Hey guys! So now everything should be in order, this was a short story that I posed in the Hellboy section to see if there was interest in this story. Now that the next chapter is up I thought it would be wise to rejoin the first to parts. The first section is in third person but the rest of the story is written between two POV's which I'll notify if it's not M speaking.
I don't own Hellboy or any of the Marvel cinematic universe. If I did I would be pushing for a third Hellboy movie and M wouldn't be and OC.
Note: 5/21/19 I'm going to be editing the first few chapters of this novel after I get to the end of this story. I'll apologize now for the spelling errors and really horrible editing errors that are here. If I got back and edit now I know I won't continue this story. Thank you for pushing through and getting to my newer better stuff.
Story Time With Karl
Mystical Moonbeam Oakland had been taught many things in her two years of living in the BPRD. One, bad guys were always evil, and good guys were always good. Two, Moonbeam learned that just because the paranormal was out there, it didn't mean it wanted to be found. The second one always confused her. Why didn't they want to be found? ALl her life she could see and interact with the paranormal, to her they were her secret friends… until the BPRD found her and brought her to live with a bunch of agents, agents like Hellboy.
"How you doing under there kid?" Hellboy said in the worst whisper Moonbeam had ever heard.
Moonbeam had been convinced by Hellboy to hide under some seats for a routine mission that he and a few other agents were going on. M was small enough, being only ten years old, that she could fold herself comfortably in the back of the van they were using. With her for the trip was her electronic digital pet Morrigan2 (her last pet died after an unfortunate incident with a ghost), a book on children's fairytales, and a lunchbox she had prepared with a PB&J (no crusts), carrot sticks, a small bag of chips, a slightly squashed cupcake, and a bottle of apple juice. She was covered by a large blanket that hid her light blond hair from anyone who would peak behind the large demon.
"How much further?" She asked, her voice carried the whisper better than her demon buddy.
"Just pulling in. When we get out stay in the car, kay?"
Moonbeam nodded reopening her book. Hellboy had taken a shining to her when she first walked into the BPRD. Maybe he wanted a sibling, or just a kid to run around and cause trouble for other agents. Moonbeam didn't care, for the first time in her life she felt like she was normal. So when Hellboy told her he was going on a mission and might find something pretty for her, it didn't take much to convince her to sneak into the car.
The driver up front slowed the car down. Up front Moonbeam could hear people talking about what they would find inside the cave their going to. It seems there was a dragon who decided to take residence in upstate New York without telling anyone. they was there to keep the peace. Hellboy was there incase the peace was breached, there were better agents for negotiating things than him.
Before Hellboy left her rubbed the top of her head with his large hand. She didn't make a peep until the doors were locked, the slight beep signaled that Moonbeam was finally alone. She let her legs stretch out and groaned as she did. She wasn't a small girl, even for being ten. Part of her wondered what had Hellboy believe that she could find comfortably behind his seat for a three hour car ride?
She let herself peak out the window. Her skin had lost a good amount of color since she was sent to live in the BPRD. Broom tried to get her outside, but her once summer tan skin had become milky, Moonbeam felt like it suited her better than the tan skin, now she looked more like the princesses she read about in her Grimm's fairytale book.
Peaking outside she saw that they were in a deserted part of the wood. The trees grew thickly around the cars, she tried to look in front of the car, but other cars were blocking the view. 'I wonder if I could sneak out just to see what their doing?' but she stopped that thought before it was fully realized. She shouldn't leave the car. Hellboy and the rest would be back soon. and He might be back with something for her.
Opening the lunch box she ate the cupcake and carrot sticks, she left the rest for later, incase they took longer to get back. She was about to drink her apple juice when she heard more cars pull up. That wasn't right. no one else was supposed to be here other than BPRD regulated people.
