Blah, blah, blah.

Awake, and it's only shortly after noon. There are times when I wish I could get a hold of the creator of a conscience and obliterate him or her. What we were forced to do to Bobby caused me to sleep too lightly, and I have given up on the hope of getting some rest. Not that I need the rest, but sometimes it's nice to enter the Land of Nod, where I can safely watch the sun set or rise without the fear of agonizing death.

Our friend, Batman, seems to have gone underground. How he was alerted to our hunt remains an unknown, but there have been no dead criminals since the retractions appeared in various newspapers and television news programs across the globe. Rest assured, we will find him. When we do, he will see his final sunrise, amputations and all.

Speaking of punishments, I stumbled across this while surfing the Internet: http://priestseventeen.blogspot.com/ . Is it real? Fiction? I cannot say. Whoever this person is, I wish him all the luck in the world, especially with his final claim of setting oak in our hearts. By all means, feel free to use an entire oak tree. It's the wrong kind of wood, and you'll very likely aggravate whatever vampyre you try it on.

I am aimless in this post. There is little to do at this hour. Thus, I thought I'd speak a bit about vampyric abilities.

1. Tailoring. This is one of my abilities, and it is quite rare. (It was once called glamouring, but has been the case with American English since this country was founded, words often change to have completely new meanings.) With this talent, I can alter my appearance on the surface. I cannot become taller, heavier, or thinner. What I can do is alter my hair, eye, or skin color, adjust my facial hair, and even change the condition of my clothes. (It's very helpful when hiding blood stains.) This is an actual change in appearance, not an illusion, so it cannot be foiled by a camera. As an added bonus, once I make the changes I want, I need not concentrate on them. They remain until such time as I undo them.

2. Persuasion. I don't have this one, much to my regret. Vampyres tend to have a greater amount of physical beauty. With a touch of verbal charisma, we could sell shoes to someone without feet. Persuasion takes it a step further. It takes some practice, but by the power of one's own voice, a vampyre can convince the most levelheaded individual to do the insane. Imagine being able to command a group of witnesses to something you've done to forget what they've seen, or, even more drastic, run off and commit suicide. Finding someone to feed on becomes infinitely easier, because you no longer have to bob and weave through a conversation; simply command them to come with you, and dinner is served. Alas, this ability is not carried electronically, and doesn't work once technology comes into play.

3. Reading Auras. Another I don't have. To the vampyre with this talent, people can appear in a variety of colors, reflecting their moods, the strength of their life force, the quality of their blood, and whether or not they're lying. Employment opportunities abound to the undead with this power, as they make excellent interrogators. With the sleep of empowerment, this particular ability can strengthen to the point where auras can be seen through walls, which is extremely useful.

4. Celerity. Yes, vampyres are stronger, faster, and more agile than mortals. Those with this ability, like me, are also called "speedsters." I can exceed those limits, becoming little more than a blur to even vampyric eyes. And while others have difficulty following my movements, my perception changes so that the world seems to slow down. Blessed be the powers that grant me that perception, because to trip at my maximum speed would be to become a smear on the pavement if I tripped, or a splatter against a wall if I failed to turn. Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn't designed to move along with me at my heightened velocity. A door will only open so fast, and if forced to move with me, such an object is most often destroyed.

5. Durability. I believe I've mentioned that vampyres can take a beating far better than mortals. There are some, however, that can step it up a notch, and barely flinch when bullets come into play. They sting, but rarely penetrate. I fear our "Batman" may have this, as reports of bullet casings have been found where he's struck. His opponents are firing away, and he's not slowing down. As a result, getting a stake in him is going to take some doing. We may well have to send in a...

6. Brute (Brutism). Here we have an individual whose strength exceeds that of other vampyres. Eddie Verdone and Molly Murphy have this talent. Prior to becoming Princess of district 12 here in the States, I saw Molly enter a rage destroy a moderately sized, two story house. Because she doesn't have durability to go with her strength, she broke both her hands...but I watched in terrified awe as she used fisticuffs to batter that house to rubble. (Her hands, by the way, healed within a week.)

7. Mind Casting. Thankfully, there are very few vampyres with this ability, as controlling it grows impossible. It's the power to cast your thoughts into the minds of others, making your thoughts their own. For the few who have this, their life expectancy is, at a maximum, a century. By then, they are usually uncontrolled and broadcasting their thoughts to everyone around them. Because the aspects of this power don't allow the victims to know they're being affected, it usually takes a disaster for other vampyres to know there's a problem. In 1981, I was forced to put down a vampyre who'd accidentally caused a dozen mortals to tear out one another's throats.

There are a few other abilities that I'm failing to mention here, including one that is unique unto me. I am the first and only vampyre in our recorded history to have it. I'm precognitive.

When Sean McCullough almost killed me, I knew it was going to happen. In my mind's eye, I played out every scenario, and each time I accosted him, he latched onto my neck. Only one thing would have saved me, but walking away would have left my friend dead, and a psychotic vampyre that much more powerful. I can only see my future, and only a few minutes at a time.

There's a movie, Next, that gives an example of what it's like to have such a power. Its conclusion...Well, I'd hate to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it. But I would love to be able to see that far.