Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Carney held a stranglehold over Gotham’s vampires, at least the ones who didn’t want to get caught by hunters.

The rule was simple: one hundred dollars bought one pint of blood on Fridays before dark. No deals, no excuses, no discounts.

Carney could charge whatever he wanted since he was the only one selling bagged blood in Gotham. Too many blood banks had strict security protocols to make sure the blood only served human needs. Vampires were monsters, after all.

Jason had a couple years of good luck making his territory in the financial district after other covens pushed him out of Crime Alley, but he’d pushed that luck far enough to break it.

Unfortunately, the police actually cared when rich pockets got picked and fancy cars got broken into, so signs got posted and officers started patrolling the streets.

Jason had adapted. He’d collect his money in the first few days of the week, then he’d retreat to his little nest as soon as the cops started poking around. That way, Jason would be tucked away between warm AC units on top of a skyscraper where he couldn’t smell anyone or anything when the worst of the hunger pangs hit.

By the time Jason climbed down, the police would have gotten bored and gone away.

This week, the police just would. Not. Leave.

At the last minute, an Arkham breakout changed his luck once again. Since it was all hands on deck to get the Rogues back in the clink, no one was watching the streets. Jason was cutting it so close, but he couldn’t afford to get caught.

He couldn’t afford anything was the problem. Jason needed one hundred dollars by nightfall, or he was dead. That was a crying shame, because he had fifty-seven dollars and two hours left to fix that.

Jason pulled his jacket tighter around himself, not that it did anything. He was freezing, starving. Every beating heart walking by, the rush of warm blood through warm veins in warm bodies…it was torture.

No. Jason bit his lip hard. Even if his fangs ached and his mouth was sawdust-dry and his whole body felt like an ice cube, attacking a human was a death sentence. The second vampire hunters got a whiff of vampire’s presence in the area, they’d be worse than the cops. It wasn’t like before; Jason didn’t have his mom and dad to protect him anymore.

Willis had gotten himself arrested, and the mandatory blood tests quickly proved he was a vampire. The vampire hunters had descended on their apartment before Catherine and Jason even knew he’d been caught.

Jason had made it out.

His mom hadn’t.

Jason dug his nails into the palms of his hands to ground himself. His family was gone, and so was all his money. He could only do something about one of those things.

Instead of focusing on what he could smell, Jason stopped breathing and focused on what he could hear.

Everyone was taking rush hour to heart. Looking for a target carrying something valuable enough to pay for his dinner was hard when he kept getting trampled. Here he was, trying to make a dishonest living and getting absolutely no respect.

Gothamites were wary as a rule, especially when they were walking through high-theft areas. The women kept their purses zipped, buckled, and tightly gripped, and the men kept their wallets and phones in the depths of their front pockets.

Jason was seriously considering mugging someone—even if it meant revealing that he was a vampire—before the perfect target suddenly came blundering down the street.

The youngish man gaped up at the soaring skyscrapers gleaming in the sunshine instead of keeping a wary eye on his surroundings. He wheeled a shiny new suitcase behind him, oblivious to the danger he was in. A tourist? Some schmuck in town for a work trip?

When the man walked past, Jason could make out the wallet-shaped lump in his back pocket instead of the front. He wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings. It would be so easy.

Too easy?

Jason sniffed the air once, twice, but he couldn’t make out the telltale scents of silver and garlic that hung heavy around vampire hunters or the gunpowder and leather of cops. He didn’t see police or hear sirens, but that didn’t mean this wasn’t a honeypot…

But no. There was no way the police were diverting attention from the Arkham breakout to trap one petty thief.

The sun’s burn slackened minute by minute, but that was cold comfort. He couldn’t survive another week starving, and he couldn’t double-guess himself this close to sunset.

Jason adjusted his hoodie to better cover his face, shielding himself from the hostile sun and hostile eyes.

Time to move.

Jason slipped through the crowd after the man with the suitcase. He could almost taste the blood, wet and coppery, that he’d be feasting on tonight if he could just get that wallet.

The man didn’t notice him, still fixated on the cityscape around him. Normally, Jason would have felt bad for ruining a tourist’s day, but not right now. The only things Jason could feel right now were cold and hungry.

Jason struck quickly, snatching the wallet with speed instead of subtlety.

“Hey! He stole my wallet!”

The man started to give chase, but Jason dove into the crowd of bigger bodies, ducking and weaving to keep moving and keep out of sight.

Jason ran as fast as he could without revealing his superhuman speed, swearing under his breath. The man had seen him. Jason should have at least tried to be quiet, even if it cost him a few seconds.

The man might not know Jason was a vampire, but he’d seen Jason’s face. For all that the cops were more on guard, they didn’t know who they were looking for.

Until now.

A block from the blood bank, Jason ducked into an alley. He wasn’t out of breath—he couldn’t be—but the exertion of running all the way there exhausted him. He was so hungry, but he was so close.

Jason’s fingers trembled as he opened the leather wallet. He could have cried. Two twenties and a five-dollar bill, $45 total. Jason had exactly $101.

