Mad Jyhad

"So? Are you going to tell me what was so funny?" I asked.

The car slid into traffic like a shark cruising the water. Effortlessly, smooth, a predator among the masses of prey. The lights of the street threatened to dazzle my eyes with their brightness and I had to make the conscious effort to focus on the street.

"You don't even realize what you did." Niculaie was shaking his head again. I smirked as I realized that he was clutching the door handle with a death grip. He really didn't like 'horseless carriages'.

"Apparently not." I mumbled. I looked both ways as I pulled through an intersection following behind the Prince and Jones.

"He told me that he implied that he had been with Oracle. Sexually. He told me that you went psycho on him and attacked him. I saw the marks on his throat, too. You tried to claim him...apparently by instinct...luckily, you got hold of yourself before you could actually bite him and begin the Embrace."

I gripped the steering wheel hard and frowned. "He has nothing else to fear from me. I won't ever go near him again."

"Too right! He belongs to the Gangrel. I won't allow a Malk..." he growled at me.

"I don't want to HURT him! Doesn't it matter that I HURT HIM?" I screamed.

Niculaie frowned. "He will heal."

"I thought that you would be mad about him being hurt..." I shook my head. The light changed from green to yellow and quickly to red. I stopped and tapped on the steering wheel impatiently while Niculaie turned to look at me.

"Why? He gets hurt every night." Niculaie looked honestly confused.

"I thought you cared for him!" I growled. The wheels squealed as I accelerated.

"Of course I do, he is one of my descendants and will be my childe. Of course I care." Niculaie ran a hand through his hair. "Oh! The...oh...I get it. Neonates are so funny."

He was laughing at me again.

"Stop fucking laughing!" I hissed.

I pulled on the wheel sharply, changing lanes and sliding between two cars causing the one behind me to lay on the horn as I passed inches in front of its bumper. Niculaie gripped his seatbelt and gawked at me. I looked back at him seriously.

Without my mask the menace was unfettered.

He sneered at me seconds before I once more pulled the wheel changing lanes at whiplash speed. Niculaie's sneer fell into a panicked expression as I looked back at him. "Well?" I asked in a calm voice.

"Violence is a way of life for vampires. It is a part of our life... it is how we survive. We are hardwired for it. My problem with what you did isn't that you hurt him, it is that you almost embraced him!"

"I was going to kill him." I whispered.

Niculaie shook his head. "No, not really. Well, yeah he would be dead, but not for long. I'm pretty sure after the initial haze was over you would have turned him. You were jealous and angry."

"I have no right." I turned the wheel of the car and turned onto another street.

"No, you don't. He isn't yours to turn." Niculaie reiterated. He narrowed his eyes at me and stared at me from the far side of the car. His hands clutched the door handle.

"I know that. I don't want to turn him! I don't even want YOU to turn him! He deserves to live his life! With Oracle...if that makes him happy." I said sadly. I watched the road, the streetlights passing us rapidly, blurring so fast that they looked like one continuous streak of light.

"Can you slow down?" Niculaie whispered.

I didn't answer as I revved the engine higher, pressing the accelerator to the floor.

Niculaie raised an eyebrow, swallowing hard. "What makes you think he would be happy with Oracle?"

"He was with her..." I couldn't finish the sentence before Niculaie was howling with laughter again.

"WHAT?" I yelled jerking the wheel again sending us sliding back into the other lane. Niculaie's jaw snapped shut with an audible click. In the rearview mirror I watched as other cars slowed down and let us pass and gain distance on them, afraid of the reckless driver.

Me.

"He lied! Oh, he went over there! But it was just a visit. Nothing more. Ever since he discovered that he was earmarked for turning he broke off his romantic relationships, he has distanced himself from most of his acquaintances and friends." Niculaie sobered. "He has been preparing himself for the change."

"Why? Why can't he live his life as a human? He should have a family!" I demanded turning another corner so sharply that we ended up on two wheels. I watched as he clawed at the door handle to hold on.

"He doesn't want or plan on having a family! And I made the mistake of waiting on John and I lost him to death!" The Gangrel was completely serious as he held tightly on to the door.

"You were going to turn his father?" I asked, spinning the wheel to turn another corner. The car slid on the ice and I turned the wheel to control the slide. Niculaie gasped and stifled a scream.

"You are fucking nuts!" he growled as the car straightened.

"No shit?" I asked. "What gave it away? Now! Answer the question. You were going to turn his father?"

"Yes, we turn one member every other generation. John died before he could be turned. We generally wait until the next generation has been born but Richard has already declared that he has no intention of starting a family. This particular branch will end with him."

"He might change his mind!" I ground out. "He's still young! Lots of people decide later in life to have children!"

"He's GAY!" Niculaie snarled. "It doesn't matter to me one way or the other, preference never mattered when I was fucking alive, much less now. But no children will ever be produced!"

