First bloody steps on becoming good(P1)
Summary: After being caught as a high villain, you were pressured to join The Phoenix Program. Dealing with not only the people who caught you, but also heal and accept who you are.
Authors notes: I wanted angst but also comfort so here is a fic that I've been writing for a while. Will be posting part 2 soon so look out for that :) anyway enjoy
No pairings, only found family :)
“The villain, Blood, was caught yesterday, captured by the new up and coming hero, Waterboy, and his teammate, a villain turn hero, Flambae. They fought on the east side of Torrance, using their powers to knock out the high ranked vampire villain. SDN has reported that they will try and reform the villain bef-”
The tv was turned off by a kick, glass flew by you as you took your leg out of the box. Leaving you in silence, you swore if you heard another word about this bs they had, you were gonna kill someone. You groan as you push your hands into your hair. Slightly greasy from not being able to take a shower. You could feel your stomach growl for food, fangs aching, demanding to sink into something. This prison started to feel like they were torturing you instead of just watching you. Staving a vampire to death wouldn’t be good, but surely, they can’t be this inhumane. Right?
Taking a breath, looking at the bars that were supposed to be your window. It wasn’t so clear, the thundering sound of rain pouring glorifies your shitty day. More shitty week, but who counts that. The collar on your neck was already a painful reminder, yet it keeps getting worse with every moment.
“Damn, Bitch. You look like a fucking mess.” You silently groan as you turn your head to see the villain-turned-hero there, smiling like a fucking asshole.
“I wonder why?” You flip him off before sitting on the horrible bed in your cell.
“Attiude much. Whateve’s. Anyway, some prick will be from SDN and they will ask if you want to join this phoenix shit. Redemption and all.” You see Flambae cross his arms and lean against the wall near your cell. Still wearing that smug smile he had when you were arrested. Only if you weren’t low on blood that day. “So vampire. Are you gonna help? I mean you get to team up with the most-”
“No.” Interrupting him, you lay on the bed and look at the broken TV. “Don’t really care and I’m not being placed on some shitty leash.”
You swore you felt his glare, but you ignored it. You didn’t want to be a puppet, looked at as some kind of pet or anything similar. You were already a monster, a parasite. You don’t want to be demeaned anymore.
“Bitch, you can leave this prison and help others, you complained about wanting to be a wanna-be hero. Take the stupid chance.”
You didn’t give him a response, just rolling away from him with your stomach hurting. It took a while but he walked away with a grumble, calling you stupid.
The sounds of the storm continue, reminding you that there is still worse to come.
Blood, it was everywhere. You felt heavy, full. The familiar ache in your stomach was gone. No food could make you feel this full. Not your favorite dish growing up, not that cheap instant ramen. You could get by with animal blood or the fake blood you bought off the net. But it felt so great to be so full now.
And you remember when you came to your senses to see bodies in front of you. The moment you panicked, the way you had to fill that role. Be a terror. A nightmare to folks nearby. A feral vampire on the streets. You swore you were human before, not a parasite.
You didn’t even know when it happened, just a hazy night and you woke up in your own room. How the food you used to love tasted so mediocre now, how your parents thought you were being spoiled. How you parents freaked when you bit into someone at school, the abandonment. Kicking you out with the clothes on your back, no wallet, no nothing. You never felt so alone, so hungry on the streets. You didn’t want to become this blood-thirst monster. But after a while, you accepted the title but you rejected the food you crave.
Then the powers you had, manipulating blood, not just yours but others too. Making a battle tough on most enemies. But using your own blood had its consequences, making you not only so hungry but also light headed, like you were bleeding out.. Actually it might be that.
Your hunger was always hard to deal with though. You woke up to the bars of your cell being knocked with something. You leaned up to see a familiar hero. Blonde Blazer. Her radiance always made your skin itch when you were near her.
“Blood? Right? Or should I call you by your real name?” She asked, Blazer seemed to be in a good mood, looking at the file with your name.
“Call me what you want.” You waved her off, it seemed the guards cleaned the broken TV. Not a shard of glass on the ground and the TV was taken out. Probably lost privileges for it. Like that matters now.
“I’m sure one of the heroes that caught you came by, I was told that he talked about the program we run at-” She closed the file when you interrupted her, like Flambae but she didn’t get pissed like he did. She seemed more shocked.
“I don’t care. Look,” You stood up and walked to the bars, standing straight at her. “No person will look at me and see a hero in this mess. I’m a parasite that needs others to survive. A monster from a book.”