Jason grinned. He was going to eat like a king.

“What’s a scrawny midget like you doing with cash like that?”

Jason spun in the direction of the stranger’s voice, every muscle tensing.

Two humans approached, a stout man with a greasy beard and a tall, willowy man with a wicked gleam in his eye. If their expressions left anything to interpretation, the knife the stout man pulled from his waistband would have cleared everything up.

Jason bit his lip. One of them had bloody knuckles. The blood…even dirty and dried, it smelled so so good. Only Jason’s apprehension kept him from lunging at the man and draining him dry.

Vampire hunters wouldn’t care that the man was bad or that he’d started the fight. Even if Jason took only a little taste of blood, they’d kill him. Jason’s mere existence was a crime.

Jason stuffed the bills in his pocket. “Hey, I stole this fair and square! Leave me alone!”

“Stealing things…” the lean man tutted with exaggerated disappointment. “That’s no good. We don’t like bad boys. We’ll just have to teach you a lesson, won’t we?”

“We will,” the stout man agreed, a wicked grin revealing a checkerboard of missing teeth.

Jason glanced around for his way out. Running past them wasn’t an option. He’d have to use his vampiric speed, which would give him away. Human thugs with basic weapons couldn’t really kill him, but he didn’t have the energy to heal those injuries. If he got badly hurt, he really would snap and eat someone even if he didn’t want to.

Up the other way, then, scaling the barbed wire fence at the other end of the alley. Even a human kid could do that.

As the thugs approached, Jason took the empty wallet and chucked it into the face of the lanky man. Without waiting to see the effect, Jason turned and ran for the fence, scaling the chain link as fast as he could without arousing suspicion.

It was harder than he thought, the sudden burst of energy after the long run. Just as he was reaching for the top, a wave of weakness hit him. Jason slowed just a smidge, and—

 A hand closed around his ankle and yanked Jason off the fence.

He should have been able to catch himself, but he was caught off guard with a loose grip on the fence. Jason crashed hard to the ground, but he wasn’t the only one who fell.

In the exertion it took to pull Jason down, the stout man had fallen as well.

Blood. BloodbloodBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOOD.

The stout man swore, a sound Jason barely processed over the roar of hunger in his ears. Every instinct told him to pounce on the prey, that the pain would just be gone if only he would indulge and bite the man in front of him. Jason could drink the man’s blood, and then he wouldn’t be so cold anymore.

“You’re gonna pay for that!”

The threat didn’t register, only the sight of those skinned up palms and the delicious red liquid on them. The blood glistened, thick and red and just a few feet away.

Jason had been harsh earlier. He licked his lips. The man wasn’t so gross. Jason could eat him, and he wouldn’t catch any terrible disease. Besides, it was classist to not eat dirty ruffians, right? Everyone was equally yummy.

Jason was so so hungry.

The man, once cocksure and aggressive, paled. Jason could hear the blood rush away from his face, or maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him.

“Red eyes,” the stout man swore under his breath.

“What are you—” the lean man froze, then he stumbled back before turning and fleeing without so much as a moment to pause for his friend.

The stout man stood slowly, and Jason’s eyes tracked him. Why not just bite the man now? Jason’s eyes must be blood red now, and the man would surely tell the hunters. They’d probably go after him just for existing, never mind that he was a thief.

He licked his lips, his tongue toying against his fangs for a moment.

But no.

The rid tinge to Jason’s vision had crept in like sleep, he wasn’t aware of it till he snapped out of it. Jason wasn’t going to take blood from someone who hadn’t offered it, even if it was a trash man who attacked kids.

Jason stood up from the ground slowly, still fighting temptation to just run after him. He could save his money and get a bag from Carney next week. Two bags even. Who knew, maybe the blood of a whole person would sustain him…

He clenched his jaw to resist, then he marched out of the alley toward the street. Jason was a thief, but he wasn’t that kind of thief.

Not caring anymore if someone saw his speed, Jason raced toward the blood bank.

He had to eat.

Chapter Text

Jason’s only company in the alley was two dumpsters and a pile of cardboard boxes. He gave them a quick check to make sure no other vampires were lurking around to steal his blood the second the doors closed. Normally, he would have check the roofs of both buildings too before he knocked, but he was out of time.

Jason hurried to the door marked DO NOT ENTER, EMPLOYEES ONLY.

Knock, knock—pause—knockknockknockknockknock.

Jason chewed on his lip as he stepped back from the door. Was he far enough away? He shuffled back another step to be safe. Carney would check the cameras before coming out, and he wouldn’t crack the door if Jason was too close.

Every second of silence dragged on like a century. Was he too late? Night had almost fallen, but not quite! Carney had sold to him later than this before!

Right before Jason’s sanity snapped, the door creaked open. The overpowering stench of sterility and cleaning fluids flooded Jason with relief.

Jason smelled Carney before he saw him. The man smelled of body odor and marijuana with the sharp scent of the silver knife dangling from a chain off Carney’s belt.

