Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Teen Titans: Future Storm ❯ Her Portrait in Black ( Chapter 17 )

 

“Teen Titans: Future Storm”

Arc 4: “Blood”

Chapter 1: “Her Portrait in Black”

Disclaimer: The concept of Teen Titans, comic or animated, does not belong to me. It's owned by DC Comics and Warner Brothers. I only own anybody that isn't Nightstar, Mercury, Slade, Ravager, Brother Blood, or anybody you might recognize from the show or comics. As I've said before, Mercury is jointly owned by DC and Marvel via their Amalgam project back in 1996, while everyone else is a DC exclusive.

Author's note: It's amazing that I've gotten this far. Seriously, this is the longest story I've ever written and that's mainly because it's an ongoing series rather than a self-contained story. Anyway, the spotlight will shine this time on none other than the daughter of Raven herself, Samara. If you're wondering how Slade shows up in this, consider who Samara's father is and you'll be a bit closer to figuring out what Slade's motivations are. Considering whom Samara's maternal grandfather is you can guess what this arc is about. Now let's begin.

The thirst burned within her. She tried to fight it, she tried to meditate it away, but the thirst would not be denied.

Once again, she found herself haunting the corridors of Titans Tower, her destination the room of a certain firestarter. She warped through the door, easily entering the room.

She glided through the darkness, perfectly at home within it. She stopped at his bed, gazing forlornly at the sleeping fire user.

She hated doing this to him, but she needed this. The thirst needed to be quenched.

She climbed onto the bed, straddling his sleeping frame. She noted idly that the sheets had been pushed down to his hips, revealing a toned torso. She bent down, her mouth descending to his throat. She kissed it gently before opening her mouth and letting her fangs sink into the vein in his neck. She held him in his sleeping trance as she fed from him, his blood pouring down her throat. A muffled moan escaped from her, the sensuous pleasure of his blood in her mouth nearly too much for her.

She pulled away, ashamed of herself all over again. He was her closest friend, perhaps more than that, and she had violated him.

She healed the wound she had left on his neck, erasing the evidence of her crime. She got off him and walked away.

To her surprise, she heard his voice murmur her name, but she pretended to ignore it, warping through the door and returning to her room.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered.

Morning came and the six Titans assembled for breakfast. Throughout the breakfast, Inferno kept shooting looks at Samara . . . looks that implied that he was very much incensed with her and holding it in. Fire flashed in his eyes every time he looked at her, and those flames were certainly not welcoming.

Samara carefully avoided looking at Inferno, guilt roiling inside her. She could sense his anger, though; it did violence to her mind like a battering ram did violence to a particularly stubborn door.

Finally, it seemed that the firestarter could not hold in his fury anymore.

“Samara,” he spoke, his voice a deadly weapon. “We need to talk.” He turned to look at the other Titans. “Alone.”

Inferno stood up and walked out into the corridor of Titans Tower, Samara following him. Once he was sure that they were out of earshot, he glared at Samara.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Don't lie to me, Samara. We've known each other too long. I deserve better than that.”

A pause. “What's wrong?”

“I'll tell you what's wrong.” His voice deepened in its rage. “For the past few weeks, I've woken up feeling drained. I just thought it was because I wasn't sleeping enough, but last night . . . I felt you. I didn't know how, but I did.” His eyes narrowed at her. “Now. Why?”

“Remember my eighteenth birthday?”

“Yeah, we had ourselves a little party.”

“That was when it started. The cravings. I drank as much as I could, but the cravings didn't go away. When I smelled blood, the cravings intensified.”

“You're a vampire now?”

“Not quite. Many demon species drink blood, not just vampires. I tried stealing from blood banks, but it wouldn't do. I needed blood directly from a living source.”

“Why did you choose me?”

“I have feelings for you. The not-friendship kind. The kind that have me dreaming of you at night . . . when I can dream.”

A bitter chuckle issued from the pyrokinetic. “You know what hurts the most, Sam?”

“What?”

“That you didn't ask. I'd have given you my blood if you needed it so badly. Anything you needed, I would have given you.”

Samara looked into his eyes and saw anger, but hurt, betrayal, and tortured love were more apparent in his eyes.

“Will you still come to my graduation ceremony today?”

“I'd come anywhere you needed me to be.”

In the late afternoon, Nightstar, Bladefire, Beast Girl, Mercury, and Inferno were in semiformal wear for Samara's graduation ceremony. Raven and Joseph Wilson were there as well, since it was their daughter graduating. Dick and Barbara Grayson were also there, since Dick was best friends with Raven and Joey.

“Today's a good day, isn't it?” Raven observed.

“Yeah,” Dick agreed.