Ducking down deeper into the back she threw the blanket over her. Hopefully no one would look in the back of the car. And if she was really lucky Hellboy would come out and whoop whoever was outside. But as she tried to stay still Moonbeam started to listen in to what was happening outside. Her ears caught onto a language she knew as well as she knew her english. German.
The voice outside was distant at first, but it grew closer and closer to the car. Moonbeam could imagine that the person speaking was probably on the other side of the steel door. His voice had a slight mechanical ring to it, it was deep, more filled with a rich tone.
"Search the area well. We'll make a dive into the cave in a moment, the BPRD agents should have the creature distracted for now." Then the voice paused. Moonbeam could swear she could hear a lock ticking near by, like her Grandpa's old Grandfather clock. That's when she knew who she was dealing with, it was a name she was taught her first week of being in the BPRD. One of the most wanted and move terrifying monsters to walk the earth.
Dr. Karl Kroenen.
She held her breath thinking that if she stopped breathing her heart would slow down. Only the damn thing was sounding in her ears louder than the ticking of the man's heart. A jolt of fear rushed through her as a light tapping on the glass sounded over her head, and in german the voice spoke.
"Child I know you are in there."
She was dead. Moonbeam knew she was dead in that moment. She was going to die by some undead ninja in the middle of Upstate New York. Her parents would sue the government, then Hellboy would get blamed for dragging her along. While she would just be dead. No going to school. No becoming an agent so she could fight beside Hellboy. She would die at the age of ten.
"If you come out I can promise your safety child." He said again. His voice didn't sound like it was hostile. And for all that Moonbeam knew he could be saying the truth. Maybe Liz was wrong and Kroenen didn't eat little girls for dinner… or was that his counterpart Ilsa? Either way Moonbeam had to make a choice.
She moved the blanket off of her head and looked out the window. It was Kroenen alright. She knew the mask well from the presentation Kate Corrigan gave her when she first walked into the BPRD. He was thinner than she thought he would be. But he was tall, with wide shoulders and a thin acrobatic form that in Moonbeam's young age escaped her. The only thing she was focused on was the tonfas on his thighs and the lugar strapped to his hip.
"You promise you won't hurt me?" She asked in german.
The assassin's head tilted for a moment, as if he were surprised to hear her speak in the same language as him. He looked over to his men. The men were mercenaries of some fashion. Moonbeam didn't know anything about them, and had not skills to know if they had proper training.
"I will personally protect you." He said giving a slow bow. "Please, you need to leave the car, we plan to blow them."
Moonbeam didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed her stuff and made sure Hellboy didn't leave anything behind. Unlocking the car she felt the last bit of distance between her and the assassin leave. He was intimidating towering over her. She was already five feet, but the older man still had a good foot on her.
As soon as she was out of the car Kroenen barked some orders and took Moonbeams hand pulling her from the cars. She stumbled after him, her legs shorter and the left leg was waking up from going numb on her. "Stop!" She cried. "I can't walk that fast."
She didn't know what happened until she was swooped off the ground and into the assassins arms. She was carried curled on him. Her head rested on his shoulders. Coughing Moonbeam tried to get the smell of rust and blood out of her nose. That's when she realized that the smell was coming off of her 'protector'.
Kroenen stopped once they were out of eyesight of the cars. "Calm down child." He muttered letting her stand again. "What is a child doing on a mission like this?"
"My adopted brother said I should come along… that it would be safe."
"Your name child?"
Moonbeam kicked her feet for a long moment. "Mystical Moonbeam…" she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"Child I could not hear that over my heart. Say it again and louder."
His words were harsher, but Moonbeam could tell that he was not angry, annoyed, but not angry. She repeated the words again, this time loud enough for him to hear.
"I will call you M. So much better than that stupid name." He said. He turned back to the direction of the cars. Moonbeam… no M, she really liked that idea, M could be misheard and Em, short for a dozen of normal names.
"Why take me from the cars? I thought you were… evil?" She said the last word quietly.
