#demonrobin

We reached the large tree that was over my sanctuary. I dove through, quickly followed by the humans. “Quiet! Get down!” I hissed. They all crouched low, as did I. When the footsteps of the hierarchy’s knights drew closer I closed my eyes and opened my hearing. They stopped just outside of our hiding spot and we could see two of their feet.  My body began shaking in fear as my hunters got dangerously close.

“The energy spike came from around here. They could not have gone far. The prince has killed another. Remember: he is a kill on sight. He began the wars that have killed so many! The Hierarchy wishes him dead! It is our job to please them. We must kill him!” a loud voice commanded.

I shrunk back farther away from the scarily familiar voice of Parancsnok (Commander), the hierarchy’s commander who had hunted me for years.  “He is obviously not here. We should move on. It is because of him that my mother, his aunt, died. I wish to be the one to take his head!” My cousin, Lojāls Krāpnieks(Latvian), yelled, his voice consumed by rage.

The troops moved on, on two legs-as is the way of most demons- with only Lojāls staying. He quickly, covertly laid down my obsidian knives right in front of our hiding place and whispered “I wish you luck little cousin.” before following the other knights.

Once my racing heart slowed it’s painful, terrified, reverberating drumming slowed enough for me to stand without my trembling being too noticeable.  I stood up on two legs near the entrance, listened, looked, felt, and smelled for any of the guards and, when finding none near, slid one hand out, grabbed my knives, and quickly pulled them back in. I walked over to the eternally replenishing oil lamp that I had brought into my exile after an outcast from the tân demons gave it to me.

The adrenaline I got from the fight, returning to the Kingdom, and almost being found suddenly drained out of me, leaving me with overwhelming fatigue that almost caused me to collapse. Zatanna and Dad seemed to have seen my exhaustion and asked if we would sleep here tonight.

“Yes, but someone must keep watch.” I looked away embarrassed, “I cannot. Portal travel requires much energy and I am too tired right now.”

Dad walked over, put a large, gentle hand on my shoulder and said “I’ll keep watch. You all get some sleep.”

I nodded my thanks and walked to a dark corner to curl up. As soon as I rested my head on my arms, sleep overtook me.

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Noapte’s Dream

Screams were coming from all over. I frantically looked around but the black, cold fire reigned over my vision. I was suffocating as the shadowy flames consumed me, but they did not burn. More screams. I tried to escape the flames but they were ever-present.  The screaming was horrible; female, male, young ones; all screaming as they were consumed by the flames. All of the energy in my body was failing, even though the adrenaline kept replenishing.

My legs gave out as the last of my energy faded, leaving me to the flames. The screams faded and the black seemed more complete.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the dungeons of my home. “Mother, Father!” I yelled, groggily, drunkenly standing and stumbling over to the bars of my cell. The thick wood door to the dungeons opened and Mother and Father came in, surrounded by guards. They were all glaring at me.

“Mother, Father, what is going on? Why am I locked up? What happened? Why are you all glaring at me?”  I asked hysterically.

My father responded “Don’t act like you don’t know, killer. You destroyed much of the kingdom. You killed many of our people. We told you not to use those powers. Now everyone knows you are a freak, that you were an experiment. A failed one at that. You have been disowned and will be executed at moonrise.” then he and mother left.

I sat there for hours, stricken by what had happened. I had lost control of my powers. That had been why I couldn’t escape the black fire that had killed the others. I had killed them. I had killed them! All feeling was replaced by horror, revulsion, and depression. I would be killed. I deserved to be killed.

The wooden door creaked open and my cousin, Lojāls Krāpnieks, came in. Tear tracks stained his dark skin as he walked over and unlocked the door to my cell. I shook my head no but he came over, grabbed my arm, and pulled me out. He went through a secret passageway we had discovered a year ago, when I was three and he was eleven. We came out of the dark tunnel outside of the castle walls, but still he pulled me.

After we walked for a while he stopped, spun on me and asked “Why?”

The tears spilled out of my eyes as I fell to the ground, sobbing. He hugged me until I calmed down enough to say “I-I didn’t m-mean to! It-it was an accident! M-mother and F-father told me n-never to use th-those p-powers so I didn’t! Th-then m-my blood j-just started b-burning and-and  I-I just couldn’t k-keep it in! I k-killed th-them, I killed people. Oh, God, I killed them! You sh-should have l-left me to d-die! I’m a mon-monster! I c-can’t c-control them! M-mother and Fa-father refused to l-let me h-have a teacher or-or to t-teach m-myself. I didn’t even kn-know I could d-do that! I’m a dane-danger to the K-Kingdom. Please, please kill me. Please.”

He shook his head and pulled me closer. “It was not your fault if you were never taught. Your parents were always too self-centered, selfish, and cruel to others. They rule very harshly and oppress many. My mother knew that your parents are far too vain and power-hungry to properly take care of you. She always asked me to protect you and help you. I promised her I would. She died in the fire, but I know she would not blame you, nor would she want me to fail in my promise. You are my little cousin: my brother, my best friend, my family. I will protect you. The portal-wizard will know of how you can escape. I will get the supplies to create a portal. He has told me of a different dimension, a world called ‘Earth’ that Etrigan has been to. You will be safe there until you can come back and overthrow your parents harsh rule. You will be king, and a good one at that. I will save you so that you can save us. I promise you, you will be alright.”

