#vampire dc

It has been four days since the first report of the virus, an anonymous source contacted us to let us know of a creature, humanoid, attacking two civilians in crime alley. This would be nothing out of the ordinary for Gotham if the two victims, pronounced DOA to Gotham Med (see related articles), had not disappeared before their bodies could be identified.

What was originally suspected to be foul play on the part of the hospital was later ruled out, given the fact that both victims were spotted multiple times in and around crime alley.

When asked to describe their appearance, one citizen who claims to have seen the pair described them as ashen, erratic, and frenzied. Claiming that he had originally thought them to be addicts, given how they were switching between being sluggish and lethargic to alert and conscious repeatedly.

The citizen then claims to have witnessed the two disappear between buildings, hearing a loud scream a few moments later, then seeing the pair reappear from the alley nearly 15 minutes later covered in blood.

This, along with multiple other accounts of such incidents involving both the original two victims but also multiple other missing persons, leads us to one answer; an outbreak of Vampirism (see related articles).

The symptoms of Vampirism vary, some may developing super-strength, speed, increased healing factors (see related articles), even immortality (see related articles), but one thing always remains the same; a thirst for human blood. Because of this many of those afflicted with Vampirism have taken to feeding on animals, something akin to us humans and metas sustaining ourselves solely on meal-replacement bars.

We sent one of our interns to speak with a few members of the Vampire community to get their two cents on the outbreak, as well as interviewing a few experts in the field.

Mr. Rosario ( @hinata-rosario-revamped ) (see related articles) stated that he had been turned only a few days prior to our interview. He had been walking home from working a night shift, passing through crime alley (see related articles), when he was attacked and bitten. The next day he had already developed the disease.

Because of the attack he is perpetually cold and hungry, terrified of himself and of outliving those around him. He claims he can no longer eat human food, touch garlic, silver, or holy water, cross running water, or go in the sun (see related articles). Unlike traditional depictions of Vampires (see related articles), he can, however, see himself in mirrors due to the fact that they are no longer backed by silver but aluminum.

He has developed fangs, something we can only imagine to be quite distressing, but has no knowledge of if he will develop any form of super strength, speed, or healing.

When asked about prominent vampire figure, Mr. Wing (better known as the Vampire King) ( @vamp-wing ), he responded -

“He should chug some garlic laced holy water”

A sentiment shared by many, given that the Vampire King (see related articles) is suspected to have started the current outbreak, having infected nearly everyone in his own universe with the disease.

We were also able to speak with a variant of Robin IV (see related articles) from the Vampire Kings universe. For the sake of simplicity we will be referring to him as Vampire Robin in this article. This is what he had to say on the matter of his transformation and the dangers associated the ‘Vampire King’-

“I was changed by the Vampire King in my world. He’s called Mr. Wing or Nightwing. He changed me several months ago.

At the time, the vampire outbreak was going on with the entire Justice League having changed. Father put us into hiding, he’s Batman in my world. Then, when he began realizing there was a mole in our group, Nightwing killed him.

I went to attack him, then he bit me. It was… painful. I was paralyzed and in pain. The last I remember was watching Nightwing kill Red Robin. We had our fights, but Red Robin was my brother and I felt like a failure in not saving him.”

He then goes on to explain that when we awoke he was taken in by Bruce Wayne (see related articles) and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (see related articles). The Bruce Wayne of Vampire Robin’s universe had been funding Batman for several years and decided to help Vampire Robin despite him developing Vampirism.

When asked if he believes the Vampire King could be behind the outbreak in our universe he replied that, while he cannot be certain given that he has not yet travelled to our universe, it is entirely possible. He recommends that citizens daring to brave the city, even with the risk of being eaten alive, drink as much Holy Water (see related articles) as possible and carry garlic on their person at all times.

As for the symptoms he has experienced, he, like Mr. Rosario, states that he is constantly hungry and cold. His teeth have sharpened to fangs and his eyes have become red. All his senses are heightened, as well as his healing factor, and his blood no longer flows given that he relies on the blood of others to survive. He can no longer be in sunlight without burning and has become fully nocturnal.

As for how it has impacted him mentally, he states the the following -

“Emotionally, I feel disconnected from all of my loved ones, especially ones that are still human. I can’t be around them without wanting to eat them. It can feel isolating, especially on the diet I’m on where I only drink from blood bags. Most vampires don’t do that.”

As well as stating that when the hunger becomes near unbearable it is difficult to distinguish between humans and livestock.

