Since becoming a vampire, Dick enjoyed the nighttime just a bit more. Deacon had assured him that he would be able to finish growing, as child vampires were all but useless. He was running through the streets of Gotham City, sticking to the shadows when something caught his ear. He followed the sound to a broken home, a boy slightly younger than him was trying to protect a woman from a violent man. Dick slipped in and hit the man's pressure points, taking him down with skill. Frowning at the woman, he looked between the two apparent victims and moved to wrap an arm around the boy, "You can come with me or stay with your stepmother, the choice is yours but I will be watching."
"Stepmother? No, she's-"
Dick addressed the woman "Did you give birth to this boy?"
In shock, she shook her head "No, no, no, you can have him, just leave us alone."
"I guess that takes the decision away. Gather your things, anything you want to take, and we will be on our way." While the boy ran off, Dick hit his father one last time in the back to render him quadriplegic. "Fear not, he will never harm you again though he may yet live." When the boy returned, he asked "What is your name?"
"Jason." He waited until they were away from Willis to ask, "Who are you?"
"That depends on whether Deacon welcomes you into the family because I'm not supposed to tell people outside the family my preferred name. You can call me Richard either way but I hope Deacon lets you into the family. He seemed to be hinting about me getting a brother, something about his age." They reached the mansion in no time, which made Jason feel even more disoriented.
"What are you?"
"Vampire."
"No, really?"
"I really am a vampire. Deacon, are you home?"
Jason was about to point out he didn't raise his voice to ask when a man seemed to materialize in front of them "You brought a friend?"
"Jason's a survivor, I was hoping he might become kin."
"What sort of survivor?"
"His father beat him all to Hell and he still had the strength to take hits for his stepmother, who he believed to be his actual mother."
"Hmm, very well." The man turned to Jason, "You may call me Deacon. Perhaps one day, you will become one of us, a vampire. Richard will explain what that means while I have a room prepared for you." The man, Deacon, vanished.
Richard said "You can call me Dick, since you're family. Tomorrow, Deacon's gonna have you tested for the tutors and you're gonna get a whole lot of stuff he deems necessary. Right now, he wants me to show you around and explain vampires." He took in Jason's battered state, "First stop, the medic. This place is like a town rolled into one building, with all Deacon's servants."
As he followed Dick inside, Jason asked "So Deacon's a vampire?"
"Yeah."
"And he's gonna make me a vampire?"
"I'm a vampire, Jason. It's not really a bad thing."
"You're a vampire?"
"Yeah, I was Deacon's first ward."
"First ward?"
"Until you're a vampire, you're gonna be called his ward."
"So I'm his second?"
"Yeah. Once you're turned then he'll be your sire and you'll be his son, according to other vampires. He'll probably arrange custody tomorrow so your stepmom can't claim kidnapping."