I cried harder when he told me I had killed my aunt, his mother and that she had wanted me protected and taken care of. At the end, I felt myself relax into him. He lifted me up and took me into the Halott Forest and set me down in a dark, but thankfully dry, cave. “I will be back” he said, then walked the way we came.

Days passed and he still had not returned. I heard the hooves of tikbalangs (demon horses) stop by the cave. Knights from the Hierarchy came in, surrounded me, and pointed their weapons at me. My parents walked through the half-circle of knights and my mother, with a blank, emotionless voice said “The wizard has given me the idea of a much more… painful demise for you. On the planet called ‘Earth’ there is a light that will burn you to death. He has told us that the light is shining right now, and I have what is needed to perform the portal-opening.”

I froze in terror as she pulled out a small bag, threw the powder that had been in it into the air and spoke as spell. The particles twisted and turned as it opened to show another, brighter world. I looked at it in shock as my fear grew. Knights pulled me up and walked me to right in front of the portal. I attempted to shrink back in alarm, but, to my dread, the knights that I had grown up playing with stopped me from moving. My mother turned and hissed “Goodbye, freakish murderer. You will never have our throne. I hope your death burns very painfully.”

My breath left me as the guards pushed me through the portal and the light began to push on me, shaking me.

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End Noapte’s Dream

I shot up, gasping for breath as the hands still touched me. I roared, baring my fangs at where the hands were coming from and slashing at the arms. Everything was blurred. The hands immediately got off of me and I heard a familiar, comforting voice say “Shh. Calmează-te pasăre mică. Sunteți în siguranță. Sunteți bine. Calmează-te, e doar noi. Sunteți în siguranță.”  (Shh. Calm down little bird. You are safe. You are alright. Calm down, it is just us. You are safe.) My vision cleared and I saw the humans, shaken, worried, and terrified, looking at me. Blood was dripping from one of Dad’s arms and one of Zatanna’s.

Guilt overwhelmed me. “I-I’m sorry.” Then guilt from the past joined it and I felt tears spill out of my eyes. I pulled my legs to my chest and sobbed into them-a habit I had picked up from humans. Father pulled me into his lap and held onto me. I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder as he hugged me tighter, lightly stroking my back in smooth, comforting circles.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” He said.

“I hurt you. Just like I hurt them. I killed them. I-I didn’t mean to! I-I didn’t kn-know I could! I’m sorry! I d-didn’t m-mean too!” My body shook with tremors from my sobbing.

He kept kneading gentle circles into my back. “If you didn’t know you could do it and you didn’t mean to then it was not your fault. It was not your fault.” Father kept repeating those words until I stopped crying.

I sat back on my haunches and looked down. “I-I killed my aunt. She was one of the people I killed. Th-there was cold, black fire everywhere. They wouldn’t stop screaming. I didn’t know it was me. My parents told me that I was only allowed to use my shadow manipulation. I didn’t know I could use the fire, or-or the cold. It was suffocating. They were going to kill me. My cousin, Lojāls, he saved me. His mother, she was more of a mother to me than my mother ever was, she wanted him to protect me; she wanted me to be king. My parents, the King and Queen, they are harsh rulers. They rule from fear and are the only ones that have any more than they need. Both my cousin and my aunt wanted me to rule.” I looked up at the humans who looked at me with shock and sympathy. “I will get all of you back to Earth, but I must stay to complete her wishes and reinvent the Kingdom.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Father and Zatanna said at the same time. The other humans all nodded in agreement.

“You could be killed in ways more painful than any Earth had.” I said, trying to get them to leave. I won’t lose them, my new family.

“So? You’re family, and family takes care of each other.” Superboy said.

“The Justice League has connections to some demons like Blue Devil and Etrigan th-”

“Etrigan?” I cut Dad off. He nodded. “He is an enemy of my parents. He brought stories from Earth, which many of us thought was fictional, about revolutions and overthrowing leaders. My parents said they killed him. If he is alive, I believe he will help.”

“I know how to summon him! nagirtE eht nomed emoc ot ruo dia!” Zatanna said. A yellow, swirling portal opened up and Etrigan stepped through. I hid in the shadows.

He looked around and, realizing who and where he and the humans all were, and growled out “What the hell are you doing here?”

I stepped forward to explain, but my moving caught his attention. He lunged at me, grabbed me by my neck, slammed me into a wall and applied more pressure. I stayed still as long as I could, suppressing my instincts that were in overdrive, so that he would not see me as a threat, but I couldn’t breathe. The urge to show him just how powerful I truly am was mounting and it was getting harder and harder to subdue. Dad and Zatanna were trying to pull him off of me. My vision was getting blurred and black. I had no air. I couldn’t hold my instincts back anymore.

My tail snaked around his leg, piercing through it at the end. He growled. A small fragment of my power escaped before I could quell it. His arms fell off of my throat as two of my ányǐng rěnzhě (shadow ninja)jerked him away from me, pinning him on the ground. I fell to the ground as soon as his arms left my throat. I heaved as I tried to get air back into my starved lungs. I was on my hands and knees as I tried to catch my breath and repress, or at least control the impulse to kill him.

