[Disclaimers: I don't own Hellboy~!
Summary: Set after Hellboy II. A new team is formed at the BPRD, tackling the ever growing cases of bizarre events. John Myers is recalled from Antarctica to help out. The original gang returns for a visit but not all is as it seems, especially when one of the later cases gets Liz kidnapped. Now Hellboy and the old gang must overcome differences to work with the newer team to get Liz back.]
Chapter One
Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD)
Another quiet uneventful day spent nestled in an oversized armchair with what looked like one of the oldest books there. Agent Amora Zimmerman studied the worn ancient pages as if searching for the answer to life's greatest mystery. Her eyebrows knitted together slightly and her nose scrunched up as she flipped the page. Dark-violet strands of hair hung framing her face, having escaped the quick ponytail she'd put up, the majority of her hair being black. Her black fingernail polish was chipped and ready for a newer coat. Her left eye was sapphire blue and her right was emerald green. She sighed, slamming the book shut and leaned back to rest in the armchair. Her fingers tapped the book cover irritably. No luck finding the answers after all. Her eyes flicked to the large double doors as they swung open to reveal John Myers, recalled from Antarctica after the main team had just quit. They hadn't been given the details on that one yet…but Manning had arranged for another team to take over. This included John and Amora.
"Oh…Hey," John said, seeming a bit puzzled to find Amora still up. She glanced at one of the clocks and realized it was two in the morning. Damn. She rubbed at her stiff neck and got up slowly, setting the book aside for now. John had a giant folder in his arms.
"Hey…" Amora said lamely as he set the folder down. She crossed the room to study the pictures with him. All women. All dead. They all looked like something had literally sucked the life out of them, considering one woman was twenty years of age and looked like she'd just had her 100th birthday that night. "wow…"
"Yeah…" John said, biting his bottom lip in contemplation.
"Mind if I?" Amora inquired, indicating the pictures.
"Not at all," John replied and reached for the pictures the same instant she did. Their hands brushed and a burst of electricity shot through John. Literally. Not that figurative mushy-gushy crap. "ow!" John exclaimed jerking back, holding his hand as if he'd been stung. He had.
"…I'm sorry," Amora said, backing up from him.
"No…It's okay…really," John said quickly, rubbing his zapped hand. He smiled weakly at her.
"I-uh…I'm going to bed…Night," Amora said quickly leaving him. He watched her with a startled expression. Amora could manipulate electricity, a side-effect being that she carried a higher electrical charge than most people and tended to 'shock' them more. Hence why she was called Agent Jolt on occasions. John sighed and continued sorting through the pictures. It was a peculiar case that required the BPRD's attention. He missed Liz and Abe. Not Hellboy as much though…but he still wondered what had happened on that last mission to change everything. He and Liz wrote letters to each other occasionally, but that still didn't explain anything. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. His thoughts turned to Amora briefly before he shook it off. She was so jumpy around other people. He understood that her 'gift' had its negativities…but that still didn't explain why she went out of lengths to avoid normal conversation with others. The sudden shrill sound of an alarm and flashing lights broke his thoughts once again. Looked like another mission. He closed the folders and headed off.
-later-
"Dude…I want ice-cream," Raven called out as they crept through a dark tunnel. The younger girl had dark green hair that was cut short under her ears and luminous red eyes. She was a shape shifter. She had on tight black pants and a red corset over a long-sleeve white blouse. Around her neck laid a black chocker with a red cross. Her boots clicked loudly against the ground beneath them. On her belt she had a green locater on.
"Seriously Raven?" Amora asked, creeping behind her. She had a gun in her hands and cautiously peered into the dark. She also held a flashlight awkwardly with the gun. She had on her black trench coat, dark jeans and black t-shirt. She too had on black boots but not the fashionable ones like Raven had on. On her belt was a blue locater. John followed behind her, gun out as well…He had on a red locater on his belt as well.
"Uh-hunh…I think if we wrap this up quickly, we can grab some before we have to head back," Raven said as she continued walking. She was in a bubbly mood and was almost skipping down the dark tunnel, seeming unprotected with no gun or flashlight. She flashed a dazzling smile at them, revealing very sharp incisors.
"That's Raven for you," John muttered," Always thinking with her stomach…"
"I do NOT," Raven protested, turning to face them and walk backwards," I'm just in the mood for some ice-cream is-" She froze, eyes widening slightly before turning around sniffing the air delicately. "Smell that?" The other two paused and inhaled.
"Yeah…Smells like sul-DUCK!" Amora shouted, tackling Raven out of the way as something very big flew over them roaring. John barely had enough time to duck as a clawed hand flew through the air where his head had once been. The creature screeched in rage before disappearing into the tunnel again.
"Well…Now we know what's eating the maintenance crew," Raven said from underneath Amora. Amora got up and helped Raven up.
"Think you can-?" Amora started to ask and Raven seemed to shrink down on herself, becoming some sort of wolf-creature. Raven dashed off into the dark with a slight howl.
"Kid has way too much energy," John commented as they sprinted after her.
