Let's see what our Van Helsing has to say about it tomorrow.

An elbow catches you in the face, sending you stumbling back. The grass against your bare feet would feel kind of nice if it wasn’t for the throbbing in your nose. Good thing nosebleeds aren’t on the table anymore. You shake yourself, getting your bearings back.

“So, you’re SURE you killed her, right?” Andy asks as she circles you. It’s amazing how different she looks without the pale makeup and black accents. Almost normal. Still, even in the yoga pants and the green tank with her hair pulled into a messy bun, it’s impossible to forget she’s dangerous. You don’t think you’ve landed a hit on her all night. “I mean, the first time’s pretty disorienting. Maybe you just maimed her?”

“She was almost drained of blood, with a broken neck.” You assume the stance she’s been trying to teach you, eliciting a grin from her. “I’m pretty sure that’s dead by human standards.”

“Huh.” As you dart forward, Andy ducks, striking you with a clothesline in the stomach, then spinning around to keep you in her sight lines as you stumble. “A little better. You have to be ready for reversals, though. All that strength ain’t worth a thing if you can’t connect with it.”

“I’m so sorry, I’ve been a vampire for a whole week and I haven’t mastered street fighting,” you groan, turning to face her. “It’s embarrassing, I know.”

“It’s okay, you still got your looks,” she teases. When she moves towards you, it’s a little easier to focus. Stepping out of the way of her first few attacks seems simple. You can’t tell if she’s starting with the same knee strikes to get you used to a pattern or teach you a lesson about relying on them. You get your answer when you give a short, safe jab that she catches, then sends you sprawling as she drops to the ground and rolls. “Need a break yet, Vampirella?”

“Yes, please,” you answer, muffled by the ground you’re planted face-down in. Andy reaches a hand down to you and helps you to your feet before the two of you head back into the dilapidated tear-down she calls home.

“Okay, get me something from before you ‘killed,’ her.” She notably finger-quotes “killed,” making you frown. All the same, it’s not hard to find a picture of Atlee Paige for someone at Workwick. You pass your phone to Andy as the two of you sit on her couch. Her legs stay folded up, entirely off the floor as she carefully observes. You, on the other hand, stretch out as best you can. You don’t feel much in the way of real damage. It’s pretty obvious Andy wasn’t trying to actually harm you, but your joints are still shockingly sore. You wait for her answer, splayed out dramatically. “Human here.”

“It’s so weird you can tell that through pictures.”

“And TV! Speaking of which?” You thumb over to the interview with her you saw this morning, which Andy immediately balks at. “Okay, so not human here. Jesus. That’s … new.”

“Really hoping it was going to be old,” you sigh. Andy knows a lot more about this stuff than you. Hearing that whatever Atlee is now isn’t something she’s familiar with is … inconvenient.

“Yeah, it’s like … there’s a flare on her eyes, green. And she’s got these … I dunno’, lines, vines, tendrils? They’re dancing all around her. And there’s this one, straight, glowing one, shooting right off-camera … probably means she’s connected to something. It’s not like one of you, though.” She spins her hand as she tries to come up with the right words. “It’s like … something’s overlaid on her. I can still see the person there, but it’s like she’s wearing a suit made out of whatever this slippery, green stuff is.”

“Not that it’s wearing her? I figured it was, like, possession or something.”

“It’s not NOT possession … but I guaran-damn-tee you, whatever it is, it’s more complicated than that.”

“Well, it’s my problem, so I have to clean it up.” You pause, shrugging and voice very weakly hopeful. “Maybe she’s not evil now? Is that possible?”

“Possible? Sure.” Andy tosses you your phone back, which you barely catch. “It’s also possible I’ll spontaneously gain the ability of unpropelled flight, but that doesn’t mean I’d lay money on it. If she was a monster of a person and now she’s a monster, it’s … pretty likely she’s a monster of a monster.”

“Just trying to kill her feels like a bad idea, though. Especially since attempt one didn’t take, apparently.”

“Monitor. Look, I’m not working any major jobs. You pull nights, I’ll pull days. If I can get her in my sights, I can sort of figure out what she’s not going to like? But I can’t promise an answer to why or how to use it,” she admits, a little defeated. “Research’s everything if you’re trying to punch above your weight. Don’t know if she’s that, but … we got no context. Can’t fight a monster you don’t have context for. Not well, anyhow.”

“I miss worrying about homework already,” you respond, staring at the ceiling. “Just what’s due when, if I’m taking the right classes to get ahead, looking for a job. Facing down existential horrors at every corner is a lot.”

“Weeeellllllll, before we go into study mode, we can try to de-stress you?” Andy’s voice is remarkably confident for someone nominally asking a question. The fluid grace she demonstrated in her back yard translates easily into how nimbly and swiftly she straddles you. “I mean, it would help you focus, right?” she murmurs as she leans down and kisses your neck. You nod, pursing your lips gently. “And you’re probably a little hungry?” She bites your neck as she says it, making you groan. You feel your fangs involuntarily extend. Andy quickly slides back up to your mouth, gently drawing her tongue over one of them. It feels … way better than it should. “This side’s not all bad, Jaq …” she says between light kisses, so soft you can tell she’s egging you on to push back. “If we’re about to be ass-deep in monsters and horror, enjoy some of the perks.”

“Says the vampire hunter trying to get in a vampire’s pants,” you taunt her as you wrap your arms around her waist. She grins and shrugs before you pull her down, kissing her harder. She responds in kind and you can feel her nipples getting harder through her thin top as you two press against each other. “This where you saw your night going when you picked me up yesterday?”

“Only in a strictly masturbatory sense,” she answers honestly, hands sliding up and spreading your arms beneath hers. “No toys this time, promise. I know you didn’t love my last one.”

“You stabbed me!”

“And you didn’t love it, why are you arguing?” Her hands move back down your body, gracing your breasts through your shirt briefly and making you gasp. You are hungry … but Andy’s doing her level best to make horny win out over that. I mean, you can do both, but your mind is swimming, a pleasant distraction from the chaos in your life. “You want the wheel, or should I?” she whispers to you, alternating between a meek, soft noise to a harsh, sultry tone as she pins your wrists with the latter half of the question.