The nine were observing from the bottom side bleachers outside the football field, which was where the graduation ceremony was being held. When they heard Samara's name spoken over the loudspeakers, all nine pairs of eyes turned to watch as she gracefully walked across the field to take her place among her fellow graduates.

Mercury suddenly gasped in horror.

“Peter?” Beast Girl asked. “What's wrong?”

“No, no, no, no,” he muttered. “Hell, hell, hell. They're here, they're here, they're freaking here!”

“Who?” Barbara asked.

Beast Girl sniffed the air. “Blood and sulfur.”

The air behind Samara twisted and warped, a pair of red-covered arms reaching out and grasping her, followed by the torso, legs, and head of a silver-haired, crimson-eyed young man clad in black-and-red robes. Out of that same warped air stepped a small army of sleek, golden androids that resembled more streamlined versions of Cyborg.

The regular students, teachers, and parents began to panic, while Mercury immediately bounded out of his seat, his clothes glowing metallically before they remolded themselves into his costume.

“He's got the right idea,” Nightstar said. “Titans Together!”

The other four Titans left their seats as well, moving toward the robed man.

Mercury ran toward the androids and the robed man, lightning crackling around his body and moving toward his right hand.

“Let go of her!” he shouted.

The androids immediately moved to intercept him. With a cry of rage, Mercury impaled one of the androids with his lightning-charged right hand. Said right hand vibrated so furiously that the android exploded into shrapnel, the motion of which Mercury redirected to strike other androids.

Meanwhile, Nightstar manipulated her purple energy like a steel wire, slicing through the androids like a hot knife through butter. Bladefire cut through the androids with his energy sword, while Beast Girl attacked as a cat-girl.

Inferno accelerated the molecular activity of the air around him, creating heat that lightened his body to the point where he was capable of speeds greater than that of the average human. He used that to his advantage, dodging the androids that attempted to block him from getting at that robed man that was currently holding Samara.

“Who are you?” Samara asked angrily.

“Brother Blood,” the robed man whispered.

“What do you want with me?” Samara interrogated.

“You will bring me the world that I desire,” Brother Blood answered. “And to think, all of this wouldn't have been possible if you hadn't given in to the cravings of your blood that first time.”

Samara's eyes widened in horror at what Brother Blood had just told her.

“Let her go!” Inferno shouted.

“Why should I?” Brother Blood asked.

Inferno just aimed a cold stare at Brother Blood. “If you don't, I'll pry her from you and beat you until you beg for mercy.”

“Really?” Brother Blood asked. “Try it, boy.”

Inferno charged Brother Blood, only to be frozen in place by the elder of the two.

“How the -?” he asked.

“Surprised?” Brother Blood asked cruelly before torturing the firestarter with his own flames. “You see, Jeremiah, this is real pyromancy, not like your pathetic match-play.”

Inferno gritted his teeth, refusing to scream.

“Stop!” Samara cried out.

“You want me to stop?” Brother Blood asked with a twisted smile. As he looked down upon her, the twisted crimson flames around Inferno intensified. He bent down and bit her throat, drinking her blood. Samara's eyes widened as her mouth formed into an “O” of pain.

“NO!” Inferno cried out, struggling against Blood's fire torture.

A shadow shaped like a bird materialized before the three and Raven stepped out of it, the shadowy bird reforming into a lance of psychokinetic energy that separated Brother Blood from Samara. This had the additional effect of stopping Blood's fiery torment of Inferno.

Samara writhed on the grass, pain inflaming every neuron of her body.

“Samara!” Inferno shouted, beginning to run to her, only to be stopped by a telekinetic barrier. “Raven, what are you doing?”

“It's not safe for you to be near her right now,” Raven answered.

Indeed, it wasn't. Burning scarlet runes formed on Samara's body, burning away her clothes to reveal pallid gray skin underneath. Her nails grew longer, more like claws, and her eyeteeth grew sharper. Her eyes glowed red and her chakra gem opened to reveal an amethyst third eye.

Samara rose with an unholy scream, the transformation corroding her rational thought.

“Blood . . .” she rasped and sank into a black warp in the ground, reemerging from the ground below him with a vicious strike from the heel of her palm. The force of her strike broke Blood's jaw, but before he could fix it, she was on him with a vicious slash of her clawed fingers.

Inferno ran to Samara, unheeding of Raven's calls for him to stop even as she ran to intercept him. He grabbed Samara and pulled her off Brother Blood.

“That's enough,” he whispered into her ear.

Samara struggled against him, thrashing in his arms and yowling like a demonic cat.

“Stop struggling,” he whispered. “I'm not going to hurt you. It's me, Jeremiah. Your friend.”

