Author's Note: This story is mainly based on the comics, although I have taken a few points from the movie. One major detail is Abe's lack of a respirator since he doesn't use one in the comics. My personal theory is that he has a labyrinth organ, which allows him to breath out of water (this inspiration was due in part to my beta fish). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look up betas on the net. In my personal opinion, the movie sucked, so Abe is most definately NOT psychic in this fic. Other than that, all is well, so enjoy!
Disclaimers: Hellboy et al belong to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, while any movie details are property of Sony Pictures.
November 23, 1:48pm
Hellboy looked around suspiciously as he entered the lobby of the apartment building. The ride over had been uneventful, though slightly disconcerting. Hellboy still hated the fact that he had to ride around in a garbage truck, but unfortunately it was the only thing big enough to comfortably accommodate his six-foot frame. Not to mention all the other gadgets and machinery that was required of a B.P.R.D. agent.
Ever since he was a teenager, Hellboy had been the resident monster-slayer and general muscle-power of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. He had access to almost anything that he needed in order to defeat the evils of the world. He kept anything that might be useful on a mission in the garbage truck where it was within easy access. But right now, the only thing on Hellboy's mind was the one thing missing from the truck.
He had tried not to listen to the water sloshing around in the empty tank near the back of the truck. Abraham Sapien, the only other person within the bureau as unique as Hellboy, was MIA, and truth-be-told, Hellboy was worried. Abe would not have delayed his return unless he had been captured, injured, or worse.
The conditions with which Abe had disappeared were not the most positive ones. The last time Hellboy had seen him, Abe was being dragged underwater by a nasty-looking guardian demon. Hellboy and Abe had been sent to find the source of a number of deaths in a factory on the Mill River. No bodies had been found, but a number of hearts and lungs had been found floating in the water that connected with the river underneath the factory. Apparently there had been rumors of treasure underneath the factory, so a couple men dove down to find it. There they met up with the guardian demon, which proceeded to rip out their vital organs. That was when the surviving workers called the B.P.R.D. The next thing he knew, Hellboy was blasting a hole in the demon, and Abe was gone.
It wasn't until the next morning that the bureau received a telephone call from the Fairfield Police Department. A phone call had come in about a strange looking man found on the riverbank, who the caller had transported to their residence. The B.P.R.D. was given an address, and Hellboy was immediately put into action.
He was going in alone, and armed, just in case. He pressed the button for apartment 5b, and heard the intercom crackle to life.
"Hello?" a woman's voice said.
"Uh, I'm here for the fish-guy," Hellboy said into the intercom.
A high-pitched buzzing resounded through the small foyer, and Hellboy quickly opened the door. As he stepped into the elevator and pressed 5, he made sure that the Samaritan was loaded, just in case. He walked down the hall and stopped in front of a door, knocking on it.
Immediately, deep barking came from behind the door, and Hellboy instinctively moved his hand to rest on his holster. After a moment the barking stopped, and he heard the lock being undone. The door creaked open and a young woman looked out apprehensively.
"Um, hi. You must be Hellboy, come on in."
She opened the door wider and Hellboy stepped into the apartment. By the door sat two black, impressive Great Danes. The came up to sniff him as the woman closed the door behind him. As she turned around, she noticed Hellboy eyeing the dogs.
"Don't mind them, they just get a bit excited when someone comes to the door. The one on your right is Cerberus, and the other one is Mauthe."
Hellboy raised one of his eyebrows at her.
"You named them after hell hounds?"
The woman shrugged.
"Not many other people know what the names mean and they sound interesting, so they stuck."
Hellboy patted Mauthe on the head and turned back to the woman. She looked about 25 years old and had shoulder-length blonde hair, which was tied up in a ponytail. She smiled as he met her eyes.
"I'm Audrey McCoy," she said holding out her hand. He shook it as gently as he could.
"Hellboy. So you found Abe?" he asked, looking around. The apartment was small, but had a clean-lined, modern feel. Big windows looked out onto the Mill River from the living room, which connected to a small kitchen.
"Your friend? Yeah, he's in here." She walked him down a short hall leading from the living room, both dogs clicking after her.
"I bandaged him up as best I could, but he's still in pretty bad shape," she said as she led him into a bathroom.
Audrey went over to the bathtub and there was Abe, eyed closed, floating in the water. His blue-green skin was pale and his gills were fluttering erratically as he tried to take in as much oxygen as he could. He had makeshift bandages wrapped around his right shoulder and lower abdomen, and both were stained red.
Hellboy spoke into his communicator, "Can someone bring a stretcher up for Abe, he needs to be looked at."
"So how did you find him?" he asked, turning back to Audrey.
She sat down on the toilet-seat cover and the two dogs came and sat next to her.
"I was out walking these guys early this morning and they found him washed up on the river bank."
Hellboy nodded his understanding. Abe must have floated out of the factory with the current after the demon attacked him.
A tone rang through the apartment.
"I'll go buzz them in," Audrey said getting up and going back into the living room. After a few moments she came back in and hugged her arms.
"This is going to sound weird, and I know you can't tell me anything about your organization, but if you could somehow let me know how he's doing once you get him back to wherever you're from..."
She said everything in one big breath as she looked at the ground. She glanced up at Hellboy.
"I just want to know he's okay."
At that moment two B.P.R.D. agents came through the door with a stretcher. They lifted Abe out of the bathtub and gently placed him on the stretcher, then whisked him out the door. Hellboy watched them go, and then rummaged through his trench coat.
"I know I'm going to get into shit for this, but why don't you come see him for yourself in a couple of days."
He wrote something on the back of a business card and handed it to her. The graphic on the front of the card was of a circle with a hand holding the hilt of a sword, and Hellboy had written an address on the back.
Audrey looked at it then tucked it away in her pocket, as they walked into the living room.
"Well, I'd better get going," Hellboy said, heading out the door, "Thanks for finding Abe." Then he was gone, closing the door behind him with a click.
Author's Note: Constuctive criticism is welcomed, but no flames.