Summary: Defeated, Nuada must now abide by the principles and regulations of the BPRD. Frustration and urgency soon thrust him into encountering a woman with an awesome ability. Alternate Universe Hellboy II.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Dipping my feet into new territory, so, please be kind and review.
Rating: T
Chapter One
"That's the third time he's given me that look," Susanna Grey commented, her fingers curled around a steaming cup of tea, while staring out the corner of her eyes to behold the unique individual seated at the far end of the cafeteria. He, the Prince of the Unseen Realm sat alone; his back straight, shoulders squared, indifferent, and perfectly content to exhibit a mood as boorish as the sharpness of his tongue which was cold. Upon their first meeting, he'd addressed himself in a manner that professed his arrogance and distain for her kind.
"It's a look he gives us all," Liz Sherman remarked, rolling her eyes, and dipping her fork into the third slice of chocolate cake she was having for that afternoon. "We are, after all, the morally depraved race."
"Maybe, it's because I was bent on getting a sample of his DNA to be stored in the archives," said Susanna, averting her eyes away from the dark prince whose glare would cut through solid granite, a shiver tracing up her spine.
She recalled the incident in detail.
It was worse than the time she interned for a year and a half at a Pediatric office. But even four year olds didn't put up a hassle as his royal highness. She closed her eyes to memory traversing through her brain and her jaw set; her backside still smarted from the brute force that sent her sailing to the ground when he'd pushed her and moved to flee from the infirmary.
Agents were instantly on him. That didn't stop him. Nothing could stop him except a sister's plea. Susanna was amazed at how quickly Nuala calmed her brother just like the sea after a raging storm. With great reservation, Prince Nuada had surrendered to her care, and regarded her with great suspicion as she worked to remove a small sample of his blood.
He questioned her intentions and she answered plainly. She was going to study it. If there was any good he could contribute to the world it was the phenomenon that allowed him to heal so rapidly despite his scars well seen in his flesh.
"To give you humans an edge against my kind," he said bitterly, rubbing his arm, and hopping off the table and adjourning to his quarters.
Susanna could do nothing but stare after the harden creature stalking away.
Was there no peace within him? Did he find humanity so revolting?
Liz snapped her fingers, startling her out of her thoughts. "Why don't you come on missions anymore? I could use another agent that doesn't have a Y chromosome out there with me."
Susanna moved her head from side to side. "I'm better off here," she sighed. "You, Red, and Abe appear to have everything under control."
"Not for long," Liz said patting her protruding stomach. She was now three months into her pregnancy. "I'm gonna need you to keep Red in line while I'm on leave."
"I've lost my edge."
"That's bull and you know it."
"Be that as it may," Susanna sipped her tea. "Chasing ghosts and demons isn't really my thing."
"Or maybe you choose to hide behind microscopes and computers so you don't have to think about John."
At the sight of the pain flickering across Susanna's face, Liz immediately regretted the words uttered. She mentally kicked herself in the rear and wished she hadn't been so careless as to tread on a subject so painful.
It was John Mayer who'd talked her into coming back to Bureau of Paranormal Research and Development when she'd lost sight of herself. It was he, who dated her briefly, then found happiness with Susanna only to die in her arms on a mission a while back.
"John has nothing to do with it," Susanna said weakly, and strived to swallow the lump growing in her throat. She tossed her head in the air, blinking several times to suppress her tears.
"Oh Sue—I—" Liz cried leaning forward.
"I—I've got to get to work." Susanna cleared her throat and rose with her empty tray. "Don't forget to drop by Thursday so I can have a look at those babies."
Liz sighed and nodded in agreement. "Thursday."
A satisfactory smile on her lips, Susanna crossed the floor, and deposited her tray. She noticed how the prince had already left although his tray remained on the table.
"Hmm, royalty."
--
'Humans…they think they own everything…and these Americans are the worst.' Nuada deliberated in extreme detestations as he stood high above the foyer beneath a grand rotunda. His defeat at Antrim, within the Giant's Causeway, had brought him under the subjection of the humans and for weeks he did little else but observe their mannerism.
