The Blood Queen (DxD x MultiCross)

Chapter 32:

– Rose – 

Rose Potter strolled across the courtyard of the Hellsing mansion, feeling pretty damn good about herself. Captain Rodriguez had just clapped her on the shoulder and told her she'd done a solid job. The group of vampires they'd hunted earlier never stood a chance. 

When he said, "Those leeches didn't know what hit 'em," Rose couldn't help but grin. This was what she'd always wanted: to pitch in and get treated like she was actually part of the team.

Captain Rodriguez headed off to visit his family right after. Rose watched him go, then noticed Tonks talking—and probably flirting—with a few Hellsing soldiers near the gate. Rose decided to let her friend enjoy it and kept walking. 

She nodded at a couple more soldiers on her way into the mansion. The adrenaline from the mission still buzzed in her veins, but she was ready to wind down. She was gross from splattered blood—the aftermath of blowing one of those vamps into pieces. A hot shower sounded perfect right about now.

As Rose headed toward her bedroom, she caught some giggling coming from a nearby sitting room. She slowed down and peeked in. Narcissa, Lady Integra, and Bellatrix were sitting together, talking. It was hard to ignore the playful smirk on Bellatrix's face.

Rose's eyes lingered on Bellatrix for a moment. She never really figured out how to feel about her. Bellatrix had done some messed-up stuff in the last war, and yet there was this intense vibe about her that drew people in—Rose included, if she was being honest. Crazy and sexy, all rolled into one.

Bellatrix spotted her immediately and grinned wide. "Come on in, little Potty," she said.

Rose wrinkled her nose. "It's Potter," she corrected, knowing Bellatrix was just being annoying. Still, she stepped inside. "What's going on? Some sort of girls' night?"

Integra glanced up with a glare. "No," she said, sounding pissed off.

Bellatrix cackled, and Narcissa laughed too, though hers was softer. Rose realized Integra was in a foul mood. She seemed wound tight, like something big was bugging her.

Rose took a hesitant step forward. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Integra folded her arms, annoyed. "Instead of doing his damn job, that horny vampire is off flirting with women," she muttered.

Rose raised an eyebrow. Okay then? She didn't really know how to respond to that. According to Valerie, Alucard pretty much did whatever he wanted so this didn't seem very par from the course. 

Bellatrix snickered. "Alucard sent a message a few hours ago, plus a nice little photo of him and some hotty female vampire."

Narcissa nodded. 

Rose almost asked to see it, but Bellatrix beat her to the punch. "Too bad you can't! Integra smashed her phone the second she saw it," Bellatrix said with a wide grin.

Narcissa giggled again, and Rose saw a faint blush on Integra's cheeks. It was weird seeing Integra so rattled. 

Feeling a bit awkward, Rose moved closer and settled on the couch beside Integra. "Uh…there, there," Rose offered, giving her a careful pat on the shoulder.

Integra shrugged away from Rose's hand. "I don't need a kid comforting me," she said sharply.

Rose pressed her lips together, annoyed. She wasn't a freaking kid anymore! She just got back from doing a big girl mission…

But she bit her tongue and didn't say any of that to her boss who signed all of her paychecks. Instead, she cleared her throat. "So, if your phone is trashed, what if Valerie needs to call you in case something else comes up?"

Integra didn't seem to care. "Alucard's message said they finished the job," she snapped. "So it's all handled. Walter is out getting me a new phone anyway, and I doubt anything crazy will happen in the next few hours..."

– Valerie –

I slipped my phone back into my red jacket pocket, letting out a frustrated sigh. We were on a long stretch of highway upstate, well past the city limits. The landscape outside was all trees and rolling hills. I'd been trying to call Integra for the last hour, but she was MIA.

Seras, seated next to me in the backseat, nudged my shoulder with her elbow. "Still no answer?" she asked.

"Still nothing," I said. "I think Integra forgot to charge her phone or something because it keeps going straight to voicemail."

Seras glanced forward at our companions. Ororo and Logan were up front, with Logan at the wheel. Except I wasn't supposed to call them that anymore. For the rest of this mission, they insisted on going by "Storm" and "Wolverine." Storm had the seat reclined a bit, one arm resting on the door, looking like she was ready for anything. Wolverine was focused on the road but his eyes shifted every few seconds to make sure they weren't ambushed again.

"Those are some badass names," I muttered under my breath. "Makes me wish I had a code name too."

