A Werewolf In Under-Town

The night air whipped by Vlad's face as he glared down at the town before him. He could hear the creatures of the night crawling in the walls. Behind him, his children shuffled nervously on the rooftop. Their capes brushed against each other as all thirty of them waited anxiously for his say-so. He took a huge sniff of the warm night air as he got ready to pontificate before his new family. The air smelled of oil, metal, and blood.

"Try as they might, this city can't mask the comings and goings of the beasts in the night." Vlad began, hearing the shuffling stop behind him.

"Evil takes all forms. It can be a foul creature of the night, or it can be a simple man trying to feed himself. All are victims of circumstance. Even we, cursed as we are, hunger for something… more."

"I wouldn't call it a city, Master. More of a small township."

Vlad grit his teeth as Smitty added. "I mean, we drove over an hour away from Austin just to get here and all."

"Smitty!" Vlad admonished. The talkative Thrall went silent, and Vlad mentally checked his speech before picking up where he left off. "They call us monster. But I did not choose to be what I am. I was born this way and yet they curse me as evil!"

"I mean, I choose to be this, Master. It was kinda between staying a deadbeat thug or becoming a vampire! I guess I could've picked up with that werewolf fella. But all that hair? It's not for me."

There was a general rumble of agreement as Vlad bit the inside of his cheek. His large canines nicked the flesh there, but it quickly healed. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and smack the young Thrall. But Vlad was sure he would lose the grandeur of the moment if he did. Then Smitty opened his mouth again.

"Hey, Master, why did we wait this long? I mean, I kind of see it. Creatures of the night waiting until dark to strike. It fits the overall theme we're going for. But most of the other blokes are all done, right? It's just you and the werewolf missus that needs to turn in your bank goods."

"10… 9… 8…" Vlad started counting down in his head, finding his spot in his speech again before another Thrall spoke up.

"Yeah, and we wasted a good three hours trying to find the perfect building to perch on." Said Juniper.

"Wait, is that why he was in the War Room for so long?" asked another Thrall

Vlad stopped counting and whirled on his bunch of brats. "SILENCE!"

The sea of cloaked Vampire Thralls all froze at his command, and Vlad glared down at Smitty and Juniper. The two pale Thralls gulped as Vlad's eyes pierced into them. He dismounted the ledge of the roof he was standing on and got right into Smitty's face, the gravitas of the moment completely ruined.

"It's called Showmanship! Haven't any of you damn plebs heard of it! By the gods, how can none of you get that this is a huge moment?! We are about to embark on our first Night Raid as a Family! Respect the moment!"

Smitty gulped again, his pale face a mask of confusion. "Yeah, but Mast-"

"And I've told you not to call me that! Why can't you go with any of the other titles I picked out? Like Father or Lord Kopish?"

"Boss, Father is creepy and Lord doesn't make sense. You're not a lord of anything. You're just a gang boss."

Several Thralls gasped in alarm as Juniper took a step away from Smitty. Vlad growled as his fingernails grew longer and he slashed them across the dumbass Thralls throat. Blood pour out of Smitty's throat like a waterfall as Vlad turned to Juniper and raised a finger.

"And no saving him this time. If I find this dumbass back in our ranks, I'll gut you all and start again! Don't think that I won't!"

"Yes, Father." Juniper said as she bowed and backed away.

Vlad glared down at the dying Thrall for a few seconds before he turned back to the rest of his children of the night. A few were glaring at him, but most were afraid… again. He'd been having to discipline his flock more and more lately. The fear bonus to his people's Loyalty was great, but Vlad was beginning to think he was doing something wrong here. He knew it was probably his fault. Turning a bunch of thugs into vampires en masse was probably a horrible idea. None of them had any sense of poise or grace. Also, only a few of them wanted to give the grandeur of being a vampire its due. But he thought he could train that into them. So far, though, it had all been a wash.

Smitty gave his last death rattle as Vlad turned back around and placed his hands on the ledge of the roof, and looked down. They were probably ten stories up, and Vlad could see the street below. Just across from them was the bank. It was nestled snugly between two large office buildings and right now, everyone was leaving for the night. A small part of him wanted to call everything off, but the Thralls were right. He'd spent hours searching for the perfect building, which sat in the most perfect spot. All so he could have his dramatic speech and entrance. Well, Smitty had ruined the speech, but he wasn't going to take Vlad's moment.

Hopping up to stand on the ledge, Vlad turned back to his cadre of Thralls. Smitty's body was slowly becoming grey dust as his vampiric body died. Vlad could see looks of horror on some Thralls' faces as they watched the process. He snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention again. Normally, Vlad would continue with his prepared speech and then dive into things properly. But tonight they had a schedule to keep. So instead, he waved for his people to get into position.

"You all know the drill. Shock, awe, and a little panache! You hear me, my children?"

"Yeah,"

"Sure."

"Whatever."

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"I SAID! DO. YOU. HEAR. ME!?" Vlad shouted over his shoulder.

A chorus of cheers meet his second call and Vlad scowled to himself again. He flared out his cloak a little and fell forward, off the edge of the roof. Vlad reveled in the feeling of the wind against his face, before he activated his vampiric speed and the world turned into a misty, dark blur. Vlad's speed didn't work like he imagined when he had chosen it. But now he was used to the blurry dark images as they past him by. Somehow, his mind was able to keep up with what was happening, even if his eyes weren't quite up to snuff. He originally thought that the world would slow down around him as he moved at super-speed. But that only happened when he was fighting another speedster. If he was just using it for travel, then he only had to envision where he wanted to go and the ability would move him there.