Dad and Zatanna ran over to me each putting a hand on one of my shoulders. A low, threatening growl seeped from my vocal chords. Their hands lessened the pressure, both clearly ready to run if I turned hostile. My muscles tensed at another surge of coercing force tried to compel me to attack all of them, especially Etrigan. It took a few minutes, but I was finally able to quiet the desire (aka drive it to the back of my mind) to bite his throat out, eat his soul, drink all of his blood, and rip his head off. I looked up and saw Etrigan struggling against my ányǐng rěnzhě who were pressing their swords to his throat, pinning him down. I quickly dispelled them and said “Sorry, but please do not do that again.” I shakily stood up after he stood up.

Etrigan walked over to me and looked like he was about to fight me again. I tensed my muscles so I wouldn’t fight back. Dad stepped in between me and Etrigan, putting a firm hand on Etrigan’s chest. Zatanna stepped in front of me and cast a shield around us.

Etrigan growled and said “What are you doing? He is a monster! Do you have any idea how many people his family has killed? How many people he killed!?”

Dad nodded and said “Yes. He told us how many people he has killed. However, he also told us why. He never meant to hurt anyone, but he wasn’t taught how to or allowed to use his powers. They built up until he could not hold them in anymore. He thought he was dying in the flames too. Now, he is working to overthrow his parents. We called you here to help, but if you won’t help us overthrow his parents, you are free to leave.”

Etrigan glared but, after about half a minute, he said “Fine. What is the plan?”

I shrunk back farther away from the scarily familiar voice of Parancsnok (Commander), the hierarchy’s commander who had hunted me for years.  “He is obviously not here. We should move on. It is because of him that my mother, his aunt, died. I wish to be the one to take his head!” My cousin, Lojāls Krāpnieks(Latvian), yelled, his voice consumed by rage.

The troops moved on, on two legs-as is the way of most demons- with only Lojāls staying. He quickly, covertly laid down my obsidian knives right in front of our hiding place and whispered “I wish you luck little cousin.” before following the other knights.

Once my racing heart slowed it’s painful, terrified, reverberating drumming slowed enough for me to stand without my trembling being too noticeable.  I stood up on two legs near the entrance, listened, looked, felt, and smelled for any of the guards and, when finding none near, slid one hand out, grabbed my knives, and quickly pulled them back in. I walked over to the eternally replenishing oil lamp that I had brought into my exile after an outcast from the tân demons gave it to me.

The adrenaline I got from the fight, returning to the Kingdom, and almost being found suddenly drained out of me, leaving me with overwhelming fatigue that almost caused me to collapse. Zatanna and Dad seemed to have seen my exhaustion and asked if we would sleep here tonight.

“Yes, but someone must keep watch.” I looked away embarrassed, “I cannot. Portal travel requires much energy and I am too tired right now.”

Dad walked over, put a large, gentle hand on my shoulder and said “I’ll keep watch. You all get some sleep.”

I nodded my thanks and walked to a dark corner to curl up. As soon as I rested my head on my arms, sleep overtook me.

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Noapte’s Dream

Screams were coming from all over. I frantically looked around but the black, cold fire reigned over my vision. I was suffocating as the shadowy flames consumed me, but they did not burn. More screams. I tried to escape the flames but they were ever-present.  The screaming was horrible; female, male, young ones; all screaming as they were consumed by the flames. All of the energy in my body was failing, even though the adrenaline kept replenishing.

My legs gave out as the last of my energy faded, leaving me to the flames. The screams faded and the black seemed more complete.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the dungeons of my home. “Mother, Father!” I yelled, groggily, drunkenly standing and stumbling over to the bars of my cell. The thick wood door to the dungeons opened and Mother and Father came in, surrounded by guards. They were all glaring at me.

“Mother, Father, what is going on? Why am I locked up? What happened? Why are you all glaring at me?”  I asked hysterically.

My father responded “Don’t act like you don’t know, killer. You destroyed much of the kingdom. You killed many of our people. We told you not to use those powers. Now everyone knows you are a freak, that you were an experiment. A failed one at that. You have been disowned and will be executed at moonrise.” then he and mother left.

I sat there for hours, stricken by what had happened. I had lost control of my powers. That had been why I couldn’t escape the black fire that had killed the others. I had killed them. I had killed them! All feeling was replaced by horror, revulsion, and depression. I would be killed. I deserved to be killed.

The wooden door creaked open and my cousin, Lojāls Krāpnieks, came in. Tear tracks stained his dark skin as he walked over and unlocked the door to my cell. I shook my head no but he came over, grabbed my arm, and pulled me out. He went through a secret passageway we had discovered a year ago, when I was three and he was eleven. We came out of the dark tunnel outside of the castle walls, but still he pulled me.

After we walked for a while he stopped, spun on me and asked “Why?”

The tears spilled out of my eyes as I fell to the ground, sobbing. He hugged me until I calmed down enough to say “I-I didn’t m-mean to! It-it was an accident! M-mother and F-father told me n-never to use th-those p-powers so I didn’t! Th-then m-my blood j-just started b-burning and-and  I-I just couldn’t k-keep it in! I k-killed th-them, I killed people. Oh, God, I killed them! You sh-should have l-left me to d-die! I’m a mon-monster! I c-can’t c-control them! M-mother and Fa-father refused to l-let me h-have a teacher or-or to t-teach m-myself. I didn’t even kn-know I could d-do that! I’m a dane-danger to the K-Kingdom. Please, please kill me. Please.”