Carney leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms, looking Jason up and down before wrinkling his nose. Jason fought hard to keep his own expression level. He’d never figured out whether Carney disliked vampires, homeless people, or kids. Maybe all three, but if Jason didn’t need Carney, he would have thrown hands a long time ago.

With a style halfway between punk and just lazy, Carney’s dyed-black hair hung around his shoulders, greasy and unbrushed. Were those dreads or mats? Unclear. Carney’s pants had visible dirt on them, and Jason swore Carney’d been wearing the same flannel shirt the last three times Jason had seen him.  

Jason was homeless. He didn’t know Carney’s excuse. How the man worked in a medical field was unbelievable.

Carney grunted. “What do you want?”

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, don’t bite the hand that feeds you…The routine drove Jason up the wall. What did Carney think he was here for? A friendly visit?

 Jason flexed his fists to calm his jitters. The hunger was almost over, the ache would be gone, and he wouldn’t be so cold. He just needed to keep his head for a few more minutes.

“I need a pint.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out $100, practically vibrating as he held the money out.

Carney didn’t reach for the money. “Pint’s two hundred now.”

Jason blinked once, twice. Had he misheard? There was no way he’d heard that right. “What?”

“Two hundred.”

“But a pint’s always been one hundred!” Jason protested.

Carney shrugged. “Cop’s’ve been getting too close. If I’m gonna help a little freak like you, you’re gonna have to make it worth my while.”

“But I only have a hundred!” Jason waved the money he’d risked his life to get. “Just give it to me for normal price this week! I’ll give you two hundred next week!””

Carney stared at him impassively.

“Then just half!” Jason cried. “One cup now for a hundred, and I’ll get you two hundred next week for a pint!”

Carney was unmoved.

“This isn’t fair! I did what you wanted! I got you a hundred, that was the deal!”

 “That was the deal.”

“No, I’ll give you three hundred next week!” Jason yelped. He’d say whatever he had to if he could just get that blood, even if he had no idea where that money would come from. “Please, I’m starving!”

He meant it literally, he wasn’t just hungry. Jason didn’t know if he would survive another week. How was he supposed to get more money when he was so hungry he’d almost eaten someone a few minutes ago? When he was so weak a human had almost overpowered him? He couldn’t last another week like this! He’d rather turn himself over to the vampire hunters, at least they’d put him out of his misery!

“You have fangs,” Carney told him. “Just go bite someone.”

Jason shuddered from fear and pain and cold. “That’s a death sentence.”

“That’s a you problem.” With that, Carney slammed and locked the door, leaving Jason in the alley to starve.

Chapter Text

The sun’s burn crisping his face was the first thing Jason became aware of. The second was the freezing ache of hunger.

The third thing was confusion. He didn’t remember getting up to his nest, but he did know where he was.

Jason slept between two air conditioning units on the top of the tallest office building on the block so the humans couldn’t see him. So no one would ever ask any questions about why he was alone.

Jason leaned his cheek against the air conditioning unit. Normally, the motors provided enough heat to take the edge off the cold hunger without burning him like the sun, but not today. The hunger was too deep in his bones.

How could he get another hundred dollars? He didn’t even know what day it was or how much time he had left.

Stupid tears welled up in his eyes, and he didn’t even have the will to wipe them away. He’d barely managed to get what he already had, and now he’d have to get the rest while he was even weaker.

Maybe he’d just stay on the roof and bake. Someone would find him eventually and mourn the poor little kid’s tragic death till the autopsy proved he was a vampire. Then whoever fought him would probably fight with the medical examiner over who got the bounty.

Jason’s nose wrinkled. Screw that. He’d probably be found by some rich jerk on a smoke break. There was no way he could tolerate that.

Scowling, Jason pulled his hoodie down over his face to shield himself. Fuck that, fuck hunters, fuck Carney specifically. Jason would get that money one way or another, then he’d find some way to get blood somewhere else. He could maybe…maybe he could find another…  

He shuddered at the idea of finding a new place to be his territory. After his parents died, the other vampires in Crime Alley quickly stole all his family’s territory and chased him out.

New tears welled up in his eyes. Vampires were territorial. It was in his nature, down to the very fibers of his being. Familiarity and structure made him feel safer than actual safety. He couldn’t just leave, even knowing it was just his instincts keeping him there.

He’d…he’d figure something out. Jason always figured things out, and he wasn’t going to stop now.

Stiff and wobbly, Jason dragged himself to his feet. He wasn’t out of the fight yet.

It was Monday according to the newspaper he picked out of a trashcan. He must’ve slept all through Saturday and Sunday.

Jason grimaced and pulled his sunglasses out of the pocket of his hoodie, but even with the dark lenses, the sun was just so bright. He didn’t get why humans liked the sun, it was just stupid and should just go away.

That wasn’t good. The longer he went without food, the more he would sleep. If he let himself sleep again, he could sleep for days and days again and lose his chance to buy blood for another week. He’d have to stay up till Friday. It was tricky, but he didn’t need as much sleep as a human did.