“F-friend . . .” Samara echoed in a guttural voice, relaxing in his grip.

Brother Blood warped the air around him, disappearing into it along with his android warriors.

The other Titans regrouped with Inferno, Samara, and Raven, along with Joey, Dick, and Barbara.

“What happened?” Inferno asked.

“Blood's androids started going after civilians,” Nightstar replied. “We managed to get them away, but . . . a good number of them got hurt. Badly. No fatalities, but they'll be needing medical treatment.”

Mercury was looking at Inferno and Samara askance.

“What are you looking at?” Samara asked, having calmed herself down and now physically normal again.

Mercury simply looked down.

Samara looked down with him and noted that she was nearly naked, most of her dress and graduation robe having been incinerated by the runes that appeared on her body.

“Oh.”

Inferno faintly blushed.

“Don't look now, but here comes the Wicked Witch of Jump,” Beast Girl said, noting Principal Elizabeth Alderman stalking toward the Titans.

“This is an outrage,” Alderman stated, venom and fury in her voice. “An outrage that I will not stand for!” She glared at the six Titans. “You're expelled. All of you, except you, Miss Roth-Wilson; you'll be getting your diploma in the mail later today. As for the rest of you, I don't want to see any of you near this school ever again.”

“That's completely unfair, Ms. Alderman,” Dick said. “My children and their friends saved lives today. The reason nobody died was that they were there to prevent it.”

“That man who just attacked us came for her,” Alderman answered, pointing at Samara. “If not for her presence, he wouldn't have been here. However, I can't revoke a graduation. The matter still remains that the Titans are a danger to their fellow students just by their very presence, and I cannot allow my students to be endangered. Therefore, the Titans cannot attend this school next year. They will have to find somewhere else to finish their education.” She glared at the six. “Now get out of here before I have you arrested for trespassing.”

Reluctantly, the Titans departed from their school for what would be the last time.

Once they were back at Titans Tower, Nightstar exploded.

“That bitch!” she screamed, her eyes a luridly glowing, angry violet. “How dare she? Miserable, bigoted bitch!”

Her energy whip lashed out, only to be caught by Bladefire.

“We don't need to destroy everything just because we're pissed,” he said. “Yes, Alderman is a miserable bigot who needs to be put in her place. But we're not going to accomplish anything by lashing out at everything. And maybe this is a blessing in disguise.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Beast Girl asked.

“Public identities are a dangerous thing,” Bladefire replied. “Especially for those we choose to associate with.”

“She's still not right,” Mercury insisted bitterly.

“No, she isn't,” Bladefire agreed. “But we have to face up to the fact that maintaining a public identity is dangerous if we choose to associate with normal humans.”

“At this point, we have worse things to worry about,” Raven said. “Like Brother Blood.”

“Isn't Brother Blood supposed to be some old guy?” Beast Girl asked.

“Not the one that came after us,” Inferno replied. “He looked young. Really young. I'd say just a little older than Samara.”

“He's probably some kind of successor to the Brother Blood we fought,” Dick said. “He was using the old Blood's tech, if those androids were anything to go by.”

“Whoever he is, we're going to stop him,” Bladefire said.

“Samara, may I talk to you?” Raven asked.

“Yes, Mother,” Samara answered.

Mother and daughter warped through the floor and into Samara's room.

“You've been feeding, haven't you?” Raven asked.

“Yes,” Samara admitted.

“You've put yourself in great danger, Samara,” Raven said. “They'll be coming for you.”

“Who will?” Samara asked.

“The demons,” Raven replied. “And the demonically empowered. They'll sense your power and desire to make it their own.”

“Samara,” a voice whispered to her.

“Who is this?” Samara asked, her fists clenching and dark energy covering them.

“Come, Samara,” the voice whispered. “Come to me.”

“Stop it,” Samara snarled. “Leave me alone.”

Raven gently gripped Samara's hand, letting her calm flow into her daughter, focusing Samara's mind enough for her to overcome the voice speaking to her.

“Thank you, Mother,” Samara spoke.

“You're welcome,” Raven answered. “Now I suggest finding something better to wear than rags.”

Samara looked down at herself. “I suppose so.”

Raven walked out of Samara's room, briefly pausing to turn and look at her daughter.

“I like the décor.”

“Thanks,” Samara replied.

Back in the main room, Inferno paced furiously.

“You're worried about her, aren't you?” Raven said, reappearing before the Titans.

Inferno suppressed his fright. “Please, Raven, a little warning.”

Raven's lips curled into a smile. “Don't worry, Jeremiah. She'll be fine, but . . . someone attempted to make contact with her.”

“Was it Blood?” Inferno asked.

“No,” Raven replied. “It was someone else.”

