Not so Heroic After All

The Unorthodox Vampire

Violet doesn't remember much about her father, but she does remember one thing distinctly; the day he left. 

It was just a day like any other day really. She and Bolt were getting ready for school, dreading the day. It was maybe about eight o' clock in the morning. 

Their mother was busy with work, typing away on her computer like there was no tomorrow. It was a sound Violet had grown to like; a rhythmic, sure sound. It would also be the last time she heard that sound. 

"Violet, Bolt are you ready?" Their father smiled his warmest smile when he saw Bolt playing a game on his tablet, while Violet constantly tried to sabotage him by tickling him and swiping the screen. 

"Stop! You're gonna make me lose!" 

"It's just a game." 

"This is Justice League: Infinite Crisis! It is not just a game!"

"As much as I encourage the cyber fighting of crime," Their father began, receiving an incriminating look from his wife. He quickly revised. "I mean, bad boy!" He teased, picking up his son who couldn't stop laughing. 

"It's time to go to school, is what he's trying to say," Their mother pitched in. 

He nodded. "Exactly. So let's get moving kids." 

He and Bolt walked all the way to the car before they realized Violet had not followed. He told Bolt to stay in the car and walked back inside. 

"Where did Violet go?" He asked his wife, who was still typing away like nothing happened. It wasn't like she was ignoring them. She was just in her writing mode, and when she got in that mode, it was best to leave her be.

"She locked herself in the bathroom and said she wasn't coming out." 

He went upstairs, down the hallway and knocked on the bathroom door. "Violet?" 

"Go away!" Violet screamed. It was happening again, just like it always happened. She was getting weak. She had to feed. Again. 

She didn't have normal powers like the other kids at school. Her brother had a cool power; he could teleport anywhere he wanted. She wasn't so lucky. 

Her powers were awesome at first. Purple energy balls? Cool. Magic and hexes? Even cooler. But the cost of those powers weighed on her heart and soul. They demanded something from her. Something she didn't have. Something she had to steal from others. Energy. 

It sounds crazy but it was true. She had to steal energy from others to survive. She called it feeding. Without it she became sick and desolate. She was a vampire, just not the sort people were used to. 

She had never told anyone, not even her parents. Bolt knew that she got weak sometimes but assumed it was because she stayed up late at night, not because she needed to feed off of another human being. 

"Violet, open the door," Her father said gently. She didn't move. 

"You owe me, remember?"

"Because of that stupid game? I don't want to play anymore," Violet whined. 

Her father tsked. "You promised. You owe me a quarter, little miss. You jinxed my words." 

Violet rolled her eyes. "Only because you always say the same things."

"That's right. And you know what I'm about to say now, don't you?" He asked. 

"If I don't open the door, you'll just phase through the wall?" Violet said. 

"That's right. So open up kid." 

Violet reluctantly did as he asked, trying to appear normal. It didn't work in the slightest.