Like rats they scurried here and there, their thoughts consumed with the most trivial of things. His eyes glued on a woman with scarlet hair babbling inanely with a male counterpart. His sensitive hearing registered every syllable spoken and their mindless chatter only seemed to aggravate him further.
His hands clenched tightly on the railing when he sensed his sister's presence.
"How long have you been there sister?"
"Not long. Your heart is greatly troubled."
Nuada stiffened at her words. "Please my brother, don't make this more difficult than necessary," Nuala pleaded, approaching him with caution. She was earnest to appease his volatile spirit, yet at the same time, fearful of how he might react. He was a paradox. A whirlwind of emotion that spewed out contempt and abhorrence for the human race. If only he could see there was still good left in them.
Nuada scoffed. "Difficult was the years I spent in exile." He whirled around to stare into a lovely oval face framed by silvery golden hair and deep into kind, entreating eyes. "This! This is unbearable."
"It needn't be if you could just…"
"What?" he inquired tipping his head, his amber eyes flashing murderously. "Surrender as easily as you so that their conscience can be appeased and their nature goes unanswered?"
Nuala reached out to touch his face but he shied away. "Don't touch me." His senses reeled and he stepped to the right of his sister, looking her over in disgust. "You're no longer mine. You've given yourself to this…this Abraham."
"Brother—"
"Do not speak to me."
Tears welled in her eyes. Her breath caught at his harshness. The connection they shared, which was ever so powerful, seemed to wane with each hardened step Nuada took till there was nothing but emptiness and cold isolation.
--
'These humans are wise to leave me to my own company' Nuada thought as he stormed down the hallways of the BPRD, determined to reach his quarters before he dispatched an agent who breathed on him the wrong way. Alas, he'd been stripped of his weapons, sacred objects passed down to every Elfin Prince long before his time.
The humans were keeping them concealed until a level of trust was established.
But there was no trust.
Their superior, this Manning, claimed he was free to go about as he pleased but their cameras spied on him at every turn. They had doubled their guards outside the building and agents followed him to and from his chambers.
Fools!
Did they think he did not know? Did they think he wasn't aware? If he'd ever desired he could leave this place and finish the work he set out to do. True, without the crown of Bethmora, the Golden Army could never awaken. The Liz Sherman had made sure of that, yet there were other ways to bring forth the end of mankind. The Golden Army was just one of many ancient relics hidden across this forsaken world.
His patience was exacerbated. His restraint pressed to the limit. Nuada understood all too clearly he couldn't suffer the mere sight of the humans any longer. He had to escape but first he needed a subtle distraction to aid in his flight.
Scheming, his ears pricked as the highly developed hearing tuned in on a woman's voice echoing in a chamber across the way. He turned in his tracks, following the sound, till he stood before a massive door of gird steel and iron. His hand rested on the key coded panel as he mentally absorbed the aura of the last agent whose fingers graced the pad.
Hitting the correct keys, the doors parted.
Anger seared his mind once he recognized the interior chamber; the instruments on the tables and all manner of gadgets and mechanisms stored in glass cabinets. He tailed the voice and spotted a woman bent over a microscope a couple of feet in front of him.
His eyes dimmed.
Nuada knew her to be the same woman who was so adamant about extracting a part of his life force. His fingers clenched into a fist. Approaching, he took in her features. Surprisingly, she was tall for a human female, nearly equaling him in height. Beneath the heavy white coat, she looked to have a strong, but lean build. Tresses of hay colored hair were pulled together in a tight bun, nevertheless, a few wayward strands curled about her slender neck.
Nuada paused as she exhaled and lolled her head back and to the right; a hand reaching up to rub her shoulder. Grunting, she commenced with her work, picking up a small tape recorder to speak. The utterance of his name lashed out at him and he became enraged that a human would dare address him so informally.
