Note to readers: I want to point out a few things before you all start reading. In this short story I've decided that Liz is not pregnant because I didn't want it to complicate things with the Prince. Secondly, this takes place in Hellboy II but I've changed it up a bit to make it work and some of the characters relationships. The pairing in this is Liz and Prince Nuada.
Chapter I
The rain had just begun to lighten when Liz walked down the ramp out of the B.P.R.D. surveillance truck. She had enough of listening to Tom praising Kraus like he were some gift from above sent to guide their damned souls. She knew that the real reason why Tom liked the new commander so much was because it got those stuffy guys in DC off his back.
Speaking off getting extra stressful weight off ones back... Liz hugged her sides, not because she was cold but for self-comfort, and stared down the road. Cars flew past in a hurry to wherever the hell was so important that made them honk every two seconds. Even the noisy people who gathered on sidewalk to gawk where loud. She had to get out of that truck to escape Tom's constant ogling but the bothersome noises outside weren't much of a difference. It was almost tempting to walk back in there and try to ignore him but she didn't want to leave the cool air, which helped relax her and keep the flame in her chest at bay.
Liz fiddled with her cross necklace as she normally did when she was constricted about something, or someone, and that someone just happened to be her boyfriend, Red. Recently their arguments had been getting worse, causing her to lose her temper and her flames lash out as a result. It was getting bad and each time her inner spark would explode and the flames would be bigger and hotter, resulting in more damage.
The most aggravating part of it all was when Red would brush it off, literally, like it was no big deal because he was flame proof. To Liz it was a huge deal because it was proof that she still didn't have full control over her ability and that meant people could get hurt.
Just the other day she blew the door off their room and almost flattened Abe and Kraus. What if she had hit them? Would Red even care? No. She knew that because the first ones he checked on weren't their friends or even her. It was his precious cats that he rushed to. The very animals that she had compete most of the time with for Reds affection.
The relentless flame in her chest flickered and Liz had to take a slow, deep breath to calm herself. Why couldn't Red just try and help her for once instead of himself? When she checked herself into the psychological hospital because she needed the peaceful environment, Red would always show up and she could feel her control start to slip away. The night after one of his visits she lost control in her sleep and toasted the whole floor.
She felt cornered, and her only option seemed to be B.P.R.D.. But was that only because Red insisted she belonged there because he cared for her and the safety of others? Or did he want her there for himself?
It was frustrating to think about and she was defeating her own purpose for even going outside. She needed air, not a traumatizing memory relapse. All she knew was that she really needed to talk to Red. Not argue, but actually talk, and she was going to make him do it whether he wanted to or not.
Liz shook her head of the things that eventually would have to happen and stared off in the direction and Red, Abe, and German snow globe went. They still had yet to call in and report on any findings-that is if they found anything.
The wait was getting frustrating and Liz was tired of standing around and listening to the men on the sidewalk whistling at her. She knew that by looking at them it would give them satisfaction and only fulfill their ridiculous amusement.
"Jeez, what in god's name is taking them so long?" She turned and saw Tom standing at the top of the ramp, yanking the sides of his black coat tighter around him. "You'd think Kraus would page in by now or something, you know? I know they wanted to be discrete but this is taking forever. I hope nothing had happened to them." He murmured and frowned at the alleyway where they disappeared.
Liz almost grinned and turned to stare down the street. "You nervous about something happening to Red?"
"Oh, god no. I'm more nervous about whatever might go wrong because of him and his unethical actions. We'd be lucky if we leave without something blowing up and the news crews all over my ass like always."
Liz glanced at him and saw that by the expression on his face he wasn't joking, and by their recent missions he had no reason to be. Most of the time things did end up exploding, excluding her, and the news teams would fill roads with questions of the incidents and be supplied with lies. It was a routine now created by Red in his attempt for fame and admiration, and to piss a few people off along the way.
"I'm not doing anything proactive standing around here, so how about I go check up on them?" She causally suggested like it wasn't really a big deal to her when actually she was slightly curious of uncovering the secretive Troll Market herself.
Tom was quiet and seemed to be thinking about it. Luckily she knew just the thing to convince him into letting her do just about anything without clearance. "In other words, I'll go stop Red from screwing the mission up make sure he remembers to stay low."
Tom looked at her with a pained expression then started nodding quickly up and down. "Just go please and make sure he doesn't do anything to make Kraus send a bad report back to DC." He scrunched up his nose then. "God knows where that'll land me... Probably Alaska…"
Liz didn't even stick around long enough to hear the last part as she stuck her hands in her leather coat pocket and quickly walked away in long strides. Something in her head was urging her to hurry up and go check it out but she couldn't decide the exact reason for it. She either feared greatly for Red and Abe like something bad was about to happen or her own curiosity about the Troll Market was what pulled her further down the dirty alleyway.