He’d woken up in time for the lunch rush. That actually worked out in his favor. All he needed to do was pick a target and take his chances.

Jason wound the corner of a building and immediately backtracked, pressing himself against the wall with a sharp breath. Just around the corner was a uniformed cop.

This was bad, very, very bad.

Jason dug his nails into his palms and looked around. Were there more cops around? How many? They were onto him for sure after the stunt he pulled on Friday.

Jason risked a peek around the corner again. Luckily, it was Gotham, so everyone was too concerned with their own business to be worried about his weird behavior.

There was one cop posted up on the curb, just about fifteen feet from Jason, and another one across the street and down the block.

The cop nearby tapped his foot on the sidewalk and checked his watch three times in twenty seconds. What was he waiting for?

Jason dug his claws in had enough to scratch the steel. Jason winced at the screech, but luckily the officer didn’t hear him over the din. Whatever the cops were waiting for, it wasn’t good.

And then he saw it.

Dread crept in like hunger, cold and painful. No. How could this be happening?

A white van emblazoned with two crossed silver swords pulled up along the curb in front of the impatient officer. The sharp scent of silver and the acrid stench of garlic billowed out of the van as soon as the door opened.

A lanky man climbed out of the van, dressed in a turtleneck and thick coat despite the heat. He was already sweating, but it would be almost impossible to bite through all that fabric.

A vampire hunter.

Jason ducked back around the corner, eyes wide with fright. A few people gave him a strange look, but no one stopped.

This…how did they…

Stupid, stupid! Of course they knew about him! Obviously the tourist he’d robbed had made a report. He’d expected that, or he would have if he’d had any time to think. The douchebags who’d tried to jump him in the alley must have reported seeing a vampire boy in a red hoodie too. The whole mystery was a jigsaw puzzle with two pieces.

Jason knew he should run while he had the chance. He could get out of the financial district, out of Gotham, hell—he could be halfway to Kansas by the next night.

But he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t make himself leave his territory, even if it was crawling with hunters. There were other things outside his safe little space, and he didn’t know how he could fight those things!

Jason peeked with just one eye around the corner, watching the hunter lean back into the van to talk to the driver.

“Go park and get back here on the double,” the hunter instructed.

“Dude, I’ve got to pee!”

The hunter scowled. “You’ve got to park before the vamp sees you and you blow the whole operation!”

The vile stench rolling off the van made Jason want to tear out his nose, even without breathing. Jason clamped his hand over his mouth and nose to keep all the air out, but somehow he could still smell it.

“I’ve had to pee for the last hour! You know that!” the driver protested. He sounded desperate. “It’s not like the vamp’s going anywhere!”

The officer coughed. “There’s a parking garage down the street to the right. You see the green sign? You can park there.”

The driver huffed, but the first hunter slammed the door before he could argue. The driver slammed on the horn twice before peeling out down the street too fast.

“Why won’t the vampire run off if there’s hunters?” the cop asked idly.

The hunter waved away the question. “The stress of relocating has driven vampires mad before, and this one’s alone anyways. Just a stray.”

 “How do you know that?” The cop frowned. “We haven’t even caught it yet.”

A gleam in the hunter’s eye said that he liked knowing things people didn’t, or maybe he was just really excited to murder a kid. “Vampires protect their young. If it’s hunting, it’s alone. That’s probably why its hunting in such a bad area. Still, makes our life easier. It would be even easier if the GCPD could muster a few more officers…

“With Poison Ivy still on the loose…”

Jason clenched his fists. They were right. They were exactly right.

He’d heard enough. It was time to get out of there. Maybe he could sleep for a few weeks, let them think he’d run off and that everything the hunters said was bunk.

They’d find him, though. Once they had the scent, hunters never lost it.

He’d make it tricky, he’d make it expensive. Jason would be as big of a pain in the ass in death as he had been in life.

Would his usual hiding place be enough? They might expect him to have a roost up high. He needed…he needed to get out, to go somewhere, but where could he even go to be safe? They knew where he was, and it was only a matter of time before they found him and took him out.

Jason paused.

The worst idea Jason had ever had was currently dancing into his head.

The police were busy with Poison Ivy, and he’d only seen the two hunters. He knew where the hunters were going to be.

He also knew where their van was.

Humans liked silver for some crazy reason. The hunters would definitely have silver in their van, and he’d broken into cars dozens of times.

No, it was too risky. There could be more hunters, or police, or…

It was a Monday morning in the financial district, though. The garage would be packed, so he probably had to park higher up, so even if the hunters got some kind of alert, they’d need to chase him up several floors to even get to him.

It was worth the risk.

Jason hurried down the block, past the parking garage, and waited for the driver to walk out. He recognized the portly man by his unseasonably hot clothes and general stink.

He found the hunter’s van on the fifth floor of the parking garage, wedged into a narrow parking space too little for the bulky van. The wall smelled like piss. Apparently the man had relieved his little issue. Gross.