Seras raised an eyebrow. "You want something like 'Fang Girl'?" she teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Absolutely not. I was thinking something cooler. I don't know, maybe I'll figure one out. 'Red Valkyrie' or 'Red Reaper' or something with a little edge."

Storm caught my gaze in the rearview mirror. "Don't let it bother you, Valerie," she said. "A code name doesn't make the hero."

Wolverine let out a low chuckle. "But it does make a hero even cooler. What about the 'Blood Queen?' The way you drained those guys dry with your fangs was pretty hardcore." 

I perked up at Wolverine's suggestion and felt my cheeks warm with excitement. "The Blood Queen?" I repeated, licking my lips as I mulled it over. It had a strong ring to it. "Yeah… I actually like it a lot. Okay, then call me 'The Blood Queen' for the rest of this mission."

Seras pouted next to me. "Now I need a cool nickname too!" she mock-whined.

I smirked. "Come on, 'Police Girl' is fine."

She huffed in exaggerated annoyance, then we both snickered. Maybe we were a little ridiculous, but it helped break the tension.

"Huh?" Logan muttered all of a sudden.

The Jeep started slowing down, and not in a normal way. It suddenly lurched forward, causing Seras and me to exchange a confused glance.

"What the—" I started. Before I could finish, the whole vehicle was yanked sideways off the road, as if an invisible giant had just plucked us up. We both yelped when the Jeep actually lifted into the air. I gripped the seatbelt across my chest. "Why the hell are we levitating? What's going on?"

Seras looked freaked out as well, her eyes darting around the windows, trying to figure out who or what had grabbed us.

Wolverine growled from the driver's seat, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "Dammit," he muttered, glaring out the window. "I do not want to deal with this annoying bastard right now."

Storm let out a frustrated sigh, brushing hair from her face as she stared up at the sky through the windshield. "Great," she said under her breath.

There was a group of colorfully dressed individuals waiting on the side of the road, looking like they'd been expecting us. From my seat, I could see an older man in the center, wearing a cape and sporting a weird purple helmet. His hand was held out, and it was obvious he was the one telekinetically lifting our car.

"Hello, Logan." the man said, voice dripping with smugness. "Where might you two be headed in such a hurry? Going over a hundred miles and hour as well, that's pretty reckless driving..."

Wolverine scowled. "Piss off, Magneto. We're in a rush, and I bet you know exactly where we're going."

Next to Magneto stood a woman with blue skin, arms folded over her bare chest. She didn't have any visible nipples though so I wasn't sure whether or not to be turned on by the sight. Eh, who was I kidding, of course I was…

She shot Wolverine a murderous glare. "Don't speak to him that way," she snapped, her voice cold. "Show some respect!"

Wolverine let out a scoffing growl. "What're you gonna do about it, Blue? Put on a strip show for us?"

She hissed in fury at that comment.

Magneto looked more amused than offended. He cocked his head at us, the Jeep still levitating off the ground under his control. "Now, now," he said. "Don't get too testy. Let's have a nice, calm talk—unless you want to make this complicated."

Our Jeep was lowered to the ground and all of us hopped out. I didn't think these guys were here to start anything so I motioned for Seras to leave her largest gun in the backseat. She still had her sidearm on her hip if necessary.

I glanced at the group, trying to keep my tone civil despite the obvious hostility rolling off Wolverine and Storm. The older man—Magneto—eyed me and Seras carefully, like he was sizing us up. He lingered on our eyes a couple times before narrowing his own.

"Are you two mutants?" he finally asked.

I shrugged. "Nope, we're vampires," I said flatly. "And we're kind of in a hurry, so do you mind getting to the reason you yanked our car off the road? We've got people to kill and kids to rescue."

The blue-skinned woman shifted her glare from Wolverine to me, clearly offended by my bluntness toward their leader. I gave her a half-shrug, not really caring if she liked my tone.

Magneto chuckled, raising an eyebrow at me and Seras. "Vampires, hmm? That's a new one," he said. "I've encountered plenty of mutants in my day, but never any of your kind beyond rumors." Despite his polite tone, I could tell he didn't trust us. 

Hell, I wasn't too keen on him either. 

Magneto then gestured toward his companions: the blue-skinned woman, who was still glaring like she wanted to rip someone's head off, and a tall, lanky figure behind her. "This is Mystique," he said, nodding at the woman with a slight smile, "and that's Toad." The lanky guy, Toad, gave us a disconcerting grin, and then stuck his tongue out at us.

"I've got a long tongue ladies..." he said with a wink.

"Keep it to yourself or ill rip it out." Seras half-growled and I narrowed my eyes at him.