“Yeah and a lot of people fantasize about vampires in their beds.” You didn’t realize someone else was near, a hero you could somewhat recognize but you didn’t care then and you still don’t. But you didn’t realize how much the pain of your hunger ruins your senses. “I mean look at Twilight.”
“Visi,” The blonde shook her head as she sighed. “I told you to stay in the lobby.”
“Too late.” She gave you an up down, but she crossed her arms, leaning on the bars near you. You only offer a glare back.
“Look, Blood, we want to help you. SDN thinks you would be a perfect fit, Visi’s dispatcher also thinks so, he wants to help you.” She lifts the folder, the one filled with lies and incorrect information. One that would tell them that you are younger than they suspect. “We can always make a deal, just a trial run. A week. If you don’t like it, you can always come back here.”
“And rot, I've seen how long you are gonna be here for. Quite a long time.”
“Visi.” Blazer gave her a stern look, shaking her head for a moment. “Look, let me help you, we can get you food. You need blood and we can get you some of the blood donations from the hospitals, I’m sure they won’t mind.”
You stare at her, blinking a few times, responding quieter, “I’ll think about it.” Now in your more normal tone, “Now can you go? I would rather be alone.”
Blazer took a few moments, just keeping her eyes on you before she left. The one she called Visi stayed, she got off of the bars and continued to stare at you, her arms crossed. “You really don’t want to leave, huh?”
You didn’t respond, only looking at your hands. Remembering the feeling of blood on them, the fast-losing warmth in the bodies you held after your hunger strikes.
“We all deserve a second chance, and you do too. Shit.” You hear some rustling before a blood bag is thrown into the cell. “I know you can’t use your powers but you gotta be hungry. Join the team, and sure you get some more of those, maybe even get some fresh if you ask.” You heard her having this teasing tone before hearing some noise then footsteps. She completely left, and you never kept your eyes away from the bag in front of you. You slowly grabbed the bag, cold, and a funky smell, must be old. But beggars can’t be choosers right now. Dove your teeth into the bag, and was met with a good meal, one to at least cover you until the trial week.
Fuck. It’s gonna be a complete shit show.
You stared at the table as Blazer finished the paperwork for your ‘parole’, she will be acting as your sponsor as well. She keeps saying that she wants to help you. The person you used to be wants to believe her but the new you knew better, they will always leave.
“Alright, I’m sure that is the last one.” The screeching of the chair pulled you back to the presence, seeing her smiling at you. “Now, let's get you fed then get you set up. Surely, you have a place to leave.”
Shaking your head, “I was homeless, I can find a-”
“You were?” Those blue eyes were filled with so much concern, her body was reacting like she got bad news.
“I got kicked out, so where would I stay?” You took a step forward, allowing the guard to release you with a glare. You knew they weren’t happy with you leaving. A monster should have stayed behind bars. You rubbed your wrist, feeling your blood ready to pounce, ready to be used once again.
“Okay, so we could have you stay with someone until we get you your own place.” She said, placing her warm hand on you, reminding you of your own cold skin. “I’m sure someone can allow you to stay with them.”
“You do know that this is only for a week, right?” You leaned away from her hand, crossing your arms.
“Right.” She looks disappointed, but nods. “A week.”
You were left alone in a conference room, you had a few blood bags in front of you. Only taking one to drink, you wanted to tear into the others, but you didn’t know when the next meal would be. The terrible thoughts, memories, well, would you call it memories when you black out and wake up to seeing bodies.
A knock pulled you away from the terrors, opening the door is a guy. A normal one. Unlike the heroes that have buzzing in their presences or blood. He was just… normal. He sighed as he sat across from you. “So, Blood, correct?” You gave him a nod as he looked at the file, the same one Blazer had. “It says here you are doing a trial run, that you decide if you join or not by the end of the week. So I want to be able to help you to choose the side of becoming a hero, or someone to do good.”
You hummed as you glimpsed at the paper. “So… you are the dispatcher for the Z-team. The one I’m joining?”
“Yup, annoying asses but yes, I’m their dispatcher.” He looked up, his eye bags seem to have their own eye bags. Probably making his blood taste foul with the way he looks. “So while you are under the Phoenix Program, you will receive food, and you can only drink blood?”
“Well, I can eat other food, but…” You grimace at the past memories.
“You can’t stomach it?” He asked.
“Sure, let’s go with that.” You cross your arms as you look at him, wondering about his health. The more he stays in this room with you, the more you can tell he seems so out of it.