He spoke loudly. "Deciphering the mysteries of my people?"
His voice echoed throughout the chamber, scaring Susanna half to death. She spun in her heels eyes as large as golf balls. Her mouth popped open as she gawked at the prince. "How did you get in here?"
"That was no trouble for me," he responded. "You humans. You've yet to learn how to cover you're tracks. You're auras are as clear as the brightest morn and twice as foul. Quite easy for me to detect."
Hardly swayed by his mysticism, Susanna glared at him. "This area is restricted for authorized personnel. I think you better leave before I call security."
"Why? I've done you no harm…as of yet."
The look he gave her made her body grow cold and she literally felt the blood drain from her face. Tentatively, Susanna took a step back as Nuada started to move about the laboratory, his fingers gliding over keyboards and instruments, the whole time keeping a sharp eye on her.
"What mysteries has my blood revealed?" He locked his gaze on her, the golden orbs blazing like a flame.
"Nothing," she said, struggling to keep her voice under control, motioning to the left as he circled closer to her. Her heart pounded in her chest. Beads of sweat saturated her skin and her tongue cleaved to the roof her mouth. She set her focus on the emergency alarm docked on the wall beside one of the cabinets.
If she could reach it? No. She had to reach it and willed her legs to keep walking, while bracing herself against the table.
"I—I have some—sequencing and analyses to do—it—it takes time."
A smile tugged the edge of Nuada's mouth as he lifted his head, his eyes closing slowly. "I have nothing but time, tis the beauty of immortality, but it also bears a price that filled with pain and memories." He said and visions of his father surfaced in his conscious thoughts. His desire for the crown piece had brought for his death, but it was all for not.
Seizing the opportunity, Susanna bolted for the alarm while the prince was momentarily distracted. It was a sad attempt. The prince moved in fluid speed, seizing her by the arm, and throwing her roughly into the wall. An agonized cry escaped her lips, the back of her skull smarted. Enraged, she wrestled him, sadly, he proved to be the stronger and more agile of the two. He gripped her wrists, shackling them in his large hands, and pinning them back to the wall. Pushing the weight his body into Susanna, Nuada virtually had her pinned with no air of escape.
"Admirable," he said in sheer amusement, "but futile, like you're entire existence." His eyes swept across her face, taking in flushed skin, ice blue eyes and a pert mouth. His mouth widened into a large smile. "You could almost be beautiful if it were not for the human within you."
The insult cut deep like a knife and she quivered, anger boiling. She tried to knee him in the groin but he seemed to be aware of that basic self defense maneuver used by all women. He snickered at her pathetic endeavor.
He thrust her hands up above her head and locked both wrists together in one hand. The other hand free, he waved it over her face, briefly toyed with the loose strands of her hair, before resting it on her chest.
"Susanna…is it? Well, Susanna, I'll have you know you're death will not be meaningless, but the catalyst to my escape." He clasped his fingers about her neck, the digits tightening into a death grip. "I understand if this comes as a small consolation."
Susanna gagged and squirmed, struggled to breathe. Eyes clouding, pressure built in her head, and slowly she began to lose consciousness. Her lungs burned as the need for air became violently desperate. She felt the prince's fingers clamp harder on the muscles of her neck.
With no other resolution, she drifted, eyes lolling to back of the skull.
A tremendous force of energy surged in a pulsing wave, shattering the glass cabinets, uprooting tables and chairs, sending instruments and machines flying all about the laboratory.
Nuada was plucked cleanly off the ground and sent hurtling through the entrance; its doors demolished by the explosive energy.
Susanna toppled to the ground gasping for air, replenishing her depleted lungs, and fighting the blackness threatening to take hold. Her head throbbed. She felt dizzy and her ears ached as red lights flashed and the alarm resounded. She got on her hands and knees, looking toward the ruptured doorway as agents came running to the lab guns drawn. She spotted the prince lying in the debris. Whether he was alive or dead didn't matter to her in the least.