Magneto told Toad to "shut it" before continuing. "We are simply a few members of the Brotherhood of Mutants," he explained, a bit of pride in his voice. "One of our psychic members sensed something amiss at Xavier's Mansion, so we came to investigate." He narrowed his eyes. "I want to know what happened."

Wolverine glanced at Storm, then at me. He clenched his jaw. "Government goons attacked the mansion and kidnapped everyone," he said bitterly.

The other mutants looked stunned. Even Mystique's expression shifted from hostile to surprised.

Storm spoke up, sounding more controlled. "We managed to fight them off, or at least the ones who were still on the grounds," she said, lifting her chin. "Valerie here got one of them to talk and we found out the location of their base. That's where we're heading now—to rescue everyone they took."

Magneto looked absolutely furious the second he realized the mansion had been attacked. His eyes flashed, and he immediately demanded the location from us. I hesitated, then suggested if they wanted to help, we should all go together. He snapped a glare at me, and every instinct I had told me to shut it before I pissed him off any further.

Ororo—Storm—handed him the coordinates on the piece of paper she'd been holding. He took one look, then literally rocketed himself into the air, flying away like a goddamn superhero. It looked so cool, and I wasn't the only one who thought so; Seras had basically the same wide-eyed reaction.

Meanwhile, his two henchmen—er, henchpeople—were left behind with us. Storm and Wolverine smirked at them. I couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"Our leader can sometimes be a little hasty," Mystique sighed and asked if they could get a ride. We ended up piling back into the Jeep, with Mystique squeezed between Seras and me, while Toad got stuck in the trunk because there wasn't enough room. After that, we hit the road again."

About an hour passed as we closed in on our destination, and the signs of destruction were impossible to miss. It was obvious Magneto had arrived ahead of us and was still extremely pissed off. We drove past bodies wearing those same black uniforms as the men who attacked the mansion, along with the wreckage of several unmarked vans. The Jeep's tires crunched over thousands of shell casings before we pulled past a twisted metal barricade and started to enter what was clearly a secret government facility—wired fences, thick trees, and just general creepiness.

As Logan drove us deeper into the base, the carnage became even more apparent. We practically had to roll over a couple of bodies at some points, thanks to how many people Magneto had mowed down in his rampage. I decided to strike up a conversation.

"So…" I turned to Mystique, who was crammed between me and Seras. "Your leader sure doesn't fuck around, does he?"

Mystique finally stopped frowning and let out a small smile. "No, he doesn't," she said. "His whole purpose is to keep mutants safe from the monstrous humans who keep trying to hunt us down!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I guess I can't blame him for going nuclear on these assholes," I said, nodding toward the wreckage outside. "If somebody kidnapped my people, I'd probably tear them a new one too." 

Mystique held my gaze for a moment, then turned to look out the window. "He does what needs to be done," she murmured. "Every time. Keep that in mind," she told us.

I glanced at Seras, who gave me a slight shrug as if to say, "Well, we're all on the same side for now." Despite the uneasy alliance, we had a mission to finish. We pushed onward into the facility, the Jeep rattling over uneven ground and more scattered debris, ready for whatever was waiting ahead.

Eventually, we reached a bunker at the end of the road, jutting out of the ground like some kind of underground fortress. We all got out of the Jeep, guns at the ready. The bunker's doors had been ripped clean off their hinges—no doubt Magneto's handiwork. Oddly, it was dead quiet.

I strained my ears, but even with my enhanced hearing, I couldn't pick up a single scream, gunshot, or heartbeat. Nothing. I turned to Seras, who shook her head, clearly hearing the same eerie silence.

"I don't like this," I muttered.

Storm's eyes narrowed. "It's too quiet," she said.

Wolverine growled. "Then let's see what's inside," he said. "But keep on your toes."

I reached into my jacket and grabbed my magic revolver. Seras followed my lead, her own weapon at the ready, but we decided to let the mutants take point going through the bunker doors. We hung back a bit, staying close but not crowding them.

Toad, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and sneered. "What's the matter? You all a bunch of sissies now? Magneto obviously cleared this place," he said. Without waiting for an answer, the idiot dashed inside the gaping entrance.

Wolverine tried to stop him. "Hey, moron—wait!" But Toad was already gone. A split second later, we heard him let out a shriek that cut off as abruptly as it started.

Mystique cursed, calling Toad a complete idiot. "He never listens," she snapped.

Seras, Storm, Wolverine, and I exchanged tense glances. Seras spoke first, her voice hushed. "What kind of trap do you think it is?"