She removed her hands from her pockets up to pull her hood over her head and tug her scurf up to conceal her nose and mouth. As he slid her hands back into her leather pockets she caught sight of a few men staring her down and some making kissy faces. As annoying and disgusting the act was, the flame in her chest didn't even flicker. But that was because such things were petty and could never push her over the cliff. Now if they tried touching her, well that'd be a different story.
Liz got to the end of the alleyway and spotted a shopping cart full of crates and items left alone near an open door. When she approached it she noticed moving things within the wooden crates, hairy and familiar moving things.
She paused and peered down at the trapped stray cats as they meowed and pawed at their cages. She had enough cats at home and was fed up with the feline creatures but she wouldn't feel right just walking away and leaving them to their fate. The old woman that had them boxed up only had one reason for them. To eat. There was one box open and she assumed the Red must have stopped her in the act and let the cat free. He must've taken the woman with them if she wasn't anywhere near now.
One of the cars started meowing at her and she rolled her eyes and started opening all the cages and watched the felines leap from the cart and then sprint away. It was assuring to know that she helped them escape their cruel fate. Red would be proud of her.
Once again the flame in her chest stirred and she gritted her teeth. Just the thought of him made her body react and by the type of reaction it wasn't a good one. The flame was being fueled by her anger and when she'd get too angry like during their arguments she'd erupt.
She was used to getting irritated whenever they fought, but what did it mean when just the slightest thought of him upset her?
She didn't have time to stop and deliberate on it. She had to find the secret entrance and then search for the rest of the team.
Liz moved away from the cart and slowly entered through the doorway that led into the building, though, she immediately froze once she saw where she was. Meat was hanging from the ceiling all around her. Was this a slaughterhouse? Her mind wandered back to the cats that she'd just released outside the building.
"Disgusting.." She grumbled and stared at the meat with repulsion as she maneuvered her way around the frozen carcasses.
Further through the meat room she found an opening in the wall that was pretty hard to miss. As soon as she walked though, she heard a pained moaning sound come from a pile of garbage and useless items. She hesitantly moved her hand to hover above her gun as she crept suspiciously toward the noise that came from the pile.
"Ohhh, my face, my face. My dear old face." The voice sounded that of an old woman with a thick foreign accent. It occurred to Liz that it could possibly be the old Scottish woman who they'd been tagging.
Being closer and having a better view into the pile of junk, Liz was able to make out the form of the woman lying amongst the pile of objects. She had her face buried in her hands as she groaned and tossed her head side to side in what she assumed pain.
"Stupid red monkey. Had no right! No right to hit me!" The old woman grunted in her hands as Liz silently watched on. "Skin redder than blood and fist harder than rocks! Sure demon that one is. Yes, very much a demon."
Red...
Liz frowned and took a retreating step back. She should've known her hot-tempered boyfriend had something to do with this. The lady probably deserved though since she planned on eating those poor animals alive. But she could put money on that Red punched her because she wasn't cooperating.
She steadily furthered herself away from the woman and trash pile and advanced in the direction that it looked like she was thrown. It was quiet and she kept her pace soft to keep her boots from echoing off the warehouse walls.
All around her she could hear the echoing sounds of water dripping through cracks and fractures and make the long journey down to the slick floor. To hear the sounds of her flames opposite was comforting as it was reassuring. It gave her a sense of control and that nothing was going to suddenly combust into flames if soaked.
She paused in her tracks when she thought she heard the sounds of other voices. The sounds were abnormal and she couldn't quite figure out the language that was being spoken.
The Troll Market.
Liz ducked and quietly jogged over behind a group of stacked boxes. The noises were louder and stranger now that she could hear them better. The entrance to the black market must be right on the opposite wall where she was hidden.
She peeked from around the boxes and found her assumptions to be correct. There on the opposite wall was a huge circular door, wide open for anyone to go or leave as they pleased. It bothered her that the door was so obvious and poorly hidden from the humans. How could it be so recognizably opened for all those who wandered past when it was supposedly supposed to be impossible to locate? Years the team had looked for this damn door and it was in a warehouse and about 11 feet tall and wide?
She briefly wondered how the team got the door to open when suddenly the very door started to move and make thunderous noises.
It was closing.
"Shit..." Liz jumped from behind her hiding spot and went running toward the large entryway that was starting to seal. The closer she got she faintly noticed gears and maneuvers rotating off to the right side of the contraption. Must be the panel board to open and close it. She bet that Red tried punching it after Abe failed in opening it the first time.
The spinning gears that made up the door had just enough space open that Liz could see the market on through. It was bright and vibrant and she'd be damned on missing her chance to see the legendary market by being too slow.
