The Dark Knight(mare) of Gotham City

In which Bruce & his 'bat-family' are really vampires.

I'm not really sure why I started this fanfic, especially since I'm way too lazy to finish my other stories. But, I've always been fascinated with vampires, and since there have actually been stories (Elsworld or otherwise) about Batman being a real vampire, I just figured 'what the heck?' The story started out as being from Stephanie's point of view, but as I thought of this story, I realized I needed to add Bruce's backstory as well as Dick's, Barbara's & Jason's.

This story is based off of three 'what-if's' I had about the 'Bat-Family'. 1. What-if the reason Bruce feels so strongly about guns and not killing, is because he accidently killed the man who murdered his family, and it left him feeling extremely guilty? 2. What-if Stephanie met & befriended the Wayne family & found out there secrets before she met Robin (Tim Drake)? Would she have instead fallen in love with Jason? 3. What-if Bruce was really over a hundred years old since he is a vampire? As for the 'vampire bit', I plan on mixing a few different abilities and weaknesses into the mix, so please bear with me.

Just to warn you all now, my knowledge of 'Batman' is based off of the 'Young Justice' series and a few assorted comic books. As such, this is going to be extremely AU, so I'm apologizing in advance. Also, I'm not known for updating quickly (if at all), but I'll try to do better, at least until I finish Stephanie's part. Thank you for your time, and I hope you like my story.

Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten. I just had the thought for the fanfic, that is all.

Prologue: Bruce's Memory

He could almost feel the dirt burying him as he tried to dig his way out of the wooden box that held him. Only, the chains that had been wrapped tightly around him beforehand prevented him from doing so. He could hear the chanting inside his head, and although he couldn't speak the language, he did understand the chanting was to calm him down.

'You witch, when I get out of these chains, you'll be the first one I kill, I swear it.' He thought as he attempted once again to move in the coffin. Another jolt of pain through his body had him pinned against the bottom of the coffin, as he tried not to cry out once again. Once the pain ended, he tried to catch his breath, only to find that his breathing had slowed down far more than it should have under the circumstances. An older feminine voice broke through his thoughts then.

'I warned you not to thirst for vengeance and bloodshed in your misguided quest. I warned you that killing the man responsible for the murders of your parents would come at a great price. I warned you weeks ago that your obsession would set you down a path of destruction that would consume you down to your very core. But you didn't listen, did you Mr. Wayne? And so, I have taken matters into my own hands, if only to help you find some manner of peace. Granted, the peace will only come after you have accepted that you should have tried to at least found someone to spend the rest of your life with.'

'Witch, this is all your fault.' He paused in his tirade as another wave of pain passed through him. This time he felt the pain linger on the incisors inside his mouth and pulse in time with his ever slowing heartbeat. He could feel as his incisors slowly lengthen around the small wooden strip that had been placed in his mouth before this 'ceremony' had started. 'You were the one who said the creatures of the 'dark' where no longer human, and shouldn't be tampered with. So then why did you do this? What reason do you have to justify this?'

'The truth Mr. Wayne, is that when I read your future when I first met you, I saw you heading down such a dark path, that you would eventually have become a vampire, who bathed in the blood of your victims. I saw that you would have lost your soul in order to become the creature necessary to gain 'justice' against your enemies, and would have been the cause of so many more orphans. And, as I saw this future that might come, I saw that there was still hope for you then. Do you understand now?'

Bruce stilled as he heard her say that he would have become the very thing he despised most of all. A murderer, one who would have been the cause of numerous orphaned children. It took him all of a moment to realize what she had meant about that. He would have hunted down any murderers and killed them on the spot. But in truth, not everyone who had killed someone had done it out of spite or on purpose. He would have been the reason for so many orphans because he would have killed their parents, because they had killed someone else. He relaxed his tense body as he realized, she was right.

'Of course I'm right in this matter, Mr. Wayne. I would not inflict this pain, this curse on someone, just to see them suffer. I'm doing this to help you see, that there is more to this than you can truly understand.' Bruce rolled his eyes at the thought.

'You say you don't want to inflict suffering, but all I've been feeling since this started is pain. You say that this is to teach me a lesson. Which lesson is that?' 'If you want vengeance, you'll be forced to becoming a vampire'? One of the vilest creatures of the night there is? What are you trying to teach me?' he paused as yet another wave of pain passed through him, this time causing his heart to stutter and constrict painfully. He heard an inelegant snort.

'The lesson I'm teaching you is 'don't mess with things that aren't to be messed with.' In other words Mr. Wayne, you shouldn't have stuck your nose where it didn't belong.' She paused in her speech, almost as if she sensed he was reaching the end of his awareness. 'It will be over soon Mr. Wayne. I have my reasons for doing this, but the main reason why I'm doing this to you? Because I sensed you still have a good heart deep down under the anger, bitterness and desire for vengeance.

'I still believe you have a strong sense of justice that if nurtured, can become a force to be reckoned with. Just remember Mr. Wayne, don't seek someone's death. Seek only for the truth, with all of your heart. A heart, that even now still causes you pain when you remember that you accidentally killed the man that killed your parents. I know you have strong morals and a good heart, but don't let your anger cloud what must be done. After this night you must, no, you will become a force of good, I know it.' He knew it was a matter of time before he finished the change, so he asked quickly before his body shut down completely,

'How can you believe in me after everything I've done and said to you and your people? How can you still believe in me when I've given up on myself?' He felt one last wave of pain as everything began to fade out as he heard her mental reply.

'Because I know these things. Just as I know that by turning you as we are doing, will prevent you from losing your soul and becoming truly damned. I know the journey will be a long one, but this way you still have a chance at happiness. Now rest and try to get some sleep Mr. Wayne. We have a lot to teach you when you wake up.'

And then every fiber of his being was consumed in pain.

Bruce jolted awake deep in the cave hidden under his family's manor. It had been a long time since he had had that particular dream, but it never failed to shake him to his very core. He took a few calming breaths as he tried to center his thoughts and regulate his breathing. It didn't take very long, as he rarely needed to slow his breathing or his heart rate, although it was a human thing to do. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his neck, as his internal clock told him it was still a couple of hours til sunset. Oh well, maybe he could talk to Edmund about what needed to be fixed around the manor after the wind storm had struck the night before.

As he got up from where he had been half buried in soil, he had a sudden sense of foreboding. The dream (or memory) had somehow awakened within him a warning that something was going to happen tonight. Not surprising really, after all, this is Gotham City. But as he climbed the stairs to the cellar of the manor, he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. He thought he should tell Edmund, and go straight onto patrol tonight instead of taking the night off as he had planned. Edmund, on the other hand told him to go out this one night and try to have some fun.

Four hours later, he stood outside of the park that proudly displayed the banner, "Haly's Circus".