Late at night, George Stacy lay awake in a private room at New York Metropolitan Hospital, staring at the ceiling.
His daughter was asleep beside the bed, clutching his hand tightly. Her face was streaked with tears; she had cried herself to sleep.
The room lights were off, but it was not completely dark. Several useless vital-sign monitors were running, beeping from time to time, their colored lights faintly illuminating the room.
But the brightest light came from New York City outside the window. Even in the dead of night, this bustling city still had streetlights, headlights, and neon signs that never went out.
Normally, no matter how bright it was, George Stacy could sleep whenever he wanted. But today, even this faint light kept him awake. Then, in a sudden blur, he realized there was a shadow beside his bed. Was it an illusion, or...
A sudden pain in his neck made the old cop react quickly, grabbing the shadow's hand.
A cold, mechanical electronic voice said, "Do not resist, Commissioner Stacy. This is serum for Vampire bites. Your officers have already been injected. You're the only one left. Of course, some of them were asleep and never knew. Others are still awake, like you."
Hearing that it was serum, George Stacy's grip actually tightened. It was excitement, not an attempt to hurt the other person. Once he realized that, he released the hand he was holding.
"Who are you, friend?" George Stacy asked quietly, unwilling to wake his daughter.
The electronic voice was equally soft. Without listening carefully, one might not even catch what he was saying. "Someone who wants to eradicate Vampires completely. You don't need to know my name. If you need something to call me, call me Black Super."
Using the faint light to look