The assassin didn't move for a long moment then he turned down to look at her. "There's a lot more out there kinder than good and bad. You will learn with age." He tucked his hands behind his back. "I did not plan to run into your people today, it is a pity you were here to see this."
"Why are you doing this?"
A mechanical laugh rumbled through the man. "M. You will learn that sometimes it's good enough to poke at the sleeping bear, just to make sure it stays on it's feet. Can't let the BPRD get complacent can we?"
They became quiet again, but the questions buzzed through the young girls head. "Were you really in World War Two?"
"I was."
"Did you know my Oma?"
"What was her name?"
"Umm Agatha Carver." M muttered.
Kroenen paused M guessed he was pondering. "I do remember a name similar, but I do not remember the details. Probably she was an assistant to someone I knew."
M nodded. "Oma said not everyone back then was evil… I like to think that. But."
"Child, I don't feel up to discussing the past at the moment." He quickly said. M jumped and nodded apologizing like she had forced him to relive something worse than her worst nightmares.
But as soon as they became quiet questions started to buzz around again. Well not questions, more the want to talk was hitting her. "What do you want to talk about? Cause it's going to be boring just standing here doing nothing."
"How about you tell me a story?" He said out of the blue.
"you like stories?"
"THey are something I enjoy yes. Do you know one?"
M knew more than a dozen stories. "I know one about a fairy."
Kronen laughed. "Of course you do, and is it the Princess of fairies."
M's face became grave. "No… it was a mean fairy who tried to eat me once."
Kroenen turned and looked down at the girl. She was serious. Her life before the BPRD was plagued with paranormal and magical things making her life harder because she could see them.
"It's what got me into the BPRD. I was eight at the time and this fairy kept sneaking into the house at night and tried to bite me. Mom and Dad didn't believe me when i told them, and I was getting some nasty bruises from it. So one night I pricked my finger and left out a bit of blood. THe Fairy went for the easy meal and I put a vase over it stopping it from escaping."
Kroenen was now listening to the small girl. "And what did you do to the fairy? I understand that fairies when they are captured are obliged to give wishes."
"And those wishes never come out as one wants. So I did the one thing that wouldn't fire back."
Kroenen had to laugh at the security of the girl next to him. "And what would that be? Asking for money? or maybe a poney?"
"I asked it to eat a cupcake made with chocolate with me. One that my mother made."
She was serious. Her mother had made cupcakes to 'ward off fairies'. M's mother was very much a kitchen witch and when her daughter said a fairy was bothering her she whipped up a batch of cupcakes and told ME to keep one at her bedside, just in case.
"And you killed the fairy?"
"I made it very very sick. It learned that it couldn't bite kids again after that night… but Dad figured out what was happening and called the BPRD to take me away…"
"Well aren't you a little Valkyrie." He muttered. From Kroenen's belt a walkie sounded. "Everything's set, what's the orders?"
Kroenen plucked the walkie talkie up. "Move out if you have achieved your other goals. I'll rejoin you at base after I get a good view of the demon."
"And the girl we found?"
"She's not for you to worry about." He placed the talkie on his belt and looked down at her. "M. I have very specific instructions for you. When you hear an explosion I want you to run towards it as fast as you can. Your 'brother' will be there probably unharmed. Tell him you ran when you saw us arrive and only with the explosion did you know it was safe. Ja?"
"yes sir." she said looking in the direction of the cars. There was one question she needed answered, and it might be one he would be willing to give. "Why did you save me?"
"Lets just say you remind me of someone I once held dear. I owe her my life and I plan on paying it back where I can. You will never have to fear me Moonbeam. Never. Remember that."
From far away M could hear an explosion. "You had better run. Or i might come after you after all."
M didn't have to be told twice. She would be picked up by Hellboy, who would be crying thinking he had gotten her killed. No one would know about Kroenen or the origin of her nickname. M was very good at keeping secrets and she suspected her and the undead assassin would have many more before her time was though.