Jason flexed and clenched his fists. Was he really doing this? Had the hunger driven him crazy?

Probably, but it was worth the risk.

Jason took a deep breath and punched a fist through the window.

The alarm went off, blaring so loud it disoriented him, but it had nothing on the smells that rushed him. Jason swore and pressed the button to unlock the door, then he scrambled inside. Holding his breath with the alarm still blaring, he rummaged around.

He tore up their registration and insurance papers, digging his claws into the seats and tearing them to shreds because screw the hunters, they sucked. No, Jason sucked, they just…did something that wasn’t sucking.

Jason scrambled into the backseat and looked around, ripping open boxes and bags till he tracked down the source of the horrid scent.

Silver bullets, cases and cases of them. Jason scowled and grabbed the boxes, shoving them into his backpack. He wrapped the boxes in his hoodie, hoping the layers would contain it enough that he wouldn’t be sick. Just being near them burned like the sun.

With a backpack crammed full to bursting, Jason busted out the backdoors and took off. He kept running till he was down the street, racing toward Crime Alley. He wasn’t supposed to be there anymore, but he knew where he could pawn the bullets, and the other vampires would be sleeping at this time of the day.

Jason fought a grin. With what he’d taken, might get enough for two weeks of blood even at the stupid new price. That would give him plenty of time to find a new dealer.

Jason’s luck had finally changed

Chapter Text

“This is fern-tastic!” Dick flipped away from a giant fern frond before it could thrash him into the wall. “Totally how I plant to spend my Friday night!”

Poison Ivy was in a bad mood if the flying forklift that nearly crushed him into bad-pun pâté was anything to judge by. She was usually more fun than this.

“Oh come on!” Dick threw up his hands. “What are you garden back there? More murder plants? You should really herb your enthusiasm!”

Dick had already decided that if he ever went Rogue, he would be known as the Pun-isher (similar to but legally distinct from the Punisher™). He already had a suit drawn up and everything. All he needed was one really bad day.

Today wasn’t that day.

Yet.

They’d spent the last week hunting down Ivy, finally tracking her to an abandoned warehouse in Tricorner Yard. Normally she went for somewhere a little more nature-y and hospitable for plant life, but the killer ferns seemed to be doing just fine in the shade.

Bruce lunged at Ivy but was grabbed by a frond and slammed into the floor. The batsuit would dampen the blow, but man was that going to hurt in the morning.

Dick threw a batarang, slicing halfway through the frond holding Bruce. It was enough for Bruce to tear himself free and point up the stairs.  

“Robin! The lab!”

Much as Dick would love to charge through the weeds, he didn’t have time. He liked Ivy okay sometimes, but her plants were the worst. Last time she’d unleashed cuddle pollen in Gotham, Dick had spent three hours tearfully glued to Gordon’s side. He was never going to live that down.

Dick fired his grapple gun at one of the rafters and swung up to the balcony that ringed the warehouse. Once up, he made a dash for the door Ivy had come through when her killer plants raised the alarm.

“You’re too late!” Poison Ivy snarled after him. “My babies are already in place! I’ll use nature to cleanse nature of the human disease! Any minute now, you’ll see what my plants are capable of!”

That sounded much worse than cuddle pollen.

While Bruce kept her occupied, Dick threw open the door to Poison Ivy’s makeshift lab.

The lab smelled aggressively like the color green and a weird bit like toothpaste. Plants in various stages of growth spilled over the sides of their biodegradable pots, various chemicals bubbled in glass beakers.

 Great. It could be anything.

If she already had the plants loose in Gotham, he needed to let Gordon know what to be looking for. Sometimes Ivy’s ‘babies’ were obvious, like when she crashed a special showing of the movie Jaws with man-eating (actually old lady eating) venus flytraps (she was fine in the end, she gave Dick a stick of gum from her purse).

Other times, Ivy’s plants seemed innocuous and could pass for any normal dandelion or fungus or vine…He had to know which of her plants was what she was using.

His first clue was a stand of small pots. The vine growing from the pot had dark green leave shaped almost like a maple leaf, the stalk was woody, and the veins running through the plants were…silver and red? The unopened bud was gray too, but he bet it would be silver when it bloomed. Okay, that was new and kind of cool. Dick would be impressed later when everyone was safe.

There was room for twelve pots on the stand, but eight were missing based on the rings of dirt left behind.  

Dick took a picture with his burner phone and texted a picture to Gordon.

R: be on lookout for ivy plant

R: poison ivy

R: not poison ivy the plant poison ivy made this plant

R: BAD PLANT

Okay, with Gordon warned, Dick needed to narrow things down. The vines could be anywhere in Gotham, but Poison Ivy would have a reason for doing things the way she was doing them.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t any papers labeled “evil plans,” because that would have been way to convenient. Actually, she didn’t have any papers. That tracked with her goals, except…

The corner of a paper caught his eye, mostly hidden by the sprawling foliage of a blue flower bush. Weird because she had no other papers at all, so what was this?

Dick pulled the paper out and held it up to the growlights so he could read it. A map of Gotham?