The mechanisms were almost joined together again when Liz threw herself into the air and felt her sides brush past the metal as she glided on through. When she landed on the other side on both her feet steadily, she heard the enormous gears securely lock.
She closed her eyes and let out a short sigh. Her heart was beating against her chest from the run and her adrenaline was still pulsing from nearly being crushed. After a few tired breaths she straightened her stance and took in her surroundings to be sure that she didn't just toss herself into the enemy's lair. A few eyes were on her as she stood rigidly near the sealed door but they seemed more curious than harmful.
Her heart rate steadied the longer she stood there and took in what was around her. "Oh my god..." She could barely believe what she was seeing. At long last she got to see for herself the legendary Troll Market and it was everything that she imagined it would be.
She couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips as she slowly revolved herself around and took in all the sights. Creatures of all different natures strolled hurriedly along the streets, not seeming to mind the vast different blend of monsters around them.
The buildings looked old and poorly treated, just barely stitched together to keep from tumbling down. The first floors of the buildings were little shops and she assumed that above them, just like in the human realm, they were the apartments where the shopkeepers lived. This here was their life and it was all completely conventional to them.
Entranced by her exotic surroundings, Liz hardly noticed that her feet started moving on their own as she walked along the small shops and gazed into their showing windows. Occasionally she would pause when her stare would linger on a particular item that she didn't quite know its use for. She would quickly look away though when someone in the shop caught her eye or someone behind her would grumble behind her back.
As dirty as the market place and all its shoppers seemed, she couldn't help but to find some security in it all. She imagined that Red felt the same when he first wandered in here. She bet he even tried having a conversation with some of the creatures just for his own amusement.
She moved her hand to her waist and hovered a finger above the button that would connect her earpiece to Red's. Perhaps the big guy got carried away by all the sights and sounds that he lost focus of the mission. It'd be best to call him and have him report back.
Her fingered was resting on the button that would link her through but for some reason she couldn't get herself to press down on it. She knew she was hesitating when she really shouldn't be. Her emotions and personnel feelings towards him were getting in the way of the mission when she knew they shouldn't be.
"This is so stupid." She muttered and pressed her finger firmly onto the channel button but found she still couldn't quite click it. She was a click away from hearing Red's voice and she realized that that was the reason she was holding back.
How was she supposed to speak with him later on when she couldn't even do it know when it was just work related?
She moved her finger over half an inch and pressed a different button that would connect her to Abe. She had hoped that at least he was focused unlike a certain other and then they could regroup.
"Abe?" She spoke lowly and cast her eyes around the crowd then turned away. The only response she got was a fuzzy sound that meant there was poor signal.
"Abe, can you hear me?" She paused and listened but was only met with the same fuzzy poor connection hum.
If she couldn't reach Abe then that probably meant the same result would happen if she tried calling Red. A peculiar relief fell over her when she thought about poor radio signal being the real reason she couldn't call Red. It was a poor excuse but she clung on to it.
There was no point standing around and basking at the shops anymore. She needed to start her search for her team and find any clues for their mission while she was there. She yanked her scarf securely over her nose and made sure her black hood was still on her head. Unlike Red, she was able to lay low when asked but that was mostly because she just wanted to. The less attention the better.
She made her way back into the crowd but chose to walk along the outskirts just in case she needed to be somewhere fast. Being trapped in a mob of people made her extremely self-conscious of her ability if something were to happen and she lost control in the middle of the group of innocent people.
While she tried to keep her head down and walked the pace of the crowd, she caught ear of a conversation to her left by two men she passed. Causally she removed herself from the horde of shoppers and veered off to her left just a few paces ahead of the men that were chatting against the side of a shop.
Liz crept closer but held her stare on the times through the shops window like she was interested. The two mean didn't seem notice her presence or did but didn't seem to care because they kept chatting carelessly.
"I know the elf's royalty and all, but what right does he have to start a war? And with the humans no less!" One of them scuffed and Liz stared at the creature of a man in the reflection of the window. He was short and covered in green scales. His eyes were on the sides of his head and were bright yellow. He was shaking his large head about his own observation it seemed.
"I hear that he's the rightful King now because he took down his own father, the old elf King! Apparently the old elf didn't want to go to war but his spoiled son did, leading the old King to his demise." The one who said this looked similar to his companion but his scales were a dark, muddy brown color.
The green reptile man scuffed and folded his arms. "Does that prince guy have any idea what he's doing? War with the humans!" He barked a laugh and crossed his arms over his armored chest. "I can tell you now that I ain't signing up for his army."