“Okay, we can cover that, while we wait for Blazer to get you an earbud. I was told to tell you that the bracelet you accepted when you walked into SDN is a tracker, it's so we can locate you. This way you don’t escape.” Where would you even go? “And can make sure you stay on route.”
“Alright, so I’m guessing I’m working today. I mean, you guys get a week, and don’t want to waste a day away.”
He stared at you for a moment, “Yes, that's what we are doing, we’ll discuss who you’ll stay with. Blazer told the team you will stay with one of them for some time, so they might pass you to the next.”
“Great.” You rolled your eyes. This is gonna be fun watching them fight.
Z-team. You knew them from TV, fought a couple of them, got caught by two of them. You were somewhat introduced to them.
“Well, we have someone new, I’m sure you heard about them, and few of you knew that they were joining, but we have the ex-villian, Blood, to join us. Which I realize we might need to rebrand your name.” Blazer spoke out of the earbud, you were given back the clothing you wore when you were a villain. And they were cleaned, you don’t smell the old blood on it anymore.
“So you got someone to eat us while we work. Maybe I can roleplay with them being a sparkling vampire before I fucking die.”
“That’s what I said, I mean vampires are really popular lately.” Visi spoke, you at least knew her voice.
“I- well, we capu- we caught them– me and Flambae-” The familiar stutter, the one who helped catch you and throw you in jail.
“Lad, take your time. Anyway, surely you don’t want someone who will eat us during our shift? I mean, we won’t be able to work if they just drink our blood.”
A sigh drives through the coms. “No, they won’t drink or eat you. We have food for them, and already provide them with it. So no one will have to worry that their asses will be eaten.” Robert said. And now you realized why he looked the way he did, it's probably because of this team.
“Aw, there goes my night plans.” Visi spoke up, which is now giving you some weird vibes with her.
“Anyway, continuing from where I left off,” Blazer seemed to sigh before she spoke again. “Blood will be joining for a week, if we or them decide they aren’t a good fit, they will be sent back to jail. So please help them through this and have a good shift.”
And the shift was… something, a few didn’t want to work with you and the others were okay-ish. Working with Flambae was something, it was a simple mission of a few low level villains robbing someone. It was an easy mission, he even joked with you a little bit. But did call you a bitch again before he flew off. Leaving you to travel alone.
Malevola was something, wasn’t afraid of you, but did seem a bit.. You didn’t know what to call it. It was a mission where you didn’t even do anything. The people there were afraid of you, so you just had to stay still. Away from them. A few whispers about the monster you were.
Then you were placed on missions by yourself, tracking someone, fighting a few people. Just by yourself and maybe Robert in your ear.
“Hey, so, if anything happens to me while I’m on ‘parole’, will it be covered?” You used your fingers to quote ‘parole’. Robert was on cameras while you were looking for someone in the alleys. Tracking people was easy for you, each person had this scent, and the guy you were tracking was already smelling weird.
“Well, you’re on the clock so it would be covered under workers comp. Why, you looking to get yourself hurt so you can go back to jail quicker? You already took the deal so you have to go through it.”
“I’m just asking, look it’s my first actual job, fucker.” You snip back. But the line was quiet after that, only giving you some direction on how to deal with him. Fuck. Did you mess up already?
Lunch, you took one of your blood bags and went to go hide somewhere, you didn’t want to be found nor watched by your ‘coworkers’. You wanted to be alone. Well, until you smell someone nearby, you couldn’t see them but you had an idea. “Visi…” You quietly said.
She took a breath, showing herself. The brownette took a puff of her inhaler and continued to walk up the stairway. “What? I was trying to see how you are doing, Vampy, or should I call you dracula?” She said, final reaching the floor level you were hiding on. “This place fits your vampire vibes, dark and hidden.”
You glare up at her as she sat next you. “What do you need?”
“Nothing, can’t someone check up the newbie?” She shrugged, pulling out some snack. She opened it and started eating. The bloodbag seemed so heavy now.
“Well,” She dragged the word as she animatedly talked to you. “You didn’t seem like it. You growl at each time you pair up with someone, Waterboy seemed to almost wet himself when he paired up with you.”
“Not used to be pairing with people.” You look at the blood bag, no longer wanting to look at Visi.
“Well, get used to it. Robert likes pairing us up, something about synergy. But come on, you don’t have to be this edgy teen.” You pause, but you were one. Sure an adult, but you haven’t reach your twenties yet.
“Is this a pep talk, cause you aren’t doing it well.” You glare up at her, you didn’t want this situation and it wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t turned.
