�Beep� Beep�. Beep�. Beep� Beep�.�

Only by the presence of the life support system was Kyle Graey still alive, its electronic functions flashing, humming and beeping as acknowledgment of it still running. The small wavering line that was the heart monitor gave small fluctuations along its length, and a clear liquid ran from a transparent bag into a pipe that was inserted into one of Kyle�s arms. The middle-aged man now bore an oversized plaster on the side of his neck and a bandage wrapped around the head he had hit onto the concrete as he fell beneath the creature that had attacked him earlier that night. He had not been changed out of his gray sweater and so it remained torn to shreds by the raking nails of his attacker, clinging to the scratches he had been scheduled to have sewn up.

A thin sheet was pulled up around Kyle�s unconscious form, bloodstained black hair still matted to his brow. He at least looked, though battered bruised and bloody, to be in a state of peace in the small hospital ward. Sat on a small chair beside the bed was Leilah, Kyle�s loving girlfriend who had refused to leave his side since she had called for the ambulance; for the second time within minutes that night, Leilah�s quick thinking had saved her boyfriend�s life. Dark bags lined the woman�s deep green eyes, for she had not slept at all that passing night.

�Please hold on, Kyle� I�m here, darling, just don�t-�

This certainly wasn�t the first time she had spoken to his insentient form, and so she wasn�t aware if he could hear the soothing pleas, promises and words of peace she murmured. She had been unable to bring herself to say the word �die� despite the nurses having suggested it was certainly more than a possibility. All sorts of tests, both medical and paranormal had been run on Kyle to determine his condition and just what effects the creature, whatever it might have been, had inflicted during its attack. For this reason Leilah sat now on baited breath, awaiting some sort of news; anything that might update her just a little on Kyle�s situation.

For this reason, the sound of a safety-hinged door opening did not startle Leilah, instead causing her to look across hopefully. However, it was to her surprise that Dr. Lanford entered Kyle�s resting room. Dr. Lanford was renowned for his work on the growth of superhero activity in Paragon City and was also known as the man who had accessed the registered superhero databases more than anyone else inside and outside the city. He also delved slightly into the study of the supervillian fluctuations, and had been closely linked to the investigation of The Lost beneath the streets within the depths of the Sewer Network. Dr. Lanford looked exactly as Leilah knew him, short blonde hair atop his head, and icy cold blue eyes behind small glasses as seemed typical of so many doctors and professors. The man wore a long, brown leather trench coat over a white sweater, and a pair of gray, pressed pants. He was carrying in his hands a clipboard as Leilah very much expected him to be. For some reason the woman could not find the right words to say, but the doctor saved her the task.

�Miss Brooks?�

�Call me Leilah��

�Leilah.�

Lanford gave her a small nod of greeting, which she briskly returned, but her attention did not stray from the subject at hand for any longer than necessary, and she spoke the burning question that was on her mind.

�Doctor, will he be okay?�

�Unfortunately I am not here with the ability to deliver that news, Leilah. I�ll be honest with you, his prospects right now are not looking very good; many traditional doctors have given up hope��

This news certainly hadn�t been what Leilah was expecting, perhaps due to an element of denial; the sole fact that she refused to believe that after all these years she could actually lose Kyle. After all they had been through�

�Given up hope? What do you mean, doctor?!�

�I mean,� Dr. Lanford sighed, �that what happened to Kyle is beyond ordinary technology. That is the reason I am here, Leilah; I am not a doctor interested in the random street muggings of the Hellions and the Skulls, or even the decapitations of the Vahzilok...�

Leilah understood exactly what the doctor meant, and she was amazed that the thought hadn�t struck her earlier. Dr. Lanford was almost famous around Paragon City, and it certainly wasn�t for tending to the wounded. As Leilah watched him, the doctor moved slowly to Kyle�s bed where still the man lay unconscious. The doctor spoke in what could only be described as his �professional voice�, his eyes not on Leilah but instead on the motionless form of her boyfriend.

�Whatever attacked Kyle was not human, nor was it animal. From the signs shown by the scans, it would appear that it was actually more of a� vampiric being.�

�A vampire!?�

�No no, certainly not, but very similar in mannerism. It pierced Kyle�s neck with its teeth and got just a minor taste of his blood� in doing so, it also caused Kyle�s body to change. Mutate, some might say.�

Leilah certainly didn�t like the sound of those words and she moved, almost scurried, over to the bedside where her boyfriend lay, standing on the opposite side to the doctor, beside the fluid support system, and staring across at him with a frightful look. She wasn�t even sure she wanted to hear more, for fear of what he might tell her, but her curiosity and politeness drove her to be attentive.