Though we attempted to reach out to the Vampire King for an interview, he did not respond, something we now believe to be a blessing in disguise for our intern.

The most unfortunate part of this is that, while there are ways to mitigate the symptoms of Vampirism, there is no known cure nor any research into one going on at this time. We urge any and all scientists and academics reading this to act on finding a cure at once, and believe it should be our nations top priority.

Tell us your thoughts on the topic (here)

Gotham Reports is certified in fair, reliable, and unbiased reporting.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Your screams echoed inside the sewer, the sound of the water pouring in silencing most of the sound you made. "You shouldn't have been nosy...you knew what's waiting for nosy people, I forgave you for knowing what you shouldn't have known and still you sold me and my whole gang to the police!" You panicked more when the sewer's entrance was closed by several bars, keeping you away from your freedom. "Please! I had to do it! They had my mom! Please let me go!" You begged as water reached your hips, lifting you off the ground, you pushed your legs so you could stay on top of the water, panting for air.

You looked up at where the water came from, your former boss watching closely as the sewer got filled to the brim with water. "P-please! I'll do anything!" You said as you reached the bars, it meant the sewer was nearly filled, the water quickly drew closer to the opening, fear taking your mind. "Tsk...I'd told you...you know I won't forgive you...so why don't you shut the hell up and let the water do its work?" Your fingers were crushed under the heavy boots of your boss, but you still kept holding on to the bars for dear life.

You opened your mouth to beg again, but water reached into it, stuffing your throat as you tried to breathe, but there was no air. Your lungs desperately tried to take in air but it was just water that came inside, and after painful struggles to breathe, your body gave in. Your vision turned dark, your body feeling heavy as you sank into the water. Darkness had fully engulfed you when a hand reached out for you, pulling you out of the darkness-

"Ow!" Your roommate's whimper made you come back to reality. "Oh, I'm sorry!" You apologized quickly as you patted Rosie's head, making her huff. "Don't you have eyes? My head hurts! Brush more delicately!" She said as she glared at you in the small mirror attached to the wall,  Rosie and you had managed to get your hands on a mirror, it helped you get ready faster than the others. You pouted "Sorry! I was just thinking about what's going to happen today!" You said, and it was partly true. Your worry for the future reminded you of your unpleasant past.

Rosie sighed "I don't know about you Y/N but I'm the most hard luck of all! I'm sure I'll end up with a butcher or something like that and I have to cook for him my whole life!" You slapped her head gently "Oh shush you! Don't talk like that! The dark gods may hear you and you know how mischievous they get when they want to play with your fate!" Rosie hummed "You're right...but let's be honest...they are playing with yours more than mine right now..." the realization of what she had said made your whole body shiver as your breath caught in your chest.

"Rosie, will you stop giving Y/N a heart attack?" Jacob said as he glared at her over the letters he was reading, making the maid shut her mouth quickly. You looked at the butler as he went back to reading the letters, your heart beating faster as he looked at the three different envelopes, reading them closely. You didn't know the language of the nobles so you had asked Jacob, one of a few friends you had in the mansion, to read them for you. "Anything interesting?" You asked Jacob in a hushed voice as you continued to brush Rosie's hair.

"Shhh!" Jacob said as he glared at you as well "How many times do I have to tell you to stop talking while I'm reading something?" You silenced yourself as well as you quietly continued brushing. You could feel your heart beating like a drum in a parade, you were not the one to worry about things a lot, but this was the most urgent thing in your life in recent years! Since the time you had entered the mansion of your master, you didn't face anything as important as what was going to happen today.

You sighed and tightened your grip on the brush. You could feel your fingers tremble and tears well up in your eyes, if it was not for your make-up that you and Rosie had spent a lot of time doing, you would have cried for a solid hour to let your anxiety subside. Your life was turning upside down again! You were just feeling a little better, Master had given you more freedom now that you had proven your worth, you even had found the luxury of having your props as a slave! But suddenly your master decided on selling everything he had, and you, his precious jewel, aka his most expensive slave, were among them too, and it meant your master was in a dire situation.

Everyone including Rosie and Jacob thought that it was because of your master's countless debts to different banks and noble houses. As an alchemist who was interested in doing revolutionary inventions, your master spent too much money, and even if he was one of the few remaining human nobles, he had run out of money soon, so he had to take it from others, and without any specific income, your master was destined to meet a very harsh end. But it was not the case, only you and your master knew that the reason for this sudden rush in selling his property was you.

