Before the trip to Long Island, we returned to my apartment and got ready for the hunt, and for the road in general.
I, plagiarizing an idea from the first Blade film, dressed up in a motorcycle suit with a tinted helmet, which was supposed to help me survive the sunbathing. I haven't tried this outfit yet, but as long as I don't get into combat in it, there shouldn't be any problems, and I won't burn—literally.
Anyway, I'll try to stay out of the fight during the day, if possible, of course. My living vampire probably wouldn't be thrilled about a fight in the sun either. Ideally, it would be nice to enlist Morbius's help voluntarily, but when was that ever easy?
I also took my meager blood supply with me in a cooler, though it's clearly not enough. Maybe I can get some food from a Long Island hospital. I'm sure Percy will be understanding about this, especially if I offer her an alternative.
Besides food, I decided to take the trophy weapons I'd gotten from the uninvited guests. After all, we're going after a vampire, so a hunter's weapon wouldn't hurt.
My arsenal consisted of a Beretta 93R, not the most popular weapon, but still used by the Italian special forces. A silver-plated Ka-Bar knife, also favored by classics like Deadpool and the Punisher, as well as the US Army since World War II. I also grabbed a couple of silver-plated fragmentation grenades. I did have a Remington 1100 Police shotgun, but I'm not in Texas to be walking around with such a thing like that. My greatest pride was the US cavalry saber I'd snatched from the vampires who came after me—they seemed obsessed with all things antique. I practiced with it from time to time, watching online tutorials, in case I ran into Blade or some other swordsman who wanted to make a mockery of me. But my success in handling the saber was still modest, and I did not take it for the same reason as the shotgun.
However, there was a chance that my entire arsenal would be useless against a living vampire, who, if I recall correctly, was immune to the weaknesses common to his kind, who had become so through traditional means. But it was better than nothing, and would help me avoid wasting my limited reserves of vampiric power in battle, fueled by human blood, of which I had very little.
We were planning to set off on my motorcycle, but this was a surprise for Percy.
- Where did you get a motorcycle?
"It came with a helmet," I joked. "Either you thought I agreed with your method of transportation, or I was going to use public transport like this," I banged my fist on the helmet.
I was the proud owner of a black Victory V92C. It wasn't a Harley, but it was still pretty good. It also had two seats. I bought it after I moved, in case I had to move again. Public transportation for me was like releasing a hungry tiger into a small, high-fenced pen full of livestock.
I think it's time to tell you a little about our final destination. We headed to Suffolk County. Generally, when Americans say Long Island, they mean Nassau and Suffolk Counties, not the entire island. Suffolk County takes up the lion's share of the island and even has two Native American reservations.
And when we reached the district, I was, to put it mildly, confused—where on this vast island, damn it, were we supposed to look for Morbius? I couldn't remember exactly where to look for her, and even if I had, canon was thrown out the window, remember? Its elements are all jumbled and overlapping. I didn't know the whereabouts of the vampire and Percy.
We found ourselves at a bit of a dead end. So, after scouring the island for a day, we headed to Martha Connors's country house, which, by a happy coincidence, was not far from where we'd ended our search. Since the owner wasn't home, we shamelessly broke into her private property.
Oh, what's the big deal? Connors knows us both; we're her students, and she's a friend of Spider-Woman's, even though she doesn't know who he is. Plus, Percy warned her we'd be using her house, so we didn't even have to pick the lock.
The doc's house was a two-story wooden structure equipped with a fully functional laboratory. Someone clearly doesn't understand that people buy houses like this in the suburbs to take a break from work, not to continue working while pretending to be on vacation.
But anyway, having spent the whole day under the scorching sun in thick clothes, and it was July outside, and being squeezed like a lemon, I just wanted to eat and go to bed.
Having completed the first point of the plan, I went down to the basement, where no stray ray of light was supposed to peek. Anyway, I go down there and, vooo ...