The agents looked completely beside themselves as they looked from Nuada to Susanna and back to the fallen prince. Holstering his gun, an agent approached. "Are you okay Dr. Grey?" he asked sinking to the ground beside her.
Tears stung as she shook her head. Her voice box pinched as she tried to speak. Her mouth was terribly dry.
"Mein Gott, vhat has happened to the lavoratory?"
Susanna saw Professor Krauss trailed by the director of the bureau, Tom Manning, run down the hall.
"Susanna, what happened?" Manning asked a bewildered look on his face.
She glared at the prince being scrapped off the ground. He was dazed and falling in and out of consciousness. She tore her eyes away, shaking.
Manning darkened, returning his attention to Nuada. "Did he try something?"
"N—no," Susanna lied, "no—s—spell. It…it was another…bad spell. I was giving Prince Nuada a tour of the lab when it happened."
"I thought you had a handle on the episodes," Manning said, helping her to her feet.
"I—I—" she sighed, lowering her head. "I'm sorry."
Manning gave her and admonishing look. "You've been working too hard," he touched her shoulder. "Take the rest of the week off."
"But…"
"Don't argue, go. I'll take care of things here."
Nodding, Susanna thanked him kindly, and headed to her private quarters.
"And you fellows," he said, looking at two agents still holding up the prince. "Get him out of here."
--
"Abe, I'm so sorry. It slipped my mind that the princess would be harmed." Susanna cried removing the stethoscope from her ears and un-wrapped the blood pressure monitor from about the princess' arm. She placed the items back into a case and rose off the bed where Nuala lay unconscious.
"You should have been more careful," replied the amphibious humanoid. It was obvious to her he was trying not to show how upset he was, but she knew. Whenever he was disturbed emotionally he would never look anyone in the eye and often fidget.
"I tend to react when a man or elf has his hand wrapped about my neck, Abe." She said angrily and stood, packing up her bag.
"What perplexes me is you didn't tell Manning about the incident?" Abraham angled his head. "Why did you lie?"
"I didn't lie," she corrected. "I simply didn't tell the truth."
He flinched, blinking large ominous eyes that made a somewhat wet sound as he opened and closed them. "What's the difference?"
"Manning has enough on his plate and relations with his royal pain in the ass are strained as it is. Why fuel the fire? It's probably want he wants."
"Perhaps—" Abe began to say but jerked around to the sound of Nuala rousing. He abandoned Susanna to swiftly meet Nuala as she groaned, pushing herself to rise on the bed. He took her small white hand in his. "Are you all right?"
"What happened?" she whispered.
"Well…"
Susanna came forward. "It was mine fault. More like the impulsive tactics of a bitter prince."
Nuala's cherry lips fell open. "My brother tried to harm you."
"Kill…is the proper term," she held out her hand in order to appease the regal lady who eyes foretold her shock and relative presumptions where her brother was concerned. "I'm fine."
"I'm terribly sorry—I—he—"
"Doesn't mean to be that way." Susanna made a face and released a breath. "Right. I get it. He's you're brother. You have to defend him."
Turning, she left Abe's private lodgings, walking down the maze of halls to her own place of residence. It had been her primary target after the incident. She wanted to scrub the impression of Nuada's fingers off her throat, take a Valium, curl up in bed, and forget an elf had tried to end her life.
She couldn't imagine why he was so cruel.
Considering the amount of times she had seen and read Lord of the Rings, she assumed elves were peaceful, wise beings. Kind and generous. Guardians of the earth. After meeting this prince, she scrapped everything she once believed about these mythical creatures since she was a child.
She made a right, dodged an agent carrying a grossly hideous creature, and was about to enter her room when she was intercepted by the agent who'd been the first to come to her aid.
"What is Rick," she exhaled, annoyed, head aching. "I was about to call it a day."
"The Prince…he's awake."
Her blue eyes glimmered. "And—" she said coldly, folding her arms.
"Manning wants you to give him the once over."
"Manning gave me the rest of the week off."