That seemed like it should be the answer to his questions, but she hadn’t written anything or marked any areas. The only marking was a coffee ring in the middle of Crime Alley.

Actually there were two in Crime Alley, right next to each other.

And a third in Coventry.

A fourth in the Diamond District…

Dick laid the map on the floor and ran over to the silver vine pots he suspected were her weapon du jour. When he placed on of the pots over the rings on the map, it was a perfect fit.

Okay, good. Dick took a pen from his belt and swiftly darkened the circles to make them easier to see.

He took another picture and sent it to Gordon.

R: think this is where plants are idk why tho

G: I’ll see what I can find out.

Dick looked over the sites, trying to piece together what Ivy was targeting. The spacing seemed pretty deliberate but also kind of random—no overlap, but there were big gaps between some of them, but then there were two basically touching in Crime Alley.

His batphone buzzed.

G: All locations correspond with vampire sightings and attacks in the last month.

Ohhhh that was bad. What had she said? She was going to use nature to cleanse nature? Dick had a feeling she considered vampires a lot more natural than humans were. If the plants were specifically targeting vampires, Dick doubted the effect was benign. They weren’t looking at a cuddlefest, they were looking at a bloodbath.

They were racing against the clock to pull some weeds, and Dick couldn’t be everywhere at once.

R: think plants affect vamps get people looking

G: Got it.

R: closest to the financial district heading there

Dick flipped from building to building, trying to puzzle out just where Ivy would put the plant. Up high? Expecting vampires to perch? Or down low near people?

According to Gordon, the GCPD had already found and destroyed three of the plants, and they were canvasing the others. So far, no attacks and no casualties.

Gordon said the vines had been planted in the shade, so Dick kept his eye out for dark places: between buildings, under benches, in trash cans. The plants had been there for hours without anyone noticing, so how had they stayed hidden?

As he swung the streets, movement caught his eye on the otherwise deserted streets. A small figure, clutching himself and almost doubled over as he stumbled into an alley. A kid?

Dick hesitated. On the one hand, the plant had to be nearby. On the other hand, the kid might need immediate medical help.

The kid lifted the lid of a dumpster, and Dick’s mind was made up.

It’ll just take a sec.

Dick dropped down in front of the kid, scuffing his shoe to alert the kid to his presence (hopefully) without spooking the kid.

The kid, a little boy, inhaled sharply and dropped the lid of the dumpster, turning his head away from Dick.

“Are you okay?” Dick knew a street kid when he saw one, and this one was not doing well. Terribly skinny, dirty, and probably sick.

“I—I’m fine!” The boy hugged himself, his knuckles white gripping his own arms. “Just—just a stomach bug.”

Yeah, Dick doubted that. Something was seriously wrong with the kid. Dick needed to get him to Leslie’s. She’d treat him, then she and Bruce could figure out a safe place for the boy to go.

“Hey, don’t be scared. I know a doctor who can help you, no charge,” Dick soothed, holding his hands out placatingly.

Wait, crap, he still needed to find the plant.

Dick winced and looked around. The vine had to be close, and he had to find it before he left.

Dick pressed a button on his glove to call the Batmobile to him. He could tuck the boy inside for a few minutes till Dick could find and destroy the plant.  

“Hang tight, kid,” Dick told the boy. “We’ll get you to that doctor just as soon as—"

A slight pop! and suddenly, Dick was bathed in silver spores. Dick blinked in surprise, but his lenses were covered in silver dust.

The plant must have been right next to him! Of all the bad luck!

The kid cried out suddenly like he was in pain. Dick wiped the spores from his lenses, expecting to find the boy on the ground.

Instead, he found the boy straightening, his arms falling to his side and a dazed looking passing over his blood red eyes.

Ohhh.

Dick had just enough time to realize his mistake before the vampire boy lunged for his throat.

Chapter Text

One hundred seventy-three dollars.

That was how much he got from the pawn shop for the silver bullets. With what he already had, he had nearly three hundred dollars. Jason considered stealing something else to get two bags of blood this week, but it wasn’t worth the risk of getting caught.

Instead, Jason crawled up the side of the office building and tucked himself into his hidey hole between the AC units and stayed there.

For days.

He’d picked his hiding place carefully. It was the tallest building in the area, so he could pace around without being seen. Jason spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday milling around the roof to keep himself awake, but by Thursday he was just so tired that he couldn’t stand to move. He just curled up between the AC unit and waited.

Staying awake was torture, but if he fell asleep, he would miss Friday. He dug his claws into his skin, pulled on his hair, and even let himself be burned by the sun. Anything to stay awake.

All through Thursday night, Jason wondered if it was time yet. Could he leave? Could he head down to the blood bank? It took a while to get over there, and he was going to be slower because he was weak.

Jason climbed down the building while it was still dark and started his trek toward the blood bank. He had to duck behind a trashcan at one point when he saw the white van of the vampire hunters zoom past, but they didn’t see him.