"Fuck your leg! Why are you so ugly!?" I screamed, seeing Mikaela Morbius lying on the floor in a creepy cloak, like something out of a 1930s Dracula movie.
The girl, if you could call her that, was scarier than the war. Maybe if she got out of her fighting form, that would change, but what I saw made me gag at the thought of physical intimacy with this thing. And my sick imagination immediately suggested that thought.
To be more specific, this creature didn't really look much like a girl, let alone anything. She had plaster-colored skin and long dark hair—if we're talking about even the slightest bit attractive (for anyone). Her face was more reminiscent of a Neanderthal than a Homo sapiens. You know, wide brow ridges and all that. To top it all off, her nose was reminiscent of a bat's. Brrr! Speaking of her body, she was quite strongly built, for the frail female scientist I expected. She also lacked breasts; if anyone could be described as a "board," that's Morbius. I don't know what she's been injecting into herself, but it clearly hasn't done her any good.
Perhaps if I reverse her metamorphosis, she'll become more like a normal person. But is it worth it? Damn, I'm convinced once again that I love primarily with my eyes. Well, in my defense, I can say that given the global gender balance, being picky is my sacred duty! Now, even though I've started to go a little crazy without a woman, I'm not yet so desperate as to bother with this!
And it seems I inadvertently awakened THIS. Morbius lazily opened her eyes, the whites of which were unnaturally red, literally bloodshot, with a very small black pupil.
"Goddess!" Mikaela rubbed her eyes with a clawed paw. "Did you wake me up, boy? You're sweet," she licked her lips, and I swallowed.
Keep calm, keep calm, it's just a vampire with no weaknesses, trying to either devour me or rape me. And I haven't decided yet which is worse in this situation!
The next moment, Morbius leaped at me like a wrestler. I reflexively shifted into mist form, causing my opponent to crash into the wall. This didn't faze her much, however, and she was already ready for another attack, while I had to exit mist form to avoid wasting my strength.
"You won't run away, my dear!" the vampire sang.
"They're raping me!!" I squealed, attracting Percy's attention, simultaneously pulling my submachine gun out of its holster and, after jumping to the side, firing a burst at my opponent.
- Jimmy! What's going on!? - the sister shouted.
"I told you what the hell is going on, get your ass over here, Percy!" I yelled back, simultaneously emptying the clip into the vampire.
I must admit, my weapon's stopping power isn't bad, but I only have two spare clips. And judging by Morbius, the bullets wound her but don't poison her, even though they're silver. So she's immune, I wasn't mistaken. I should probably dissect her to see how it works, assuming she doesn't eat me today. I'm such an optimist.
"Don't be so rude, kid, we have so much in common. Let's be friends, okay?" the monster coaxed me while I reloaded.
"Yeah, about as much in common as a mosquito and a bat!" I snapped.
"Get away from him, fanged one, you're not his type!" my sister knocked the vampire down with a double kick, finally gracing us with her presence. I was glad to see her, of course, but her wit made my eye twitch noticeably. I hate you, old Jimmy!!!
"You weren't in a hurry, little sister," I reproached her, watching Morbius, who had begun to move slowly.
"Sorry, it's just that when I heard you squeal, I thought maybe some 'aggressive seduction,' let's call it that, would have an effect on your problem," the spider joked. And yes, she was joking, damn it, she had nothing against old Jimmy's sexuality, and this kind of trolling was par for the course. But with me, such jabs are about to give me a nervous tic. How can you not become homophobic, with such a background?
"So, are you finished, boy? What a waste, and you were so cute. Well, I suppose I'll do society a favor by eating you," our opponent said sweetly, standing up and taking up position for another throw.
- No-no-no, the spider is lying! - I shouted, dodging.
"So, does that mean I have a chance?" she asked hopefully. Well, women in this world are mostly in a state of permanent despair, let alone her. So trying to lasso a guy during a fight is nothing unheard of. It's a shame to disappoint her, but she doesn't have a chance. Although, who am I kidding, I don't feel sorry for a thing! You can't help everyone, and I've never considered myself a martyr. Given her appearance, I can't see a romantic relationship with her as anything other than martyrdom.