“Who?” Inferno asked.

“I don't know,” Raven answered. “I have to warn you . . . about Samara.”

“She's not a danger to us, is she?” Nightstar asked.

“Not in and of herself, no,” Raven responded. “However, this isn't the first time demonic presences have reached out to her. When she was a child, she had her imaginary friends, like all children did. However, those imaginary friends were really demons trying to lure her into evil. I had to place protective wards on her to keep the demons from sensing her. Unfortunately, the power of those wards began to fade when she entered puberty and now that she's begun to give in to the cravings of her demon blood . . . the protection is completely gone. She's vulnerable again.”

“Give in to the cravings of her demonic blood?” Dick asked.

“What she means is that I began drinking blood,” Samara answered, materializing among the Titans. “Human blood. Specifically, Jeremiah's.”

“And he consented?” Bladefire asked.

“I was sleeping,” Inferno replied. “I didn't even know until last night.”

“That explains why you've been so lethargic in the morning the past few weeks,” Beast Girl remarked.

Mercury stared at Samara. “You were feeding off him while he slept? Excuse me, but . . . sick. Very sick.”

“Peter, back off,” Inferno said.

“I'm sorry, but I find something very wrong with drinking somebody's blood without their consent,” Mercury said. “Considering that when you drink someone's blood, you're practically taking their life into yourself . . . it's tantamount to rape, for Christ's sake.”

Inferno was about to say something, but Samara raised a hand to stop him.

“He's right,” she said. “You're my closest friend, even more than that to me, and I took advantage of you because I couldn't control myself.”

“You're handling this better than I suspected,” Raven mused, looking at both Samara and Inferno.

“I'd fight for her to the end,” Inferno stated.

“I know,” Raven answered. “I've known for quite a while.”

The next morning, Samara was meditating on the rooftop of Titans Tower when she heard a voice calling to her.

“Samara,” the voice whispered. “Come to me. Come to me.”

Go away, Samara thought.

“Come to me,” the voice insisted.

Samara rose from her meditative trance and flew away from Titans Tower, pursuing the voice.

“You're getting closer,” it said.

Who are you? Samara asked.

“You'll see,” the voice replied.

Samara landed in front of a grotto and entered.

“Are you here?” she asked.

“Yes,” the voice spoke, in reality instead of in her mind.

Samara walked further into the grotto, regretting that she hadn't brought a flashlight with her since it was so dark.

“Here I am,” the voice spoke and Samara could see firelight inside the grotto, illuminating the speaker. He wore thick bandage-style bindings crisscrossed around his chest, upper arms, and calves. The rest of his body was covered in thick black leather reminiscent of a motorcyclist. The lower half of his face was concealed by a black mask and a thin scarf-like fabric was tied around his neck. The white hair on his head was spiked in all directions and icy blue eyes were all that could be seen of his facial features.

“Who are you?” Samara asked.

“Kiryu,” the man replied, his voice flowing like tempestuous waters. “Your consort.”

“Consort?” Samara echoed. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, but soon you will,” Kiryu answered. “You have no idea how desirable you are.”

“Oh, I think I have a clue,” Samara remarked sarcastically.

“I'm being serious, Samara,” Kiryu said. “I'm not the only one who wants you . . . but I'm going to make sure that no one else can have you.”

“I'm not some possession,” Samara snarled. “I've had enough of you. I'm going home.”

She warped into the darkness of the cave, rematerializing back in her room.

“Samara?” Inferno asked, knocking on the door.

“What is it, Jeremiah?” Samara asked.

“We're ready for breakfast and I was wondering if you'd like to join us,” Inferno replied. “Don't worry; I'll make sure Peter behaves himself . . . unless he wants a foot broken off in his hindquarters.”

Samara chuckled at the imagery.

“I'm coming,” she said.

“Good,” Inferno said. “See you there.”

Samara exited her room, trying to put Kiryu out of her mind.

But she could not get over the want that had been so apparent in those icy blue eyes.

End Notes: I might as well end it here because there's not much reason for me to continue this chapter. Besides, I gotta save the good stuff for future chapters.

I'm actually rather irked with myself for not giving Barbara and Joey something to do. Granted, they were helping Dick, Raven, and the Titans who weren't taking on Brother Blood protect the civilians, but they never spoke. Ok, so Joey's mute, but that's no excuse for Barbara and I'm sorry for that bit of inadequacy.

The Brother Blood that appeared in this chapter and will be appearing in future chapters of this arc is the Brother Blood that appeared in the recent Teen Titans comics, only older.

Slade and Ravager will eventually make an appearance, but I'm not telling you when.

See you later and in the meantime, try to drop a review.