He could feel his mind wandering, or maybe he’d left it up on the building. His mind drifted between singular focus and spacey fog. He found himself forgetting where he was going and what day it was, but his hunger reminded him each time: he was going to the blood bank, he had the money, and it was Friday.

If Carney didn’t give him the blood today, screw restraint, Jason was going to rip his throat out just out of pure spite. He didn’t care if it got him killed, he was going to make that smug jerk pay.

He didn’t pay much mind to the flashing blue and red lights till he realized they were atop six police cars parked right outside of the blood bank.

They were…they were just there for some kind of community thing, right?

It couldn’t…no. It couldn’t be.

All hope was shattered when the front doors were thrown open and a dozen police officers emerged, dragging a resisting Carney out of the building.

No, he had the money!

Jason bit his fist hard enough that his fangs went deep into his skin but drew no blood. This wasn’t fair! He hated Carney so much that it might have been satisfying to watch as he was dragged down the stairs, handcuffed, and forced into the back of one of the police cars. 

Parked beside the cop cars was the vampire hunter van.

It would have been satisfying if it wasn’t going to get him killed.

Jason stumbled back, crushed. What could he even do anymore? He didn’t know anywhere he could go from here, no other blood banks with a leak like Carney. Even if he was a nasty piece of work, he’d saved Jason’s life by being that nasty piece of work. Without Carney, Jason was literally going to die.

It was all his fault, too. He’d been the one to give Carney away. He’d been seen as a vampire barely a block from the blood bank! They’d figured him out!

He had to get out of there before they found him. He stumbled away, freezing and starving, tears trembling in the corners of his eyes.

Jason—he—needed his territory. It was stupid, the hunters knew he’d be in his territory, but he needed to be back where he belonged. Jason stumbled at first, then he took off in a run. He needed to be back there.

Jason climbed up the side of his building while it was still dark. He barely managed to get over the edge, his foot catching on the ledge. He landed on the roof with a spray of gravel, but he barely felt the sting.

Too weak to go any further, Jason curled up in the dawning sunlight and cried.

His mind drifted, but he couldn’t sleep. He wanted to, just so he wouldn’t be conscious of how much it hurt: hunger, the sun, despair. He considered dragging himself over to the shade, but he didn’t have the strength. He didn’t have the hope. He hadn’t eaten in two weeks, he hadn’t slept in half a week.

Jason drifted in a fog while the sun burned his skin till the burn eased. Was it night? When Jason opened his eyes, his eyes didn’t hurt. It was night.

Jason’s nose twitched. What had caught his attention and pulled him out of the fog? He inhaled deeply, and winced.

That was…blood. He smelled blood.

Was someone…Maybe someone was hurt.

Maybe they wouldn’t mind sharing a little with him. He was so hungry, and maybe the bleeding person was nice.

Jason climbed down the side of the building.

No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t take blood from someone. Even if the hunters already knew where he was, stealing blood was different from stealing money. Jason knew If he tasted blood from someone’s body, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He would kill someone.

But maybe he could just look.

Maybe he could lick the ground when the person was gone. He just…Jason clutched his arms around himself as he followed the scent. He knew he should leave till the person was gone, but maybe they were already gone. Maybe…

The scent to an alley a few buildings down, then to a dumpster in the alley. Jason perked up. Maybe the person was dead! If someone had been murdered already, it wasn’t bad if Jason took the blood!

Jason tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and almost fell into the dumpster. He threw back the lid and looked inside.

The dumpster was empty. Was he hallucinating? Where could the blood scent was coming from? Jason looked around, but the only thing he saw was some weird silver plant under the dumpster.

Jason sniffled and scrubbed away stupid tears. He didn’t ask to be born like this. He just wanted to be fed. He just wanted his mom and dad.

Jason heard a small scuff behind him and froze then slowly turned, keeping his eyes down. He was so hungry, his eyes would be glowing red for sure. When Jason turned to face the nose, he inhaled sharply and froze.

Black boots, green pants, the yellow lining of the cape. The shadow cast by the light from a dim streetlamp left no doubt.  

“Are you okay?” Robin asked nicely because he didn’t know Jason was a vampire.

 He wasn’t fast enough to run away, not right now. He needed—Jason needed something, he had to stall or distract Robin or hope Robin just got bored and left.

“I—I’m fine!” Jason croaked, his mouth dry from thirst and disuse. Fumbling for an explanation, Jason mumbled. “Just—just a stomach bug.”

“Hey, don’t be scared.” Robin held his hands out in a gentle gesture and stepped forward. “I know a doctor who can help you, no charge.”

That was a nice thought, but a doctor would be the death of him. He needed to get out.

“Hang tight, kid,” Robin said, taking a step away. Was he leaving? That was good, an opening for him to escape. Jason glanced down the alley for his escape. “We’ll get you to that doctor just as soon as—”

Jason started to back away, his stomach crawling up his throat, and—

A small popping sound, and silver dust engulfed him.

All he could smell was blood.