Vlad felt the ground coming up quick and he felt his legs connect with the sidewalk in front of the building. He immediately pushed off and sped across the street to the bank. The doors were already shut, and the employees were collecting their tills for the night. Vlad cross his arms over his chest and barreled through the front door like a cannonball. An explosion rocked his ears as shards of glass went everywhere.

Vlad slid to a stop in the bank's foray and hissed loudly, showing off his fangs and putting some power into his eyes, making them glow red. Behind him, he heard his Thralls whoosh into the bank as well. They spread through the building like a black cloud as Vlad clacked madly. So what if the dramatic speech hadn't gone well? He'd managed to make a fairly dramatic entrance, and that was half…

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Vlad sighed, as a bright red and orange light flared into life. Looking around, he spotted a scared-looking man with his finger on a panic button. All around the bank huge metal shutters came down and yellow magic flared into being everywhere. The door he'd burst through was covered in a huge metal wall now, and Vlad wanted to rip his hair out.

Instead, he dashed over to the brave button-pusher and ripped his throat out with his teeth. Vlad drank deep to sate his anger and ignored the notification telling him he wasn't getting any EP for it. He heard cries of panic and shouts of alarm over the bank's alarm. But Vlad ignored it until he had his fill and then threw the bank worker aside. The NPC's body crashed through multiple desks and other employees as Vlad wiped his chin.

"Okay then! He just killed you all. Congratulations! This is officially a shitshow!"

At the per-approved code word, Vlad's Thralls started killing everyone in the bank. Screams and cries for help joined the banks loud klaxon and Vlad glared around at everyone at the night he was having. Nothing was turning out like it should. Granted, the others had reported that some of their nights had gone poorly as well. But none of them this early. Not even Dave!

"This is fine." Vlad said, straightening his suit jacket and brushing off a pleading civilian.

The backhand sent the bank employee sliding away and into the veritable maelstrom of Vlad's children. They were killing with abandon now. Acting like a bunch of uncivilized thugs. Apparently, some of Vlad's Thralls got the same genetic quirk he did. Meaning they needed the blood of others to help them advance. He wasn't sure if it was the same thing as him exactly, with Evo Points and the like. But his Thralls were some thirsty buggers and the more the older ones drank, the stronger they became.

Vlad walked through the mayhem as he brought up an in-game window. He'd saved the bank's layout onto a notepad and used it to navigate his way to the back. His chosen bank wasn't that large. The front side was big, with an open lobby and employee kiosks on either side. But the back was mainly set up as a few offices and then the basement leading to the vault. Vlad had accepted that this bank probably wasn't going to have a large stockpile of credits. But the theater of it all should've been spectacular.

He sighed as he walked down the beige hallways. People ran for cover and screamed as his Thralls used their enhanced speed and strength to bring down their prey. It was when they were in motion that Vlad felt like they were true vampires. Just don't try to hold a conversation with any of them. Or discuss the proper behavior of a denizen of the night.

Vlad sighed to himself as he walked down the stairs toward the vault. He exited the spiraling stairwell into another beige hallway. A few employees were cowering down here and Vlad was surprised his Thralls hadn't hunted them down. He was about to deal with them when sounds of fighting came from a door ahead. In a flash, Vlad was at the side of the door and looked inside.

A square room met his gaze, the one he'd been looking for. At the far end of the room was the vault door, sitting untouched as two of his Thralls battled a security guard. The human-looking man in a blue uniform was holding his own pretty well against Vlad's Thralls. They'd dash in and swipe at the man as he defended himself. He wielded a large pistol in his left hand and a baton in his right. He used the baton to keep the Thralls back as he took the odd potshot with his energy pistol.

Vlad leaned against the door frame as he watched the melee unfold. He expected his Thralls to be able to bring the man down. But they were getting more feral as time went on. That made them sloppy. He could see their tempers raising and knew they were going to slip up soon. No thoughts of helping entered his head, though. If they were too weak to handle a simple security guard, they weren't fit to be his Thralls.

A dark-haired Thrall finally had enough and dashed in again, her nails extended to cut the man's face. The guard pirouetted and opened fire with his pistol. An energy bolt hit the female Thrall in the temple and she fell to the floor. The male Thrall used that moment to sink his own sharp claws into the guard's stomach. The guard growled in anger and bashed the Thrall in the head multiple times with his baton. Instead of ripping his claws through the guard the Thrall held on and Vlad rolled his eyes again.

Soon both men were on the floor and Vlad could feel his Thrall die. The security guard was still huffing as he grimaced from his wounds. Vlad rubbed his eyes in disappointment as he sauntered over to the dying guard. He was an older gentleman, probably in his late fifties. Dark hair, large beard. He had that rugged handsomeness that Vlad had seen a lot. Although now his face was marred with claw marks and his stomach was bleeding. Vlad ignored the stench of blood in the air as he leaned over the dying guard's face.

"Oh, my dear friend, don't be afraid. I'm going to give you the choice I never had." Vlad said, readying his pitch.

That's when a blue laser bolt hit him in the face and burned him. Vlad grit his teeth against the pain and blew an angry snort from his nose. With a twitch of his leg, Vlad put his foot down on the security guard's neck, hard. The crunch was unsatisfying, as was the twitching of the guard's corpse as the smell of his own burnt flesh filled Vlad's nostrils.

"Uncultured swine!" Vlad hissed.