With These Hands

A few days had passed since the party, that he ditched, and things were moving smoothly. The murmurs about his physical changes had mostly died down as people now got used to it. 

Vincent and his family were safe and had resumed their lives as much as they could. Valerie had been a bundle of joy since her release from the hospital. 

Then there was Artemis. Their friendship was an odd combination of flirting and casualty. They'd hung out a bit at school and sometimes afterwards. He'd learnt a few things about her, some he already knew and some he didn't. Though, she was still cagey about her family.

'I wonder if Sportsmaster has people spying on her.' He thought as he walked into the familiar club, this time without David by his side. 

There was still as much of a crowd as the last time he was here. 'At least they're consistent.' He mused, silently making his way through the club.

On his way to the backroom, he spied the bar, finding a different bartender. Turning away, he passed a particularly dark section of the club, a dark briefcase that seemed to blend into the darkness appearing in his hand as he stepped back into view. 

After a quick look around to make sure nobody was following or looking at him, he quickly reached the door which was guarded by the same bodyguards as before. 

This time, they recognized him, allowing him in without a fuss.

Opening the door, he found Kevin's head snapping towards him. 

"Liam, come on in. Make yourself comfortable." He said, his eyes finding the case in his hand.  "I believe that is your part of our arrangement."

"Of course." Liam said, opening the case up to reveal a large amount of the Euphoria drug carefully wrapped in multiple packs. "Forty kilos just like you asked."

He'd triple checked to make sure it was exactly that. He didn't want to start making enemies over a mistake on his part. 

Just as Kevin reached out to grab a pack, Liam shut the case with a small smile. "Not so fast. You still owe me a hundred grand." He said, lightly sliding the briefcase case to him across the table. 

Rather than get offended, Kevin simply pulled another suitcase from underneath his desk, just like he did before. 

Grabbing it off the table, his smile widened. "A pleasure doing business with you."

"Not going to count it?" Kevin asked skeptically. 

"Oh I trust you not to renege on our agreement. After all, it would be a hit to your reputation if it isn't, right?" Liam said, standing to his feet. 

He'd already appraised it the moment it was on the table to make sure it was complete. He'd be a fool to blindly trust any business owner in Gotham. 

"You've got a lot to learn, kid." Kevin said with a shake of his head. 

"Is that so? When you need more, you have my number." Liam said before exiting the room. 

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the narrowing of Kevin's eyes at his choice of words. 

When, not 'if'. He had absolute confidence that he would call him for more. Euphoria was addictive and he was basically helping him advertise it for free, not that Kevin knew that.

He could have tried to argue for a higher payout for it but there was no guarantee that he'd get another chance to spread the word about the drug. It wasn't like he could go door to door asking people to buy.

Free advertising and two hundred grand, he was a very happy camper. 

Xx-Xx-Xx

With his money secured in his inventory and the deal fulfilled, he had some time for thought as he took a stroll through the streets of Gotham. 

Though he now had a hundred and forty grand sitting in his inventory, it didn't change the fact that he couldn't just pack up and get out of Gotham. 

His market audience was here so moving anywhere else would be unwise despite how deplorable the city was. He also couldn't deposit the money into his account because he had no actual 'legal' source of income to show for it. 

He'd have to get that sorted out before the mother load started coming in. 

Then there were the Pills of Immunity. 

He could almost laugh at the irony that it would probably cleanse someone from the addictive side effects of the Euphoria drug and other drugs. Biologically at least. 

Two sides of a coin and he was the sole producer. 

He couldn't make money off the pills because he had no credentials to even begin selling it and its actual value was too high for him to sell it to some junkie or physicist for a quick buck. 

'I'm sitting on a cure for cancer and I can't make any money from it.' He thought as he turned the corner, shaking his head. 

Sure, with some compulsion he could get away with a lot of things but how long before he became too reliant on it and everything came crashing down?

With the numerous trains of thought running through his head, he didn't realize where his legs had carried him until he paused to pay attention. 

'Vincent's house.' He realized, looking at the decent looking building. 

They weren't rich but they were living quite comfortably with what they had. He imagined that Valerie's cancer treatment bills put a few dents in their wallets but they'd do anything for their family. 