�As a vampiric form, this creature�s attack on Kyle would almost certainly have ended in him becoming a being of the same form� we have deducted this from the transformation in Kyle�s skin that has started around his eyes� had you not interrupted the creature�s attack on Kyle when you did, Leilah, this darkness of the skin here would have grown over his entire body with time��

At this point Dr. Lanford was gesturing with an outstretched finger to Kyle�s face and Leilah co-operatively let her gaze fall, though she knew to what he was motioning even without doing so. Sure enough, around Kyle�s closed eyes the skin itself had dyed black, an eerie color against the white flesh of his face surrounding it. Leilah shuddered involuntarily at the images the doctor had put into her mind, of Kyle�s entire body slowly transforming to this unnatural black, cold and dark like a midnight�s sky. Not for the first time, Leilah was thankful for the bullet she had fired in the creature�s direction and thankful for the ability of calm in the face of danger she seemed to possess.

�That is not all, Leilah. In fact, comparatively that is a minor and less disturbing change��

This was not what Leilah wanted to be hearing at all.

��Let me tell you of something you may not be aware of, Leilah. All types of energy, be it kinetic, gravitational, chemical� all energy is known as �positive energy.� Well due to the development of mutated genes many decades ago, a counter to this energy was formed� a type of energy that exists where there is a lack of energy; aptly titled �negative energy.� Certain mutated beings, be it natural mutation or scientific mutation, have the ability to channel this negative energy...�

�And Kyle?� Leilah interrupted.

Dr. Lanford gave her a glare that begged her for silence and she frowned inwardly and returned to her hushed state.

��it would appear the creature that attacked Kyle can do just that. You see Leilah, Kyle�s body seems to be filled with negative energy at this moment, flowing through vital veins and arteries almost like blood.�

Leilah gave a gasp, turning her eyes to look worriedly at Kyle as if expecting him to be some sort of negative energy demon with glowing eyes and fangs, but still he remained the boyfriend she knew, save for his newly dyed skin patches and the bandage around his forehead. Quickly she looked back to Dr. Lanford, biting down on her lip.

�How does that affect him, doctor?�

�Of that we are not sure at all. But his hopes are not prosperous, Leilah. Many doctors will not even touch this situation, else I would not need be here��

The woman gave a nod that meant she understood, but her best attempts at remaining stone-faced were in vain, as the tears began to roll down her pale cheeks. Even now, everything still seemed so surreal to her, like this really was but a bad nightmare. The appearance of a television personality in the room hadn�t helped this feeling any, either. All the plans for the future could end because of some attack in the streets. If only she hadn�t asked him to meet her that night. If only they hadn�t moved to Paragon City� if only�

Leilah felt the hand grab hers before she saw it, and she looked around in surprise, giving a small shriek. The sight that met her eyes brought a smile to her face, for Kyle�s eyes were open, their dark hazel color dark but reassuring to hers. His hand gripped hers too; his hold almost viselike and she squeezed back as best she could. Her smile fell though when she saw the fear in his eyes and she knew all was not well. Not a second had passed before Leilah felt the burden of her own body weighing down on her legs, the energy seeping from her muscles as though she had run a mile in that second without moving a step. She knew, in that brief moment, that it was his hand, stealing the warmth from her blood and the strength from her bones, causing her eyelids to fall heavily over her emerald eyes. Now unable to see anything or to stand on her own two feet, Leilah hit the floor, her limp fingers slipping from her boyfriend�s absorbing grasp. The last seconds of Leilah�s life were confusing ones, apparently her brain no longer had the energy or the will to formulate thoughts or distinguish one feeling from the next; even breathing was too arduous a task for her to perform.

In a frenzied panic Kyle leapt from the bed, the hospital bed sheets tangling around his waist and then getting trodden to the floor in his escape. The heart monitor droned out an insistent bleeping, but Kyle failed to distinguish this from the spinning of the room, the rushing of noise around him. He felt strong and hyperactive, his muscles throbbing painfully from an abundance of energy and uncontrollable adrenalin. But the room was no more than shapes to him, moving too fast for his eyes to focus, to see through the cloud of darkness that seemed to hover over his face like a veil. Without any specific train of thought, Kyle bolted for the ward door, accidentally knocking a frantic looking Dr. Lanford aside as though he had completely failed to acknowledge his presence. With Kyle free of the ward, the doctor was torn between two plans, but chose the most sensible and hurried to Leilah�s limp form, in preference to pursuing Kyle, but as he had expected against hope, the girl gave no pulse, her body now a lifeless cadaver of flesh and bones.

To Be Continued