You, a mere human that was found in the fountain of a ruined temple of the old gods, and was taken in by humans as a slave as a form of punishment, you had stolen food from the chief of the temple, were the reason for his misery. But how could you? You were just a human, a smart one, but still illiterate to the language of the dark lands and weak, without any magic, how could you make your master lose everything he had? People didn't know why you were so precious to your master, or why you were sold at such a high price, you were as valuable as a castle! But you knew why.

When you were killed by your boss, on earth, in the world you were living in, remnants of a deity which later you'd find were the deity of lightning, pulled you between dimensions and had given you its power, the power of clean, powerful, electricity. You were given another chance and inhumane powers. But the powers that could only be used by professional alchemists. You had turned into a magical battery and your outlet was in hands of the alchemists. Despite your luck, your chance was ruined by your hunger when you had stolen from the chief priest of the temple you were found in, you were enslaved and if it was not because of the scholar nun that was examining you before the audition that you were sold in, had found out about your powers and worth, you would've been sold as a slave to the dark masters, or the noble vampires who ruled the dark lands, the world now you were trapped in. And who knew what was going to happen to you if that was your fate?

You were bought by your master and had aided him to invent devices that worked on their own with help of your energy, and if he could sell those he'd be the richest human in the dark lands. But luck was not on your master's side, because his previous head butler, who he had gotten rid of after finding out about his disastrous actions, had found out about your master's secret, the man had spat out everything in a tavern, and the tea was spilled. Most of the people were not even understanding what he was saying, but a few had, and three noble houses had found their way to your master's house and you, his precious jewel, were going to be sold to one of the noble houses, or he was ruined by their power.

How did they had managed to agree on using your consent as a way of stopping the others to take you away? you were not sure. Maybe it was related to the fact that vampires used consent to do their filthy deeds? You had heard they couldn't feed from a victim before having their consent or they'd turn into ghouls, so maybe it was like that? You didn't know...all you knew was that you had to choose from the three invitations the noble houses had sent, and be sold to them as a concubine. It was more like a slave but with a more beautiful name, you were going to be used as a pacifier for your new master's lust and greed at the same time, you hoped they were not going to make things hard on you, well, they couldn't use you if you were dead right? Vampires were famous for being brutal to their slaves.

You were scared to death, your pale face showed everything that was going on in your mind. Jacob cleared his throat, pulling you out of your thoughts. You drew a quick breath in "Well?" You asked and Jacob sighed deeply as he ran his fingers in his hair, looking down at the three invitation letters. " I have found some things in general that they three share and I have bad and good news...which one I should tell you first?" "Good news I guess?" You said as you put the brush down, sitting next to Rosie who held your hand so you wouldn't feel alone.

"The good news is, the concubine part is optional, and it depends on you, I mean...it's about consent and stuff like that but we both know those bastards use magic so consent is nowhere to be found in their logic...you'll be treated well and earn freedom if you do as what they say..." you leaned closer "And  the bad news?" "The conditions of your freedom..." you gulped, feeling the lump in your throat suffocating you already, you wanted to drown again so you wouldn't worry about your future like this. "And what are those?" "The house Luthor has the condition of having you in his house for 20 noble years..." "Hey, it's literally 200 human years!" Jacob nodded to Rosie who had said that as he continued "House Ghul is offering you freedom if you manage to please your master without dying for 20 humans years...and house Wayne...well...you have to have 6 children of your master who reach adulthood before gaining your freedom so no abortions or dying children before or after birth will be counted..."

"Why did you say there is good news? It's all bullshit!" "Well Y/N can stay in their house as a concubine for the rest of her life, you know it's better than being out there roaming the fields where ghouls and werewolves are, we know that normal people won't give her a place to stay when she leaves the noble house, even if  she's not turned into a vampire at that time which is highly unlikely." You sighed as you leaned to Rosie, your head resting on her shoulder. Why nothing turned for the better? Now you were hating the deity that had saved you so much, you wished that they were truly killed by the dark gods that now were ruling the land so you wouldn’t have to live in such misery! You just wanted your tears to take the form of a sea so you'd drown in it.

"What if she resists the invitations?" Rosie said "Are you out of your mind? She'd be in big trouble if she was going to do that!" "Well, she'd run away!" "To where? To the town where people would turn her in again? Or to the fields and forest where the monsters are so she gets eaten by them or even worse?" You sighed as you tried your best to not cry.