I gave a half-chuckle, though my stomach felt tight. "Probably something super generic, like a trap floor or something. But who knows?"

Wolverine took a step forward, claws sliding out of his hands. "Guess we're about to find out."

Of course, it turned out to be exactly what I'd predicted—a trap. We moved inside behind Wolverine and Storm, finding ourselves in a dim, empty metal hallway. It stretched ahead of us for about fifty yards.

We made it about halfway through when the ground literally dropped out from under us. My stomach lurched as the metal beneath my boots just vanished. "Fuck!" I shouted, unable to stop myself from cursing. I fell into what felt like a giant metal chute, the walls smooth like a warped playground slide. Except I knew damn well there'd be nothing fun about the landing.

I tumbled out the bottom of that metal chute and dropped about ten feet, hitting the ground hard. "Oof," I hissed, pain flaring on my buttcheeks for a few seconds.

I heard angry shouts. "Get on your knees and don't move, or we'll blow your brains out!" an angry voice bellowed.

"Give us a reason, disgusting mutant freak!" another added.

Two soldiers with assault rifles stood at the ready inside this cell I landed in, glaring down at me. 

I was about to retort with something clever when one of them rammed the butt of his rifle across my cheek, sending a jolt of white-hot pain through my jaw. 

"Son of a—" I sputtered, tasting blood. These guys were dead.

"Shut up!" 

Before I could lash out, I felt something cold snap around my neck with a sharp click!

"These collars completely suppress your mutant powers," the soldier taunted, leaning in close. "So don't even bother trying to escape, you freak."

I narrowed my eyes, about ready to sadly inform him that I wasn't a mutant in the first place, but he was too busy puffing up his chest to listen.

The other soldier stepped forward, giving me a long, gross once-over. "Hey, this bitch is hot as fuck," he said. "She's powerless right now, so why don't we have a little fun with her?"

My gut churned with anger. The first soldier glanced at me like I was a piece of trash. "Fuck off, man," he muttered to his buddy. "Do what you want, but I'm not getting my dick anywhere near disgusting mutant pussy." Then he turned and headed toward the thick cell door, which swung open automatically for him. Before leaving, he tossed a warning over his shoulder. "Don't take too long with your fun."

The door shut behind him, leaving me alone with the second guy. A blinking security camera in the corner of the room suddenly powered off, which meant no one was watching. He gave me a sadistic grin, unzipping his pants. "Heh. I'm gonna enjoy this," he said menacingly.

A cold shiver ran up my spine, but it had nothing to do with his threat.

I hated enclosed spaces, especially prison cells. This was reminding me far too much of my past...

That's when I decided enough was enough. I casually shifted my nails into razor-sharp claws and, in one smooth motion, sliced them right across his throat.

He let out a shocked gurgle as blood spattered my face. His eyes went wide with terror, and he stumbled backward, clutching his slit neck. I watched him crash into the wall before sliding down it, leaving a dark red streak behind. I could practically taste the fear rolling off him.

Without bothering to wipe off my face first, I slowly walked over, each step echoing in the now-silent cell. He was choking on his own blood, eyes full of panic. He obviously couldn't speak, not with his throat torn open like that.

I licked some of the blood off my cheek, a slight shudder running through me as the warm, coppery taste hit my tongue. 

I smirked as I leaned down, sank my fangs into his neck and drained his thrashing body dry. 

His blood didn't taste anything like a predator, just that of a disgusting coward. Either way, I felt his life force and soul transfer to me with every gulp. He spasmed, then went slack in my arms. Once he was finished, I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand.

Glancing around, I realized I'd dropped my gun when I landed in here. The idiots apparently didn't notice or didn't care to search me for a weapon. Or maybe most mutants don't bother carrying weapons? 

I spotted my revolver in the corner of the cell and grabbed it.

I cast a cleansing spell on my face, then I turned my weapon on the cell door and snarled, "Bombarda!"

A violent explosion tore the door off its hinges. On the other side, I heard a short scream cut off by a sickening squelch. The other guard must have been right behind the door, and now he was pinned under the slab of twisted steel.

Stepping out into the hallway, I saw more doors lining both sides, like this was some sort of prison section.

"You there, Seras–I mean Police Girl?" I called out for her. I didn't get a response from her or smell her nearby though. There must have been multiple prison sections, maybe to keep us all divided.

I did hear a couple people calling out to me from behind the other doors though.

"Holy shit, is that you Valerie!?" Kitty Pride's voice called out from a nearby cell. 

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