one of my fangs and instantly drew it back from the slight pinprick I felt. Even that small touch had cut my skin leaving a small bloody point on my fingertip.

 

As I beheld this telltale sign of what had happened to me the memories of all that had happened the night before came rushing back. I now knew full well what all this meant. Barnabas Collins, the monster that attacked me last night, had made me into a bloodthirsty beast like himself. A vampire.

 

 

When something this monumental and unwanted happens, people tend to display an almost irrational disbelief; at least that's how it went for me. As everything began to fit together: my heightened senses, everyone's belief that I had died, my aversion to sunlight, and my newfound thirst for blood, I began searching for any possible explanation other than the most obvious one. Maybe this all was just some joke Beast Boy was playing on me to get back for how I'd treated him last night, maybe my eyes were simply irritated by some complication from my injuries, maybe if I breathed hard enough I'd be able to feel my heartbeat at last, maybe if I breathed hard enough long enough then I would continue to involuntarily, maybe this was simply all a terrible dream.

 

As I sat upon the edge of my bed in the infirmary, I firmly pressed my had down upon my breast hoping that I would feel my heartbeat and find some proof that I was truly alive. As time passed and I still felt nothing I began to take deep panic breaths. I thought if I breathed hard enough then maybe I'd at last feel one beat of my heart. That was all I wanted, just one pulsation and I would have been relieved. All I felt, despite the irregular rise and fall of my chest as I forced myself to breathe, was the silent emptiness that now held sway over my body.

 

For some time I frantically paced the full length of the room, considering this terrible situation I'd been thrust into. I could not see myself living my life this way. There was simply no way. I had become the antithesis of everything that the Titans had come to represent. My very existence now depended upon my ability to attack and drink the blood of other people. How could I go on like that? More than anything, though, I realized that the others simply could never know about this. All I had to do was look at the manner in which vampires are depicted in the media. They, no doubt, would think of me in the same manner if they found out. I would cease to be Raven in their eyes and I would become nothing more than another threat to the safety of Jump City.

 

However, my attitude wasn't totally defeatist. I reasoned that if there was a way to become a vampire then surely there must be a way to change back. At best, I might not even need to involve the others in this if I could find a cure. The thought raised my spirits some. It never occurred to me that there might be no way out of this because I simply refused to think that way. As far as my life as a vampire would go, however, I was merely standing at the threshold.