"Isn't the Master of the house Wayne infamous for sleeping with the king's concubines?" Rosie said, gaining your attention "Yeah...you know how vampires are, if they don't find their true made they'll become the true forms of debauchery. And since house Wayne is one of the most powerful ones in the king's court, for sure the head of the house would turn into such a person. Head of the house Ghul is like that as well...but he has...better taste to be honest, instead of king's concubine he had affairs with the king's siblings and other court members. As the most powerful house of the court, the house ghul is indeed unbreakable." You frowned "How do you know these?" "Well servants have their connections and you know how people like to gossip when they have nothing to do!" Rosie said.

"What about House Luthor?" You asked, he seemed the more reasonable out of the three, he was not at least into ravishing you for decades. "Well, house Luthor is one of the pretty new houses, the head of the house is a Dampier which is truly rare in the court and is a rival of the house Wayne, house Luthor is after the House Wayne's place in the court." You hummed to yourself as you looked down at the letters. You were going to ponder about your past and possible future again when one of the maids knocked on the door. "Master's guests are here..." the maid said, making your blood freeze. "May the old gods be with you..." Rosie said, "I hate them!" You said as you stood up, fixing your best dress and striding out of the room, but before closing the door you made sure to turn around and share a worried look with your friends. You wished you could perish...

......

"What is your choice, my dear?" Your master's voice made you look up at the three men sitting in front of you. One of them seemed older than the others, with parts of his hair turned gray, his black eyes piercing through your soul. He was Ra's Al Ghul, head of the Ghul family. He tilted his head to the side as he scanned your form once again, stroking his chin.

At Al Ghul's right side sat Bruce Wayne, the head of house Wayne, a tall man with piercing blue eyes, you could feel as if he was going to search through your mind just with a single glance.

And at Wayne's right side was Lex Luthor, head of the house Luthor, his gleaming green eyes making you shiver in fear.

You looked back at your master who was looking at you with both regret and expectations, it was time for you to choose...you knew that they wanted something more than your flesh, they were greedy and dangerous, and no one knew what they were going to do with your powers. But if you resisted you and your master would be in so much trouble...

what to do? What to choose?

House Ghoul House Wayne House Luthor Resist

The sound of glass shattering filled your enormous room as you watched the remaining of its red liquid taint the curtains. "Tell your master I'm sick of his dirty games! I don't need his blessing!" You used the remnants of your lungs to scream this at the maid who had brought you a drink from your master when he was still in sleep. The maid panicked as she knelt to gather the glass shard not wanting to face the consequences of keeping sharp objects at your disposal.

Your body reacted to your sudden screaming and you started to cough violently, your hands giving in and making you fall onto the soft embrace of your bed as you tried to catch your breath. You wished you'd die and be free of the pain that was inflicted on you by your master for the 10th time that day. Your head turned to look out of the window, the sun was setting and the sky was red because of its faltering rays, it was like even the sky was mourning by being like the color of blood. The thick black pillars of smoke could be seen easily, the disgusting smell of the burnt flesh and smoke reaching to you by the wind and the incense couldn't mask the smell.

Noticing the smell getting stronger your body jolted as you started to gag, the maid in the room running to you so could throw up the non-existing remains of the food in your stomach in a bucket. You hadn't eaten in days, since the plague had haunted your body you hadn't had the chance of having a proper meal and not throwing it up. You cursed under your breath as you whimpered, trying to lay on the side that didn't hurt much, the wounds on your body were still fresh and the medicine that was applied to them made them burn even more.

Your master was playing with you, torturing you by letting you live through your sickness, slowly feeding you the right medicine so you wouldn't heal fast. You were aware of his revival skills, he had brought you back to life when you had successfully hung yourself in your room after all. He had made you gain your sanity back so you could watch him make humanity perish by the disease he had created with your help. Well, you were not aware of it until it was too late, and you had tried to kill yourself to get away from the great shame that was going to cast its shadow on your life for eternity. But your master had other plans for you.

The sun went down and the candles and lamps were light on their own, letting you know that your master was awake now. You hissed as you pulled the covers on you trying to ignore the door of your room opening on its own. "Greetings master!" The maid's voice echoed in the room as you heard two different footsteps, one was hurried and quick and another one was calm and you could tell easily who the second one belonged to.