"Actually," Rick shifted his footing. "His Royal Highness also requested to see you."
--
Reluctantly, Susanna found herself walking to the far side of BPRD, calculating exactly how she was going to attend to the prince without entertaining delights of vengeance. The very thought of him blistered every neuron in her brain. She was moving so slowly, every now and then, Rick would throw her a questioning look. They turned and headed up a short flight of steps, working their way down the hall to a door of brass.
Rick punched in a code that was automatically activated at a certain time in the evening whenever the Prince entered the chambers. He would be sealed till dawn then was allowed to leave when there more agents about the building.
'For security,' Susanna thought bitterly. Little good it did her, her finger brushing the sensitive skin of her neck. She could almost feel the imprint of the Nuada's fingers still curled about her throat. She shivered, emotions she'd kept in check earlier, spilling into a single gob of tear that rolled down her check. She straightened quickly when Rick turned around.
"I'll be right outside if you need me."
A tiny smile lifted her lips. "Thanks."
He stood aside, allowing her access to room. As she stepped through, the doors mechanically swung shut in a loud clunk. Her heart raced. Catching her breath, she started to move cautiously into the room, taking into the rich colors of gold, ruby, and sapphire that adorned the carpet and hung from the walls. Upon his arrival, he demanded that Manning accommodate him according the rank and nobility of his birth.
"Such arrogance," she clucked, wandering the room. He was nowhere in sight and she started to wonder where he might be.
"Arrogance." She spun around startled, defensives rising, her powers humming through her blood. "A nature associated with your kind perhaps, not by mine."
Susanna looked frantically about the room, trying to locate the voice that resonated. "Where are you?"
Prince Nuada appeared from another room attached to the living area wearing a black robe-like tunic embroidered with flicks silver at the collar. His silvery-gold hair shimmered and swept over his shoulder as he moved. His eyes glowed like burning hot coals, enhancing the pallid color of his skin. To Susanna, he was almost ethereal, if not born out the imagination of every mythical book she'd ever read. A god even, if not for the heart she knew to be black as night.
"Your Manning proclaims I have my liberty, but keeps me isolated here, the doors barred and sealed."
"It's for your own protection," Susanna replied, a hard edge in her manner and speech, glaring as he neared.
Nuada let out a chuckle. "Mine or yours."
"Listen asshole," she hissed. "You tried to kill me, so let's not pretend we are going to have a nice conversation. Where do you hurt so I can fix it and get out of here?"
"Everywhere," he said. "Knowing I must live and endure your company."
"Seek therapy." Susanna turned to leave.
"You're not like the others," he called after her. "A great error of judgment in my part."
"That seems to be you're track record."
Nuada took a step to her. "What are you?"
"A human who is not trifled with your highness," she snapped, folding her arms.
"But you're not human," he said. "You're like the Liz Sherman. You possess great power."
Susanna titled her head, staring at him coldly. "If you must know, I'm telekinetic. I can move things with my mind."
"What manner of things."
Eyes dimming, she levitated the black medical bag she was carry. "All kinds of things."
"Impressive."
"Am I."
"Quite," he said. "You've elevated yourself above the verminous creatures that you are."
Rigid, Susanna attacked. "What gives you the right to speak to me that way? What have I done to you?"
"Your hearts are empty and your greed is great. Never satisfied with what is given unto your kind, you've conquered, spilt blood, and drove my people out of existence. Taking what is rightfully ours and destroying the world in your wake."
"And your idea was to what," she replied, sharply. "Conquer and shed more blood. Isn't that a contradiction in your ideals of this peaceful utopia you uphold."
Nuada angled his head, narrowing his eyes. "When my people are delivered of the humans I will have my peace."
"You're mind set hasn't changed I see," she snapped. "It was pointless allowing you to stay here." She whirled around clutching her bag. "I should have told Manning of what you did to me."
"Why was it so important that you keep it from him?"
Susanna glanced back at him. "I was seeking my own form of peace." Turning, she left.