He shook his head and pulled me closer. “It was not your fault if you were never taught. Your parents were always too self-centered, selfish, and cruel to others. They rule very harshly and oppress many. My mother knew that your parents are far too vain and power-hungry to properly take care of you. She always asked me to protect you and help you. I promised her I would. She died in the fire, but I know she would not blame you, nor would she want me to fail in my promise. You are my little cousin: my brother, my best friend, my family. I will protect you. The portal-wizard will know of how you can escape. I will get the supplies to create a portal. He has told me of a different dimension, a world called ‘Earth’ that Etrigan has been to. You will be safe there until you can come back and overthrow your parents harsh rule. You will be king, and a good one at that. I will save you so that you can save us. I promise you, you will be alright.”

I cried harder when he told me I had killed my aunt, his mother and that she had wanted me protected and taken care of. At the end, I felt myself relax into him. He lifted me up and took me into the Halott Forest and set me down in a dark, but thankfully dry, cave. “I will be back” he said, then walked the way we came.

Days passed and he still had not returned. I heard the hooves of tikbalangs (demon horses) stop by the cave. Knights from the Hierarchy came in, surrounded me, and pointed their weapons at me. My parents walked through the half-circle of knights and my mother, with a blank, emotionless voice said “The wizard has given me the idea of a much more… painful demise for you. On the planet called ‘Earth’ there is a light that will burn you to death. He has told us that the light is shining right now, and I have what is needed to perform the portal-opening.”

I froze in terror as she pulled out a small bag, threw the powder that had been in it into the air and spoke as spell. The particles twisted and turned as it opened to show another, brighter world. I looked at it in shock as my fear grew. Knights pulled me up and walked me to right in front of the portal. I attempted to shrink back in alarm, but, to my dread, the knights that I had grown up playing with stopped me from moving. My mother turned and hissed “Goodbye, freakish murderer. You will never have our throne. I hope your death burns very painfully.”

My breath left me as the guards pushed me through the portal and the light began to push on me, shaking me.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

End Noapte’s Dream

I shot up, gasping for breath as the hands still touched me. I roared, baring my fangs at where the hands were coming from and slashing at the arms. Everything was blurred. The hands immediately got off of me and I heard a familiar, comforting voice say “Shh. Calmează-te pasăre mică. Sunteți în siguranță. Sunteți bine. Calmează-te, e doar noi. Sunteți în siguranță.”  (Shh. Calm down little bird. You are safe. You are alright. Calm down, it is just us. You are safe.) My vision cleared and I saw the humans, shaken, worried, and terrified, looking at me. Blood was dripping from one of Dad’s arms and one of Zatanna’s.

Guilt overwhelmed me. “I-I’m sorry.” Then guilt from the past joined it and I felt tears spill out of my eyes. I pulled my legs to my chest and sobbed into them-a habit I had picked up from humans. Father pulled me into his lap and held onto me. I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder as he hugged me tighter, lightly stroking my back in smooth, comforting circles.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” He said.

“I hurt you. Just like I hurt them. I killed them. I-I didn’t mean to! I-I didn’t kn-know I could! I’m sorry! I d-didn’t m-mean too!” My body shook with tremors from my sobbing.

He kept kneading gentle circles into my back. “If you didn’t know you could do it and you didn’t mean to then it was not your fault. It was not your fault.” Father kept repeating those words until I stopped crying.

I sat back on my haunches and looked down. “I-I killed my aunt. She was one of the people I killed. Th-there was cold, black fire everywhere. They wouldn’t stop screaming. I didn’t know it was me. My parents told me that I was only allowed to use my shadow manipulation. I didn’t know I could use the fire, or-or the cold. It was suffocating. They were going to kill me. My cousin, Lojāls, he saved me. His mother, she was more of a mother to me than my mother ever was, she wanted him to protect me; she wanted me to be king. My parents, the King and Queen, they are harsh rulers. They rule from fear and are the only ones that have any more than they need. Both my cousin and my aunt wanted me to rule.” I looked up at the humans who looked at me with shock and sympathy. “I will get all of you back to Earth, but I must stay to complete her wishes and reinvent the Kingdom.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Father and Zatanna said at the same time. The other humans all nodded in agreement.

“You could be killed in ways more painful than any Earth had.” I said, trying to get them to leave. I won’t lose them, my new family.

“So? You’re family, and family takes care of each other.” Superboy said.

“The Justice League has connections to some demons like Blue Devil and Etrigan th-”

“Etrigan?” I cut Dad off. He nodded. “He is an enemy of my parents. He brought stories from Earth, which many of us thought was fictional, about revolutions and overthrowing leaders. My parents said they killed him. If he is alive, I believe he will help.”

“I know how to summon him! nagirtE eht nomed emoc ot ruo dia!” Zatanna said. A yellow, swirling portal opened up and Etrigan stepped through. I hid in the shadows.

He looked around and, realizing who and where he and the humans all were, and growled out “What the hell are you doing here?”

I stepped forward to explain, but my moving caught his attention. He lunged at me, grabbed me by my neck, slammed me into a wall and applied more pressure. I stayed still as long as I could, suppressing my instincts that were in overdrive, so that he would not see me as a threat, but I couldn’t breathe. The urge to show him just how powerful I truly am was mounting and it was getting harder and harder to subdue. Dad and Zatanna were trying to pull him off of me. My vision was getting blurred and black. I had no air. I couldn’t hold my instincts back anymore.