"He's NOT gay! Bi maybe but...well...Barbara! Starfire! Huntr..."

"And see how well those worked out?" Niculaie shook his head. "Denial. He finally came to realize how he truly felt last year. He continued to see Barbara though because it 'was the right thing to do'. But recently he came to the correct conclusion that it WAS NOT the right thing to do. In the end he would have only hurt her. They broke up. They are still friends though."

I braked hard and felt the car skid underneath us. I pulled to the side of the road and watched in silence as Sabastian's and Jones' cars continued without us in the far distance. Despite my own reckless driving their speed far outstripped mine.

"Why didn't he tell me?" I whispered, feeling Niculaie's eyes on me. He considered me carefully and I reached for the gearshift again. He jumped and began to talk in a rush.

"Humans tend to have issues. I think his is your age." The older vampire rolled his eyes. "You know humans! He logically knows that you are A, a vampire, and B visual age does not matter in thnstanstance. But his head won't see it. He might just see you as a child still. Adults tend to do that with people they've known since they were young. He's known you since you were very young. He might be having trouble dealing with the fact that you are actually older now. Hell, maybe he just has issues stemming from his own sexuality. He'll eventually get over it. Not that I particularly WANT him to in this case! I don't want my future childe mixed up with a Malk!"

"Even if I was human, I am above the age of consent. I was when I turned sixteen." I sulked.

"In this state, and many others. But there is that whole moral thing too. You may be of the human age of consent but in his eyes you are far from being an adult. I think he has trouble viewing himself as an adult to be honest." Niculaie looked almost apologetic.

"If we are both not adults in his eyes wis tis the problem? It should make this a non-issue." I snorted. "It shouldn't BE a problem. It shouldn't be an issue!"

"Humans are asinine?" Niculaie shrugged. "I don't know, don't care either. Because it isn't going to happen so forget about it!"

We stared at each other before I looked away. He was right. It wasn't going to happen so it didn't matter. Sighing, I put the car back into gear.

I slowly pulled back into traffic and headed toward the prison. "I know that. I already agreed with that. Obviously for different reasons but we are agreed. I won't go near him anymore. I still don't like this though. I don't like the idea of him being turned."

"I gave him a choice, kid. And he picked. He wants to be with his family. His real family. He's been preparing and learning about the Kindred! It is going to be!" Niculaie clutched the door again as I turned onto the main road.

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As I heard the door slam behind me the locking mechanism for the car engaged. I chanced a glance behind me in time to see Niculaie steady himself against the car. He glared back at me and I swallowed the smirk that threatened to break across my face.

We parked the car under a tree insuring that it was hidden from the road. Up the hill I could see the others waiting for us. The hill afforded a good view of the prison and had many trees that would hide a vampire from human vision. Obfuscate would hide us from others. I suspected that the others were chosen not for their loyalty but for their skills.

Above us I could see Andrew looking down at us and wondered if we could in fact trust him. Something about him worried me. It was more than apparent that he did not like us at all.

Sabastian and Jones waited with the others. Andrew snarled as he watched us come up the hill and I growled back. Niculaie grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. "Now is not the time. Later, if you want...we can still kick his ass."

Giving us an ed sed smile, Sabastian began to hand out our assignments. "Timothy has the most experience with this kind of thing. You will, in this instance, defer to him. You will obey his will as you would obey mine."

"Why should we..." Andrew sneered. His short blond hair seemed to gleam in the pale light looking almost white. Silver began to creep across his otherwise brown eyes.

"Because I bloody well said so!" Sabastian roared back. He bounded forward wrapping his hand in Andrew's hair and pulling the young vampire's head back. "Do not forget who actually rules here!"

Beside me I felt Niculaie shift and I looked up to see the leer back on his face. Quickly I glanced back at Sabastian as the Prince threatened final death for the young Anarch. His voice low and menacing as he spoke directly into the smaller vampire's face.

Fascinated, I saw the rebellious vampire cowed into submission with a well-placed backhand, and was surprised to feel Niculaie shift again beside me. I gaped in surprise as I realized that the display had...turned Niculaie...on.

As Andrew slowly picked himself off the ground I leaned into Niculaie with a smirk and sang softly, "He's a M~a~a~l~k!"

Niculaie narrowed his eyes at me, pushing me away with one hand and grunted, "Shut up!"

Andrew shuffled slowly toward me and bowed his head once. It would be all the submission I would receive. I sighed as I began to give out their new orders surprised when most of them jumped quickly to whatever task I allotted to them. Mostly the instructions were simply 'watch and report back'. Nothing too difficult, they knew what other vamps looked and felt like and knew what to watch for. Vampires had, under normal circumstances, nothing to do with mortal prisons. Vampire justice was generally swifter, cleaner, and fatal. Final Death was the general punishment given out to any 'law' breaker.