The door was closed shut when the maid hurried away, leaving you and your master alone. "I see that you refused to take your medicine today my dear...such a pity..." his words made you scoff to yourself, he acted as if he cared for you, and though he did care for you, he also played you around like a rag doll, so his concerned voice seemed more of an act to you than being genuine. "Hiding under the covers won't make me go away my dear...why don't you lift them so I can see your beautiful face?" You didn't move, you were being dared tonight by refusing his bidding, you hoped he'd get angry and finish you off like what he had threatened you with in the past, but unfortunately for you, Ra's was in a good mood today.

Your foot was left out of the covers and you didn't realize it until his ice-cold touch made you jolt up in your place as he took your foot in his hands, sitting next to you. He patiently removed the bandages on your foot, letting the air touch your wounds, making you wince in pain and clench the covers you were holding. You couldn't see his amused smirk as he examined your wounds. "It hurts doesn't it?" You didn't reply, making him let out a hum. "They will leave marks on for sure..." he said, his words were pitiful but his voice was interested. You turned nauseous again at that, knowing well how sick he'd get when he wanted to make his subjects suffer.

You regretted your decision every day you woke up, finding yourself in your luxurious room that was filled with the finest. You hated every second of your life in the Ghul's castle, but you couldn't escape it, even though death was not on your side in this life. At first, you had thought Ra's was a decent man with ambitious thoughts and a really strange affection for you. He had treated you well which was surprising for a man with his reputation, you could move around the castle freely and the only time your service was required was when he needed to use your powers for his inventions which you were not aware of their purpose. Even when he wanted to have you you were not forced into it, you were seduced by his charm.

Oh, how foolish you were, when you found out about your master's ominous plans it was too late and his plans were going to work and it was all because of you, who had provided him the energy he needed. That was when you found out about his true intentions, his charming mask was shattered and now you could see why he was fearsome to many. He was a genius, you couldn't deny it, but he was a mad one at that. He had the best intentions but only for his race, he believed in race's hierarchy, and to his tastes, humans were too disobedient to the superior race, which were the vampires. So he had spent his life researching the science of creating diseases and he had succeeded in it.

His plans were simple and complicated at the same time. He'd spread a deadly plague that only affected humans, killing most of the population. Then the survivors who were stronger than the others would be under the heavy hands of the vampires who'd use them as slaves. Thankfully their blood was no longer a necessity for vampires, after the Wayne family invented dried artificial blood pills vampires no longer were worried about their food supply, though still many enjoyed hunting humans down just for the sheer joy of the hunt. Ra's had his plans almost ready but he needed something to power up the disease and make it flourish, but he couldn't find anything that powerful. Until the dark gods gave him an effective hint. You.

Although you had killed yourself to run away from him and the world he was going to shape to his desires, he had revived you with help of his vast knowledge and as a punishment, he had made you witness the process of the disease spreading through the dark lands and for the extra effect of it, he had infected you as well. You hoped you'd die but no! You were his blessed concubine and he didn't want to lose you, the only person that had let him taste the pleasures of the mortals again. So you were given the cure for the disease but the process was painfully slow and it took a mental toll on you.

"Hiding won't help my dear...you know you have to serve me soon..." he said as he wiped the medicine off of your skin so he could apply a fresh layer on. "W-what do you mean?" You asked in shock when you pulled the covers away quickly, to meet his grinning face. "You have to serve me, my dear Y/N, you know you can not refuse me..." he said as he arched his brow at you, making your stomach turn in disgust. "Never! I won't touch a monster like you!" He chuckled at your refusal as he applied for the medicine gently. "We will see...we will see..."

"Why are you doing this to me? What did I do to you?" You said as your voice trembled. "You tried to take away the flavor of my life my dear...you need to be punished for being selfish..." "Oh I'm being selfish or you who killed who knows how many people just to clean the face of the dark lands from the taint of humanity?" He didn't give you a response, but the pressure he applied on your foot as he was wrapping it up with bandages made you whimper in pain. "You are still naive, you can not see the world the way I do. Your mortal mind is like a child's compared to mine, I'm not blaming you for being naive...but doing something reckless like taking your life is what infuriates me."

"I'll take my life again!" You hissed "And I will show you why the royalty is afraid of me!" "Why do you care about my life? You just said I'm nothing more than a naive mortal!" He sighed as if he was arguing with a child, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just put your foot down and stood up. Leaving your side. You watched as he walked away, looking out of the window. "Life as a vampire, without something to cherish, is bland..." he started "It is indeed a gift to live forever, but this eternal life comes with a price...you'd lose your taste to what you enjoyed before, you'd reach a point where you can tell you know everything and after that, the world seems boring and you want to amuse yourself."