My tail snaked around his leg, piercing through it at the end. He growled. A small fragment of my power escaped before I could quell it. His arms fell off of my throat as two of my ányǐng rěnzhě (shadow ninja)jerked him away from me, pinning him on the ground. I fell to the ground as soon as his arms left my throat. I heaved as I tried to get air back into my starved lungs. I was on my hands and knees as I tried to catch my breath and repress, or at least control the impulse to kill him.

Dad and Zatanna ran over to me each putting a hand on one of my shoulders. A low, threatening growl seeped from my vocal chords. Their hands lessened the pressure, both clearly ready to run if I turned hostile. My muscles tensed at another surge of coercing force tried to compel me to attack all of them, especially Etrigan. It took a few minutes, but I was finally able to quiet the desire (aka drive it to the back of my mind) to bite his throat out, eat his soul, drink all of his blood, and rip his head off. I looked up and saw Etrigan struggling against my ányǐng rěnzhě who were pressing their swords to his throat, pinning him down. I quickly dispelled them and said “Sorry, but please do not do that again.” I shakily stood up after he stood up.

Etrigan walked over to me and looked like he was about to fight me again. I tensed my muscles so I wouldn’t fight back. Dad stepped in between me and Etrigan, putting a firm hand on Etrigan’s chest. Zatanna stepped in front of me and cast a shield around us.

Etrigan growled and said “What are you doing? He is a monster! Do you have any idea how many people his family has killed? How many people he killed!?”

Dad nodded and said “Yes. He told us how many people he has killed. However, he also told us why. He never meant to hurt anyone, but he wasn’t taught how to or allowed to use his powers. They built up until he could not hold them in anymore. He thought he was dying in the flames too. Now, he is working to overthrow his parents. We called you here to help, but if you won’t help us overthrow his parents, you are free to leave.”

“Do you mind if I come with you? I won’t interfere unless someone tries to kill you or you want me to.” Batman asked.

“Sure. It would probably be best if you didn’t interfere. That would hurt your image to the actual good people in Gotham: hanging out with a demon.” Robin said as he went on top of a building. “Added this little feature early on.” He smirked and hit the three yellow straps that held his shirt closed in a certain order. His uniform changed to black with small purple details. “Just so that no one would know who I really was.”

“Good job. Where to?” Batman asked.

Robin closed his uncovered, glowing eyes for about twenty seconds, clearly concentrating on something, then said “Follow me.” He ran, jumping onto other rooftops, tail helping him balance. He didn’t stop when they got to crime alley, but went on through suicide slums. At an alley next to a billiard club, the Blue Note, he dropped down. A man, clearly one of Two-Face’s thugs, was laying peacefully on the ground. “Drug overdose. These ones taste horrible.” Robin supplied, wrinkling his nose as he walked away from the shadows Batman was hiding in. He dropped down next to the body, opened the body’s mouth, and put his hand over it. He whispered a few unheard words as black tendrils weaved from Robin’s outstretched hand into the man’s mouth. When they came back out, they were holding a glowing red orb. Robin grabbed it and raised it to his mouth. It nearly looked like he unhinged his mouth as he put the orb into his mouth, swallowing it.

He hummed in content and bent over the body once again, this time aiming for the neck. Batman couldn’t help but wince a bit as Robin’s fangs sunk into the man’s neck. Just like with him, Robin began to moan in pleasure as he sucked the blood, tail happily flicking behind him. The man’s color quickly grew to white as most his blood was sucked out. Once Robin was done, he licked the puncture holes where his fangs had gone in, licked his fingers, and then licked his lips.

“Done?” Batman asked.

“No, I need just one or two more… I only eat enough that I’m not in any danger of attacking anyone.” Dick responded. Robin looked embarrassed that his hunger had not been filled. He climbed back up onto the building, with Batman quickly following. After Robin had his eyes closed for about 10 seconds, he began running over rooftops again, Batman followed.

“Robin, you don’t kill, you keep in the instincts, and you’re a great kid. You go through a lot without dealing with the hunger. As long as you don’t kill an innocent, still try not to kill anyone of course, but I don’t see why you eating is a bad thing.” Batman and Robin both slowed to a stop on a rooftop and Batman put a comforting hand on Robin’s shoulder. “I’m so proud of you son.” Batman gave a small true smile. Robin hugged him and he just held onto his son for a few minutes. “Maybe you should move to a funeral home when you grow up,” Batman joked, “regular food and drink.” Robin gave a small smile. “But, you should eat when you feel hungry, not just when you are in danger of attacking people. I’ll see if Dr. Thompkins can get a few more blood bags for you to drink, sound good?”

Robin smiled a bit bigger and nodded. “Sounds great.”

Robin’s stomach gave a ravenous protest. He flushed. Batman began to go in the direction that they had been heading and Robin ran ahead of him, trusting his dad to follow.

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Robin stood up after he finished drinking the blood from the fourth man. Urrrp! Hic! His whole body jerked with the force of the hiccup and he blushed a raspberry color. “Drink the last bit too fast there?” Batman asked, smiling amusedly from the shadows of the alley.

“Shut-hic-up! I haven’t-hic- eaten or drank for-hic- two we-hic-eks!” Dick scowled as his hiccups continued.

“Come on, batmobile is on its way. Don’t want you grappling with that case of the hiccups. Does Alfred know?”