Meanwhile, because I was distracted, Morbius managed to knock me to the floor and knock the gun out of my hand. We started rolling around on the floor, trying to overpower each other.
Percy, however, seemed to be having trouble aiming enough to shoot a web at the enemy and knock her off me. Eventually, I grew tired of it and shifted into my mist form, slipping out of the vampire's grasp. My sister took advantage of the situation and finally swaddled her opponent, giving her a right hook for good measure.
"Phew, now let's take her blood and mix it with the mutation suppression serum, and then I'll give her some food," I instructed.
- Hor..., wait, what!? You're going to drink it!? - the sister exclaimed.
- In general, yes, and then dissect it, so what?
- You can't do this! I'm not a murderer!
"Well, you won't kill her – I'll do it," I explained.
- I won't let you!
"Percy, if you don't let me kill her, she'll keep killing ordinary people until someone like Blade finds her and kills her anyway. She'll die anyway, but the blood of her victims will be on your hands. Not to mention, she might reveal your secret identity. We were a little distracted during the fight and didn't watch our words," I grumbled at the end.
- We don't have to kill her, but...
"What, throw her in a vampire prison with three meals a day, which doesn't exist, and from which she'd probably escape within six months? They haven't built a prison big enough to effectively and permanently hold supervillains, and you know it!" I snapped.
"We can teach her to control her thirst like you," the sister suggested.
"Like me? Look at her, Percy, and tell me—does she look like someone who can control her instincts? Not to mention, you have no idea what it takes for me to keep my lust under control."
"If we don't try, we'll never know!" insisted the sister.
"Fuck, a minute ago she was flirting with me, and a second later she was trying to bite my artery – thirst overcame her!" I didn't accept Spider's arguments.
"We can still try to heal her," Percy said timidly.
- Did you just call me sick!? - I said in a quiet voice, - Let me guess, you're going to cure me too, - I hissed.
"It will be better this way…", she began.
- Better for whom?
"For you, you can return home to your family," the sister insisted.
"And if it fails, you'll bury me next to my parents, that's your plan?" I spat venom.
"The formula has been tested, and…," Persephone was interrupted again.
"Shut up already and listen. I'm happy being a vampire. I'm going to evolve and solve my problems with science, not turn into a helpless human again," I stated my position, and there was silence for about ten seconds.
"You're not helpless, you never were," my sister decided that I needed consolation.
"I'm a living corpse, little sister. Why do you think I turned into this?" She had no answer to that. "You're silent. Very well, let's do as I say."
"No, we will cure her, no matter how you feel about that word, and until then we will look after her," she declared in a tone that brooked no objection.
"What will you do if she finds out our last name? She's a Nobel laureate, after all, and putting two and two together won't be hard for her," I tried to reason with her.
"I'm sure if we return her to her original form, she'll show common sense and keep her mouth shut, and she might even help you with your problem, not as research material," Percy argued.
- Oh, do whatever you want! - I threw up my hands and pouted.
"Great," she said, returning to the problem of her six-armed nature. She ran to the lab and back, returning with a syringe and a flask of serum. Drawing some of the unconscious vampire's blood into the syringe, Percy injected its contents into the flask and shook it. The contents turned blue, which was basically what we were going for. Without wasting any time, the nurse injected herself with the resulting solution.
Percy immediately fell to her knees and hissed in pain, her extra limbs bending at unnatural angles and gradually retracting into her body. I dread to imagine how painful that must have been. Acting, I must have acted unconsciously, I jumped up to my sister and, hugging her, held her in place until the transformation was complete.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.
"I think so," she replied in a tired voice, "by the way, I just remembered, what did you mean when Morbius said I was lying about your orientation?" At the last words, I felt Percy's remaining arms grab me tightly, but without causing harm yet.
I think I'm in trouble!
- Oops!