The Latest Outbreak: Vampirism
Gotham City has never been known for normality. Supervillains, drug lords, bat-themed vigilantes, eco-terrorism; these are just a few of the countless difficulties and obstacles faced by Gothamites in their day-to-day lives.
One would think that, given all this, the people of Gotham could live through anything, and normally they’d be right.
Unfortunately there is something, or someone, new terrorizing the streets of our beloved city. A blood born infection with no known cure; Vampirism.
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.
Due to a host of reasons, Gotham Reports’ uploading schedule will be irregular between 3:00 pm (pacific time) on Friday, August 9th to 9:00 pm (pacific time) on Monday, August 12th