“Not-hic-sure. Probab-hic-ly. He is-hic- Alfred, remem-hic-er?” Dick glared at the ground, his demon form making it much scarier than it should have been. The roar of the batmobile’s engines announced its arrival as it pulled into the alley. Robin jumped into his usual seat while Batman drove. The whole ride home was filled with Robin’s loud, persistant hiccups.

They walked into the batcave where Alfred was waiting for them. As he saw Dick in demon form, he said, “I was wondering when you would tell us or let us see, Master Dick.”

Dick grinned, “Sorry to-hic-keep you-hic-waiting. Would’-hic-ve helped if I’d-hic-known you-hic-knew, though.” He and Bruce went and changed. Dick came out wearing black Gotham Academy sweatpants and a white and green Luigi’s Pizza tee shirt. Bruce was wearing gray sweatpants with no print and an old, black and yellow Gotham Knights tee shirt.

Bruce noticed Dick had a few holes in his that hadn’t been there before. He walked over to finger them when Dick flushed the raspberry pink again and grinned sheepishly saying “My claws cut into it… but at least my hiccups are gone. Could I have the glamour charm back? Obviously the claws get in the way a fair amount…”

“Okay, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to…” Bruce said taking the glamour charm he had had in his pocket and handing it to Dick.  Dick smiled “Thanks Dad, but I like to look human. The claws really do get in the way, and what if someone was in the house of something? They’d see me…” Dick frowned and hugged himself.

Bruce hugged him close “How about you don’t wear it tonight? We can have a movie night if you want to.”

Dick smiled “Okay! The A-Team?”

“Sure little bird.” Bruce said as Dick ran up the stairs to the manor then up to his room. When Bruce walked in, he was already laying in his bed and the movie was in.

“Alright, move over now!” Bruce jumped on and tickled Dick.

“Hahahaha, stop! Bruce, stop please! Hahaha!” Dick moved over and under the blankets as Bruce laid on top of the blankets and put an arm around his son. Dick pressed play, but both were asleep before the movie was over.

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Zatanna’s POV

“Dad, isn’t it a blood moon tonight?” Zatanna asked her father, looking at one of her magic books.

“Yes. Why?” Giovanni Zatara asked his daughter.

“Doesn’t it affect demons?” Zatara nodded. “We never told Dick Grayson, did we?” Zatanna asked, feeling herself pale.

“Connerie (shit)” Zatara replied.

“Of course not, dude!” Wally said, speeding over to hug Robin.

“No, of course not.” Superboy also joined the hug.

“No!” so did Artemis.

“Never” and M’gann.

“Of course not, my friend.” And even Kaldur.

They all heard a sizzling sound and saw Robin with his clawed hands under his eyes, and tears sizzling on his hands. “Th-thanks guys. You have no idea how much this means to me…”

“Soooo… What’s being a demon like?” Wally asked ash Batman and the team sat down on the couches.

“Not. Fun.” Robin began, but then his stomach growled and he partially bent over.

“Robin?” Batman asked worriedly.

“I-I’m okay. Just getting hungry and thirsty.” Robin said, still sounding pained.

“I’ll get you some water and pizza!” M’gann said hurriedly.

“No, not that kind of hunger… It’s not human hunger… It’s demon hunger. The demon hunger and thirst isn’t for food and water, it’s a hunger for souls and a thirst for blood. That’s the main reason I hate being a demon, is that if I don’t eat souls and drink blood, I’ll lose control. I would kill for just a drop of blood, a lick of a soul. I hate it. Usually, when I go out on patrol and off on my own, I track the Souruītā demons. When I find them, I kill them, eat their souls, and drink their blood. I hate that I have to, but since killing myself didn’t work, I had find a way to stop the demon instincts without killing an innocent human.

Souruītā demons used to be human, but their souls became so evil and corrupt they were transformed into a demon. A soul like that cannot feel remorse; it is impossible for a Souruītā soul to remorse or become human again. All it will want is to kill more and more people to eat their souls and drain them of blood. My parents and the rest of the circus used to donate blood and they said I could eat their souls when they died, but just like humans eat more when they grow up, so do demons. Truthfully, Gotham was probably the best place for me to be. There are so many Souruītā demons… even the people that I get there too late to save usually have Souruītā souls. I’ve found that the demon’s blood holds me over much longer with a lot less blood than it takes of human blood to hold me over half as long. I need to get more soon. I can’t stay much longer.” Robin’s voice had been becoming more strained and pain filled.

Batman suddenly pulled out a batarang, took off his glove, and cut his wrist. Robin turned and the team saw Robin turn, looking thirsty, and right at his father’s wrist. “Drink.” Batman said. “N-no, I won’t!” Robin said, turning away, but the team and Batman could see he was trembling with the exertion of resisting drinking Batman’s blood. “Robin, take enough to hold you over. I won’t let you go hungry or let you do anything you don’t want to because you won’t drink my blood that I am offering you.  Please, son, please just do it.”  Batman held up his wrist to his son’s nose. Robin suddenly lunged and Batman felt Robin’s fangs sink into his skin. He couldn’t help but grunt as the slight pain and surprise got to him.