Knocking on the door, he only had to wait a few moments to hear movement behind the door. An eye peeked through the peephole before the door was opened. 

"Hey Liam, I wasn't expecting you." Vincent said with a look of surprise. 

"Don't worry. This is just me getting you back for all your unannounced visits." Liam said, patting his back and strolling in. "Anyone else home?"

Before Vincent could answer, he was hit by a brown haired missile that collided with his body with a shout. 

"Will!" 

He chuckled as he looked down at the ten year old girl hugging his waist. 

"Hey Valerie," he said, ruffling her hair which only drew a giggle from her. "I hope you haven't been causing trouble?"

She quickly shook her head at that. She was the only one who called him Will while others called him Liam and she wouldn't budge on it, not that he minded.

"Tell you what, if you finish your homework on time, we'll get you some ice cream later. Deal?" He offered. 

"Deal!" She immediately agreed, rushing off to her room. 

He turned to Vincent who looked amused before it turned a bit solemn. "Mom and Dad went out for a while so we have the house to ourselves."

"What's wrong?" Liam asked. 

A look of surprise on his face, Vincent waved it off. "Nothing's wrong. Why would you say something's wrong?"

"Because you have that face when you're trying to hide something. You may fool others but not me." He said, nodding to the side. 

They headed towards Vincent's room, shutting the door behind them. 

"So what's bothering you?" He asked again. 

Vincent took a moment of silence before finally speaking. "We've been getting emails and letters ever since news about Valerie getting cured spread. Hospitals and private organizations all wanting a shot at finding the 'miracle cure'."

He should have expected it. Rather, he expected it but Valerie's life was more important. 

"Mom and Dad went to file a police report after one of them sent a letter threatening to come and take her by force."

Liam's eyes went wide, livid with anger. "Why didn't you come to me? You're like family."

"You've helped us enough already. I didn't want to burden you with all this." Vincent said, looking away. 

"Hey, listen to me!" He exclaimed, snapping Vincent's gaze back to him. "You're not a burden. Valerie is like a little sister to me and you, you're my brother."

He could see the effect his words had on the boy. He wasn't lying. Sure he wasn't going to play superhero to save everyone but what kind of person would he be if he couldn't help the ones closest to him. 

An idea struck him at that moment. 

"Vincent, how would you like to be like me?" He asked. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, confusion evident on Vincent's face. 

"Like I said, you guys are family to me. I will do my best to make sure that no harm comes to her and I believe you also deserve that chance. What do you say?" He explained, understanding finally reaching Vincent. 

The boy barely stopped to think about it. "Sign me up."

A small smile graced Liam's face as his eyes turned to slits, transparent scales growing around his eyes. 

Vincent was shaken for a moment before swallowing down his reaction, a testament to his fortitude. 

Pulling out a small container from his inventory, Liam's fangs bit into the underside of his wrist, allowing his blood to gush into the container. 

A moment later, the wound was sealed. He did it a few more times before the container had a decent amount of blood on it, his regeneration not allowing a wound to stay for long. 

"Let me be clear. If I do this, there's no going back." He warned Vincent who smiled wryly. 

"I'm still here, aren't I?" 

Nodding, Liam grabbed Vincent by the head with one hand, holding the container in the other and triggered the merge. 

A flash of dull light covered Vincent and the container for a few moments before dying down, the container gone, leaving the boy standing there. 

Yet he felt different, Liam knew it and Vincent could obviously feel it. There wasn't too much of a change physically but he could see it. 

Vincent's hair gained a softer look to it, his skin lacking some of the subtle imperfections and his body becoming more defined. 

+++++

-[Vincent Jones]

-[Lifeforce Serpentkin. Formerly human, now Serpentkin bearing great vitality and durability to survive harsh circumstances. Like his sire, his blood possesses healing properties and his fangs a hallucinogenic venom. His connection to his sire grants him a measure of psychic resistance.]

+++++

'Brilliant.'

"How do you feel?" He asked, a grin slowly growing on his face. 

His grin was mirrored by Vincent whose eyes turned to slits, scales on the sides and fangs in his mouth. 

"I feel great!"