The night air was colder than it had been the past years. Winter had just barely begun meaning it'd be snowing soon. The sharp bite of the wind carried the distant sounds of New York City's never-ending nightlife—the honking of car horns, faint music, and the murmur of voices echoing between buildings.

Blade jumped through a window of an abandoned warehouse, glass shattering and landing on the concrete floor with a清脆的碎裂声. He let out an irritated growl, his grip tightening on his katana. He slowly rose from the ground, towering over a vampire who smirked, baring his yellowed fangs in a grotesque smile. The musty smell of old cardboard and dried blood filled the air of the neglected space.

Blade held his katana, getting into a Chūdan-no-kamae position. He glared down at the vampire through his sunglasses, his red eyes hidden beneath them. He could smell a mix of his own blood and the vampire's sickly sweet scent.

"So you're the man who's been causing trouble for the boss!" The vampire cackled, his arms outstretched. "Well I've gotta say, I thought half breed vampires were nothing more than myth."

Blade scoffed at him before quickly moving, the sound of metal meeting skin. Within seconds the vampire's head fell to the ground with a thud along with its body. Blade sheathed his katana but stood still, senses alert. Vampires—a whole damn nest—and he was right in the middle of it.

A few hours passed, bodies of dead vampires stacked up into a pile right as the sun was beginning to rise. Blade dusted himself off only to groan in pain as something sharper than steel pierced through his body. He looked down to see a dagger made of Vibranium protruding from his abdomen. Poisoned. He could smell it seconds after it made contact—a bitter, metallic scent that burned his nostrils.

The next thing he knew, he felt himself being tossed into a dumpster, blood dripping and pooling out in minutes. His breathing became shallow; whatever this poison was, it was preventing his regenerative abilities from kicking in.

After a few minutes something struck his nose above the stench of garbage and blood. Perfume. It smelled of a mix of cherries and apples, sweet and feminine. He felt himself being pulled from the dumpster, his blood-soaked clothes sticking to him and the sting of cold rain hitting his face.