Robin drank for about ten seconds before he began to moan in pleasure. Batman felt that he should be disturbed by his ward’s moaning, but he wasn’t because he knew it wasn’t his son moaning; it was his son’s demon. After thirty seconds, Robin suddenly jerked back and began to say, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry, I-”

“Robin! Robin! Dick, calm down!” Robin stopped, still looking regretful. “I wanted you to. I asked you to. If you hadn’t, I would’ve put my arm in front of your nose and mouth until you did. You have nothing to be sorry for. Are there any weaknesses I should know about?” Batman asked.

“Holy water burns me and rosaries… they hurt to be near… they make me feel like I’m gonna get sick. Being on holy ground does the same thing. That’s all I know about. Oh, and Tati, mulţumesc (Dad, thank you).”

“We should probably be heading home. Thank you.” Batman said, walking into the zeta tube.

Batman B01

“Bye guys, and thanks.” Robin said with a smile as he went through the zeta.

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So, anyone else find that… weird, scary, uncomfortable? Wally asked.

Yes. M’gann, Kaldur, and Artemis agreed.

No. Wally, guys, he is still the same sweet boy we know and that we trust with our lives! Zatanna yelled, astounded that they would even think that.

Did you not see him?! He was purple with horns and fangs and claws! He sucked Batman’s blood for God’s sake! How could it not scare you? Wally yelled.

Don’t call him an it! Zatanna’s right. He’s still Robin. M’gann, when you showed that you were a white martian, did he care? M’gann shook her head no. Artemis, when you told us you were Sportmaster’s daughter and Cheshire’s sister, did Robin treat you any differently? Artemis shook her head. Kaldur, when you lost control of your magic because Klarion cast that spell on you, did Robin care that you kept shocking him? Kaldur shook his head. Wally, when you were turned into a nyan, and even purred at and bit Robin, did he act like you were any different than usual? Wally looked down, ashamed. He’s the same as ever. It’s not his fault he’s a demon, but all things considered, he’s doing a damn good job of controlling whatever demon instincts he has. He may be a demon, but he’s still a he, and he is still Robin. Ranted Superboy.

If even Superboy can see that Robin’s still Robin, why can’t you guys? Zatanna asked.

You’re right. I-I wasn’t thinking of Robin. It will take some getting used to, but he’d do it for us any day. Wally thought.

Yeah, we weren’t thinking of Robin. M’gann agreed.

No, we weren’t. It will take me a looong time to get used to, but eventually I will. Artemis thought.

Zatanna and Superboy are correct. We need to be there for him. Kaldur said, asserting leadership.

“Robin, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. Please, son, come out.” Batman said, sounding hurt. Robin put his raised hand down in front of where his body was crouched and he closed his mouth so that it was barely open. He still looked at Batman warily. Then, Batman noticed Robin was shaking in fear of him. Batman slowly and calmly lifted himself into the vent, causing Robin to shrink farther back into the vent, still looking scared.

“Dickie, please, I would never hurt you. I won’t ever hurt you. Please, don’t be afraid of me. You’re my son, no matter what.” Batman said, taking his cowl off to become Bruce Wayne. Batman reached out a gloved hand towards his son.  Robin slowly and warily reached out one hand until Batman’s enclosed it. After a few seconds, Robin suddenly lunged at Batman, wrapping his arms around his neck. Batman immediately held onto him and, pulling his ward into his lap, said, “Shhh, Dickie. It’s okay. You’re okay, you’re alright. Shhhhh.”

Robin was quaking, but Batman hadn’t felt any tears yet so, once Robin’s shaking stopped, he pulled back. A tear slid down Robin’s cheek and sizzled on his stomach. “It’s okay to cry, Dick.” Bruce told his son, pulling him close again. “N-No. Not on anyone wi-without the glamour.” Robin said, trembling. “Why not?” Batman asked. “My-my tears a-are ac-acid. They-they’d burn through yo-your armor. I-I can’t cry n-near anyone or anything li-living or the acid wo-would burn them.” Bruce’s heart broke at the thought of his son, who hated being alone, who always wanted to be held and comforted, just any physical contact really, not being able to be held as he cried.

Batman took out the glamour charm that he had stolen back from Kid Flash. “If you want, you can put this back on. I don’t care if you do or not, or if I get a few chemical burns or not. I know you, and I know you want me to be right here, but you need to cry. Please don’t hold it inside little bird.” Robin reached out and put on the glamour charm, turning back to his regular self. As soon as the transformation was complete, he hugged Batman again, but this time, he was sobbing. Batman just sat there and hugged his son until his tears turned to sniffles.

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t t-tell you. I-I was sc-scared. E-everyone h-hates demons, and a-after the thing wi-with Dracula, I just… I was sc-scared, Tati. I-I’m so-sorry.” Robin trembled. “Dick, I would never- Look, Dracula was a monster because he wanted to hurt people. It wasn’t the fact that he was a vampire that made me kill him; it was his choices. I would never do that, or anything like it, to you. I don’t blame you for being scared. If I were you, I would be terrified. If I had been you, I probably would’ve scratched me when I climbed into the vent with you. If you had done so, I would’ve still stayed. Dick, I know you hate being alone, but I understand why you are wary of people knowing anything about you. You can trust us though. I think the team is probably wondering where we are. We should probably get back to them soon.”Batman said, shocked at first, then gently holding the side of his ward’s face and feeling Dick lean into the touch.