The Prince favored me with a smile as he too left to complete his own task. Niculaie followed in silence as I returned to the car and grabbed equipment to continue setting up surveillance. The snow crunched quietly under our feet as we made our way around the bushes and trees that hid our position. I blinked often reminding myself to constantly move my eyes to avoid the entrancing beauty of the glittering snow. Niculaie had no such problems and merely kicked his way through the snow without any second thoughts. The almost glee he took in despoiling the perfect snow made me want to slap him.

A crackle in my ear alerted me to Oracle's presence and for the first time that night I felt no malice toward her. I closed my eyes and imagined her in her tower sitting in front of her computer. "Yes, Oracle?"

"Location?" the disembodied voice asked. No, hello, no how are you. Just 'Location?' I suspected that she had been around 'The Bat' too long if you ask me. Not that ANY of us would ever admit to picking up his habits, but it does tend to happen. After a while we all start to act a little like him.

"Come on,now now you have it onscreen already!" I sighed heavily.

"Okay, how about this? What exactly is the deal with the Joker? If something is going on I have a right to know!" she huffed. I could almost imagine the irritation on her face, the line of worry between her eyebrows at the thought of the Joker on another rampage.

"I have information that someone is going to attempt to break the Joker out tonight. I'm already on it. No need for back up. I have enough help. But just in case...keep the others on standby."

The line went dead and I wished that I could 'sense' through electronic lines. Unfortunately, my powers did not extend that far. I trusted her to do what I asked if for no other reason than she did take any threat of the Joker seriously.

"I hope you were talking to someone real." Niculaie came up beside me and grabbed one of the bags, hefting it up to his shoulder. He considered me with a critical look.

"Oracle. I kept the link tonight just in case I needed information or on the off chance I DO need more backup." I grabbed the other bag and started back up the hill. "You vamps have a lot of powers and stuff but no practical experience fighting criminals of this type."

"As long as you aren't acting like a loon." he sighed, following me. "Besides, if Richard can do this kind of thing, I don't see why I couldn't. I mean it isn't rocket science! Especially if you Malks can handle it!"

"Niculaie?" I looked back up at him.

"Yeah?"

"You're a prick!"

"No shit? What gave it away?"

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"This is boring."

I sighed quietly and tried to ignore the voice beside me. Instea con continued to stare through the high-powered binoculars that Batman had always favored. While I could easily see from where I was seated, the experimental devices showed me people I couldn't see behind the concrete. Red blurs showed me humans hidden behind the thick walls of the building giving me an edge.

"Nothing is happening!"

I leaned forward on my feet to get a better look off to one side. Quietly, noiselessly, just as Batman and Nightwing had taught me, giving nothing away of my position. Perfectly balanced on a tree limb, feeling very much like my namesake. I felt light, compact, very much like a bird.

"This is a wild goose chase! I knew you Malks were deranged..."

Without thought I was on him pushing him against the main tree trunk, his throat between my hands as I squeezed. He looked up in mild surprise unimpressed. "What?" He raised an eyebrow. "Something I said?"

"Be QUIET!" I gritted between clenched teeth. "When on a stakeout people are QUIET!"

"This is..." he started.

"How things are done! When you are watching for a criminal act you don't wave a banner screaming 'I'm here! I'm here! Don't let us bother you, we are just trying to catch you in the act!' It doesn't work that way! Just sit down and BE QUIET!"

I released him and turned back picking the equipment up and tried to center myself. I was a little disturbed that the tiny bit of wrestling had made a physical impact on me. I shifted my erection to a more comfortable position and growled softly to myself. Niculaie was the LAST person I wanted to get involved with, even if he DID look like an older Nightwing.

Behind me I heard him chuckle low in his throat, almost purring. I startled as I felt his hand on my lower back. "What...?" I jerked back to stare at him in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

"Hey, Boy Wonder? What is going on? What was that noise all about? Nightwing isn't there, is he?" Oracle's voice came through the line. Her voice was filled with surprise.thouthought I heard Nightwing!"

"I'm on a stakeout Oracle, what is it?" I sighed. Didn't anyone remember how stakeouts were supposed to be? Quiet, no talking, serious...no sexy thoughts...just watching out for the bad guys!

"I heard..."

"My partner has never been on a stakeout before. He just happens to sound like Nightwing. It will be fine... I'm fine. Everyone is FINE! Robin out." I pulled the connection and heard it go dead as I pulled it from my ear.

"Think that was wise?" Niculaie asked, eyeing the bit of wire clenched in my hand.

"Probably not, but considering that no one here seems to know how to be fucking quiet I think this is the LEAST of my worries tonight!" I snarled at him. I was disconcerted when he grinned back. I quickly turned back to the prison. Hoping that he wasn't thinking what I thought he was thinking and half wondering...what would it be like?

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