Chapter Text

Claws tore through the air where Dick’s throat had been a second before. Dick dodged by millimeters, the second blow catching him on the forearm he threw up to guard his throat. The vampire dug his claws into his armor, wrenched Dick’s arm aside, and lunged for his throat with bared teeth.

Dick threw his weight to the side, dodging in time to not get insta-mauled by the small child. The vampire, carried by the momentum of his strike, slammed into the wall headfirst hard enough to stun him. In the moment the vampire’s grip weakened, Dick twisted his arm free.

The vampire growled as he righted himself, scowling at Dick. His bloodred eyes were hazy, vacant, but his attention was laser focused on Dick’s neck.

The single-minded fixation on going for the jugular was terrifying, but a small mercy nonetheless. The vampire kid was too doped up on the pollen to be strategic, so he wasn’t trying to weaken Dick with other injuries, he just wanted Dick’s throat.

Knowing where the vampire was going to strike made blocking easier, but the kid was strong. Dick was having to dodge more than deflect.

Okay, okay: time to key in.

Dick didn’t fight vampires often, but this wasn’t his first rodeo either. Silver blades were the most effective thing against a vampire, but that was too dangerous against a kid. Luckily, Dick had the second best option.

He drew his stun gun and cranked up the power as high as it could go. Electricity would stun the vampire, hopefully long enough to slap some silver cups on him and get him restrained.

The kid pounced again, and Dick swung the stun gun as he spun out of the way. He nearly clipped the vampire’s arm, but he didn’t make contact. Man, he needed something longer, like escrima sticks. Man, electrified escrima sticks would be awesome.

Another vicious growl, and the vampire charged again. This time, Dick didn’t dodge. He planted his feet, held one arm in front of his throat, and waited.

The vampire barreled into him with enough force to slam him into the wall. With a growl, he dug both claws into his arm hard enough to drive all the way through Dick’s armor and into the flesh of his forearm.

Dick grinned through the pain. “Good shot, kid.”

Dick slammed the stun gun into the side of the kid’s neck and pressed the button.

The kid seized up, muscles contracting and driving his claws deeper into Dick’s arm. Dick hissed in pain and lowered the vampire to the ground before prying his claws out of Dick’s arm. There was immediately blood, which was like the worst possible thing to have while the kid was covered in weird vampire meth, but Dick didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.

The vampire groaned and stirred. Dick felt bad, but he shocked the kid again to make sure he stayed down.

“You’re going to be okay,” Dick promised as he pulled the silver cuffs from his utility belt and wrapped them tightly around the boy’s wrists.

The kid was so small that even at their tightest setting, the cuffs were barely secure enough. Luckily, proximity to silver would sap some of his unnatural strength, but Dick wasn’t thrilled about that. It felt so mean to the kid; it wasn’t his fault he’d tried to devour Dick.

The kid snapped weakly at him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Let me just…” Dick put a second set of cuffs on the boy’s ankles to keep him from running away, then he got off the kid. “Really, I’m sorry.”

The boy tried to tear free of the bonds, but he only managed to hurt himself. That didn’t stop him from trying to wriggle toward Dick, though.

“You’ll be okay,” Dick promised as he pressed the button to summon the Batmobile. “We’re going to get you some help.”

The boy didn’t process a word of what he said, but Dick didn’t expect him to. Ivy’s pollens were strong.

He’d need to take the boy back to the Batcave to handle him. The police would be legally obligated to turn the boy over to the vampire hunters, and the hunters wouldn’t care that the kid was a literal child who was drugged. The boy had attacked someone, so they’d justify putting him down like a dog. Once the kid was in his right mind again, they’d get him back to his family.

But…Dick frowned at the boy. Vampires were super dedicated parents and took extremely good care of the youngest members of their clan, but this boy was clearly malnourished. He was filthy, with holes in his clothes, and he was ice cold in a way vampires shouldn’t be.

He’s starving. Literally. The kid felt like a corpse. So, he was either alone or abused. Dick gave the boy’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, but he had to pull his fingers back quickly when the boy snapped at him.

The Batmobile slowly turned itself into the alley and parked just in front of them. Dick dragged the struggling vampire boy into the backseat, raised the partition, and got in the front seat. The boy screeched and struggled, snapping at the air and shredding the leather with his fangs.

“You’ll be okay,” Dick promised.

The boy snarled at him, his eyes glowing red.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re very scary.”

Dick took a moment to tell Gordon where the plant had gone off, then he took another few minutes to pry his glove off and pull the armor off his bloody arm. The vampire kid practically wailed at the fresh waft of blood.

“Sorry, this is mine,” Dick apologized lamely as he wrapped his arm in bandages to staunch the bleeding. Geesh the kid was strong. He was probably going to need Alfred to stitch a few of the cuts up. If he’d had no armor on, the kid probably would have mangled him.

Dick sighed and set the Batmobile to drive back to the Batcave. He’d get himself patched up so the blood scent wasn’t driving the kid crazy, then…

Well, they’d figure out what to do with the kid.

Bruce will probably be okay with this, he assured himself.