“Bitch, Bob bob is asking for you.” You look up see Flambae, he finished walking up the steps, crossing his arms, and Visi looked at him, before disappearing. Her footsteps and her smell disappeared soon after. “Damn, she bugging you?”
You looked up, the anger you felt rising disappeared, leaving you to shrug. “Fucking tell Robbo if she is. Bitch wants you to join, said you have pontental in you.”
“That's good to know.. I guess.” You mumble, looking down at the bag in your hands.
“Fucking drink it, you can always ask for more. They won’t let you fucking starve.” He leaned against the wall near you, taking the spot where Visi was. You didn’t want to drink it, you can just drink it later. “Give it bitch.”
The bloodbag was taken, a sense of heat passed through as you watched Flambae hold it then give it back to you. “There, it's warm now. You rather have it warm than fucking ice cold.”
The bag was indeed warm, you ripped the tab and started drinking it, and it did taste better. You pause to look up at him again, “Thanks.”
He got off the wall, leaving you alone. “Fuckin’ whatever.”
Finally alone in the stairwell, you look back at the warmed bag, a smile creeping on your lips. “Maybe it won’t be so bad.”
The rest of the shift wasn’t bad, Robert asked for you to take the rest of the day off. Since it was your first day working there, or ever but what little do they know. So instead, you were left in a conference room, some of the Z-team checked up on you, introducing themselves. One of them said that Robert did this so you could stop getting angry with them at each call. A few of them seemed interesting, like Coupe likes drinking blood too(which was a weird conversation since… well..), Sonar wanted to teach you crypto(which you think might be a scam), Golem was chill(he gave you music recommendations), Prism walked in, took a seat and start to gossip to you(which you didn’t even know some of the people she was talking about, but she was fun to talk to) and Malevola dropped in as well. She was the one who gave you some kind of calmness from any of this, well her and Flambae…
You thought about the fire user, he did capture you, brought you to prison. Along with Waterboy, but Waterboy seemed to be afraid of you. He still hasn't talked to you yet, which makes you wonder if he was afraid of you. Flambae wasn’t though, you didn’t know to hate him or to just…
Groaning, your head landed onto the wooden table, you didn’t know what motive he had, but you don’t like it in any way.
“Damn, trying to pretend to be asleep now? I was going to brighten your day, like the good fuckin’ hero I am, but whateve’s.” Speaking of the fire devil himself, he sat nearby. His legs on the table, pulling his phone out.
“Isn’t the shift about to end?”
“It is, but I’m on my break.”
“So you won’t be sent out before it ends?”
“No, Bob Bob makes sure that everyone gets their breaks.” He looked at you, his unnatural eyes remind you of yours. Bright colors. “So, first day?”
“Meh,” shrugging, it was just a day. Sure, helping people was kinda nice, but being seen as a monster still? It still hurts. A title you will bear until the day you are forgotten by this world.
“Just meh? Fuck, I was hoping it was great when you were hanging out with me.”
“It was different, is that better?” You looked at your hands, “People still fear me, a few called me names already.”
“So, I deal with that, too. Accept the past and move on. I got people up my ass about me burning places down when I was villain, I still do, but don’t tell, Rob bob.” He paused, “Fuck you, too. This is a private conversation, so fuck off. Fucking listening in.” He rolled his eyes, then looked back at you. You couldn’t help the smile reaching on your lips, closing his phone and throwing it on his lap. “Do what the eavesdropper says and burn the old version of you and reborn as the new you.”
“Like that fire bird, a phoenix?” You snorted at the thought.
“It is called a phoenix program for a reason.” He looks at you then surrounds. “Where’s your food? Surely you wanted it hot again.”
“Not hungry.” You said, you already ate more than you were used to, hell, you probably ate what would have been a month's supply for you before.
“Yeah, fucking right. Make sure you at least drink it for your dinner. Don’t want a feral vampire on the streets.” He smirked.
Rolling your eyes as someone knocks on the door, then entering. Was it your new boss? Dispatcher? Parole something? You still don’t know what role he will play this week. “So you are still here, Flambae. Good, you can house Blood here for a bit. They don’t have a place to stay.” He crossed his arms, looking at him. “I won’t report if you do.”
A deal? At least that's what this seems.
“Fuckin’ fine, don’t be a snitch.” Flambae got up, hand on his hip as he looked at you. “You coming, tick?”
“They drink blood, you drink blood, so tick.” He gave a shit-eating grin, a nickname that annoyed you. Sure, it was an insult, but it didn’t seem demeaning to you. But you got up and followed him.
It was still the first day, and this week didn’t seem so horrible yet.