"Probably has to do with the quantity of ice-cream she consumes daily," Amora put in, skidding down a tunnel entrance," If I ate that much, I'd have tons of energy to burn off as well…" John chuckled and they halted inside a lit room. Seriously, a room in the middle of sewer tunnels. Amora kept her gun at the ready, as did John. "Where the hell-?" She started to ask and something slammed into her. John received the lash of the tail and slammed hard into the wall beside them. Amora hit the ground, rolling away from the rather large creature. It had a serpent tail, the hindquarters of a horse, the front paws of a lion and the head of…a human? No, it had a vicious set of teeth. All sharp and coated in dried blood. It stalked towards her. She looked around for her gun and spotted it across the room. Damn. She locked eyes with the creature before her before coming to a decision. A surge of electricity swept out of her and across the floor-successfully stunning the creature before her. The room spun rapidly before Amora crumpled to the ground.
-time skip-
"…sure you don't want some?" Raven asked, offering her cone of chocolate ice-cream to John. He shook his head and glanced at Amora who was sipping a strawberry smoothie. She gave him a puzzled look and he smiled slightly as they headed down the hallway of BPRD. "I told you we'd be able to make a quick trip and grab some…" Raven trailed off and a quick glance forward revealed a very irritated looking Manning.
"Uh…hey?" Amora said, looking caught with the strawberry smoothie. Manning didn't even seem to notice.
"John…you have some…visitors…in the library…" Manning said as if it pained him. John seemed confused but hurried on. Only then did Manning notice the ice-cream. "What the-YOU!-"
"Want some?" Raven asked sweetly before walking past him. Amora hurried after her, leaving a speechless Manning behind them. They'd hear it from him later, right now they were too curious about John's special visitors…The ones that had Manning in a fit. They entered the library to find four other visitors. Elizabeth 'Liz' Sherman, the black-headed pyrokinetic…Abe Sapien, an Icthyo sapiens who can survive underwater, an excellent marksman, and a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. He has extremely high intelligence adept at telepathy and psychometry…. Johann Krauss, disembodied ectoplasmic spirit with psychic abilities…and last but not least Hellboy. They knew these from the case files on the four.
"And here I thought nothing interesting ever happened around here," Raven commented quietly, licking her ice-cream. Amora took a sip of her smoothie.
"Liz!" John exclaimed, going to give her a hug. He glanced down at her stomach that appeared to have gotten a bit…round? "uh…"
"…I'm pregnant with twins John…I sent you a letter…I guess you didn't get it?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side as she looked at him. She glanced over his shoulder to the other two girls.
"Oh…These are my team members…Amora Zimmerman, and Raven Steel," John said introducing the two.
"What's up?" Raven said, wiggling her eyebrows. She grinned at them all. "…I figure I better go talk to Manning before he gives himself a heart attack…" She chuckled walking off.
"Told you he wouldn't like you getting ice-cream," John called after her.
"Whatever~" Raven called back disappearing out the door. Amora blinked and glanced after Raven, as if contemplating following her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Liz said offering a hand.
"Ah, Amora doesn't shake," John interrupted quickly. Liz seemed confused and Amora sighed.
"On the off-chance that I accidentally fry you," Amora replied and gestured at John," Ask him…he's got experience." John cringed slightly at that reminder.
"So…what brings you guys here?" John asked, getting to the point.
"…Liz insisted we visit you," Hellboy put in. Amora couldn't help but stare at him. He was Hellboy after all.
"uh…can I get you guys anything to eat or drink…" Amora said trailing off thoughtfully.
"Oh…I'm thirsty…Why don't we just head to the kitchen area then and see what we can fix up?" Liz asked, exiting the library. John laughed as Hellboy followed her swiftly. He glanced at Amora.
"You go, I should review these," Amora said tapping the folder. John seemed a bit conflicted. "Go on…You've been dying to see her…You can be my second set of eyes later…" He hurried after the two, leaving Amora along with Abe and Johann. She gave them a weak smile.
"Ah…This is familiar," Johann said with a slight nod of his helmet. ((I AM NOT DOING HIS ACCENT SO EXCUSE IT…JUST IMAGINE IT OKAY?)) She flipped open the folder and frowned.
"Oh come on…Raven!" She snapped and the younger girl entered the library holding several pictures in her hands and one very thick book.
"Here, chill alright…I was just doing some cross-referencing…" Raven said sweetly, handing Amora the book.
"May I?" Abe asked indicating the pictures. Raven shrugged and handed them over for the other two to look at.
"Very strange indeed," Krauss commented and leafed through the rest of the file.
"I'm going to go with vampire on this one," Raven commented, stealing the remainder of Amora's smoothie to drink.
"You might be right," Abe commented, looking at the same papers as Krauss. "But what type of vampires is the real question…" he fanned his webbed fingers into the air and Raven stared at them. "Yes?"
"Dude…you're like a fish-guy…" Raven blurted out and held out a hand. "Can I feel?" Abe blinked but allowed her to poke at his hand and touch on his arms. "Oh my gosh…That's weird…but in a good way," she tacked on quickly with a smile aimed at him. Amora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Of course Raven would tackle the first non-human present for a new best friend.