Robin closed his uncovered, glowing eyes for about twenty seconds, clearly concentrating on something, then said “Follow me.” He ran, jumping onto other rooftops, tail helping him balance. He didn’t stop when they got to crime alley, but went on through suicide slums. At an alley next to a billiard club, the Blue Note, he dropped down. A man, clearly one of Two-Face’s thugs, was laying peacefully on the ground. “Drug overdose. These ones taste horrible.” Robin supplied, wrinkling his nose as he walked away from the shadows Batman was hiding in. He dropped down next to the body, opened the body’s mouth, and put his hand over it. He whispered a few unheard words as black tendrils weaved from Robin’s outstretched hand into the man’s mouth. When they came back out, they were holding a glowing red orb. Robin grabbed it and raised it to his mouth. It nearly looked like he unhinged his mouth as he put the orb into his mouth, swallowing it.

He hummed in content and bent over the body once again, this time aiming for the neck. Batman couldn’t help but wince a bit as Robin’s fangs sunk into the man’s neck. Just like with him, Robin began to moan in pleasure as he sucked the blood, tail happily flicking behind him. The man’s color quickly grew to white as most his blood was sucked out. Once Robin was done, he licked the puncture holes where his fangs had gone in, licked his fingers, and then licked his lips.

“Done?” Batman asked.

“No, I need just one or two more… I only eat enough that I’m not in any danger of attacking anyone.” Dick responded. Robin looked embarrassed that his hunger had not been filled. He climbed back up onto the building, with Batman quickly following. After Robin had his eyes closed for about 10 seconds, he began running over rooftops again, Batman followed.

“Robin, you don’t kill, you keep in the instincts, and you’re a great kid. You go through a lot without dealing with the hunger. As long as you don’t kill an innocent, still try not to kill anyone of course, but I don’t see why you eating is a bad thing.” Batman and Robin both slowed to a stop on a rooftop and Batman put a comforting hand on Robin’s shoulder. “I’m so proud of you son.” Batman gave a small true smile. Robin hugged him and he just held onto his son for a few minutes. “Maybe you should move to a funeral home when you grow up,” Batman joked, “regular food and drink.” Robin gave a small smile. “But, you should eat when you feel hungry, not just when you are in danger of attacking people. I’ll see if Dr. Thompkins can get a few more blood bags for you to drink, sound good?”

Robin smiled a bit bigger and nodded. “Sounds great.”

Robin’s stomach gave a ravenous protest. He flushed. Batman began to go in the direction that they had been heading and Robin ran ahead of him, trusting his dad to follow.

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Robin stood up after he finished drinking the blood from the fourth man. Urrrp! Hic! His whole body jerked with the force of the hiccup and he blushed a raspberry color. “Drink the last bit too fast there?” Batman asked, smiling amusedly from the shadows of the alley.

“Shut-hic-up! I haven’t-hic- eaten or drank for-hic- two we-hic-eks!” Dick scowled as his hiccups continued.

“Come on, batmobile is on its way. Don’t want you grappling with that case of the hiccups. Does Alfred know?”

“Not-hic-sure. Probab-hic-ly. He is-hic- Alfred, remem-hic-er?” Dick glared at the ground, his demon form making it much scarier than it should have been. The roar of the batmobile’s engines announced its arrival as it pulled into the alley. Robin jumped into his usual seat while Batman drove. The whole ride home was filled with Robin’s loud, persistant hiccups.

They walked into the batcave where Alfred was waiting for them. As he saw Dick in demon form, he said, “I was wondering when you would tell us or let us see, Master Dick.”

Dick grinned, “Sorry to-hic-keep you-hic-waiting. Would’-hic-ve helped if I’d-hic-known you-hic-knew, though.” He and Bruce went and changed. Dick came out wearing black Gotham Academy sweatpants and a white and green Luigi’s Pizza tee shirt. Bruce was wearing gray sweatpants with no print and an old, black and yellow Gotham Knights tee shirt.

Bruce noticed Dick had a few holes in his that hadn’t been there before. He walked over to finger them when Dick flushed the raspberry pink again and grinned sheepishly saying “My claws cut into it… but at least my hiccups are gone. Could I have the glamour charm back? Obviously the claws get in the way a fair amount…”

“Okay, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to…” Bruce said taking the glamour charm he had had in his pocket and handing it to Dick. Dick smiled “Thanks Dad, but I like to look human. The claws really do get in the way, and what if someone was in the house of something? They’d see me…” Dick frowned and hugged himself.

Bruce hugged him close “How about you don’t wear it tonight? We can have a movie night if you want to.”

Dick smiled “Okay! The A-Team?”

“Sure little bird.” Bruce said as Dick ran up the stairs to the manor then up to his room. When Bruce walked in, he was already laying in his bed and the movie was in.

“Alright, move over now!” Bruce jumped on and tickled Dick.

“Hahahaha, stop! Bruce, stop please! Hahaha!” Dick moved over and under the blankets as Bruce laid on top of the blankets and put an arm around his son. Dick pressed play, but both were asleep before the movie was over.

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Zatanna’s POV

“Dad, isn’t it a blood moon tonight?” Zatanna asked her father, looking at one of her magic books.

“Yes. Why?” Giovanni Zatara asked his daughter.

“Doesn’t it affect demons?” Zatara nodded. “We never told Dick Grayson, did we?” Zatanna asked, feeling herself pale.

“Connerie (shit)” Zatara replied.

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