The other man agreed and then their conversation shifted and Liz turned away from the glass and started walking until she found an alleyway where she ducked into. She really needed to call Red and the others and let them know what she found out about this elf prince and him wanting to go to war with the humans. Back at HQ it was just a theory that the symbols on those crates meant war but apparently it seemed more likely if it was being talked about in this underground market.
Again she tried pressing the button that would link her to Abe but the same static noise filled her ear. "Damn it." She grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest in frustration.
The only way out was the door that she came in but that was now sealed shut. She needed to find Red and Abe even more now if she wanted to get out of this over bearing market place and tell them what she found out if they hadn't overheard already. Knowing Red he probably already did by intruding on someone's conversation.
Liz skidded her foot along the ground in frustration and sharply turned to walk back out into the streets but froze when she saw three men standing at the mouth of the alley. They were large, about Red's size and if not bigger. They looked blocky by their outline shape from the way the light shined in from behind. A thought immediately came to Liz's head that they'd be difficult to take down on her own without using her flames and drawing attention.
When they started staggering her way, she spun around and began walking in the opposite direction towards the other end of the dark passageway. Behind her she could hear the heavy footsteps of her pursuers but she tried to not let that worry her. Her feet splashed in a gathered stream on the ground that lead in the direction she was heading.
Water. The thought of a great amount of her opposite element would normally ease her nerves but not when in a dangerous situation. She turned her head to glance over her shoulder and saw that the men were closing in fast. Her eyes widened and she quickened her pace with her eyes glued to the mouth of the alley where the light was brighter.
If she could make it to the opening then she would run and make her escape without having to fight them and cause a scene. She was closer the opening and her pace was almost a jog when she felt something brush the back of her arm. Her eyes shot wide open and she didn't wait a second more and started running.
Her pursuers started yelling in another unknown language and quickly followed after her. She could hear them as their steps hammered off the old brick walls and filled her ears. When she got to the opening of the long alleyway she skidded around the corner as her boots slipped on the wet stone. She quickly regained her posture though and started running away from the passage and her followers. She heard the sound of what seemed like one of them slipping as the others grumbled and skidded around too.
Instead of turning around to check, she kept her eyes ahead in search of somewhere she could duck in and wait for them to pass. Though unfortunately for her she was running in what seemed like a back alleyway with nowhere to hide behind or in.
To her right were buildings with spaces in between but she doubted she would fit and to her left was a river stream carved into the stone. On the other side of the stream was just the back-end of more shops but she noticed that there were places for her to make an escape.
With her eyes trained on up ahead for a place she presumed she could try and leap across, she didn't notice the quickly approaching figure behind her. She was startled when something roughly caught her arm and yanked her back. Her feet left the ground and she went flying backwards and landed roughly on the cold, wet stone. She rolled onto her stomach and gritted her teeth from the pain of hitting her head. But she didn't have time to worry about her injuries as her attacker was closing in. Liz flipped onto her back and wrenched her gun loose from its compartment at her hip and aimed it at the approaching beast.
The beast eyed her weapon for a second but Liz didn't hesitate and shot the thing in the right shoulder. The monsters upper half jerked back but it didn't stop and actually quicken its steps towards her. She fired again but took several shots and the beast growled and reached down for her. She kicked out her leg and locked it behind her attacks and pulled forward, causing the beast to holler out in surprise and land on its back.
Liz sprang up to make her escape but right when she landed on both feet, something punctured into her right thigh. It stung and she knew the pain well enough to know she'd been shot with something. She tried her best not to clutch her hand around it to reduce the pain and instead focused her energy on hoping away in the opposite direction. She was a few feet away when the shooting pain came again in the back of the same leg but lower towards her calf.
She cursed and doubled over but stuck her hands out to catch herself. Her leg would cringe up every time she tried to step that legs foot on the ground. Behind her she could hear her pursuers laughing and approaching. She took a deep breath and tried to get moving again but her leg gave out on her and she fell forward. Her hands didn't catch her in time and she fell onto her shoulder. She brought her injured leg up and gripped her knee to her chest, trying to suppress her groans as the pain intensified.
It felt like whatever she had been shot with was creeping up her leg and into the rest of her. It occurred to her that the bullets must have been laced in something and in a matter of minutes it will take full effect. She could already feel her heart rate slow and her limbs grow heavy. Fear swept over her when she realized that her body wanted to shut down on her.
She had been tranquilized.
With that chilling conclusion in her mind, Liz closed her eyes and tried to connect with the flame in her chest. To her distress it was dwindling along with her strength and resistance to stay awake and fight. The flame felt small, cold almost. It fluttered in its spot like being cut off from air. It was being suffocated.
She darted her eyes above her and swallowed heavily when she spotted the beast that had thrown her to the ground was now standing over her. Her vision was worsening by the second but she could make out his features enough to see that it had a smug grin on its hairy face. Another creature walked up next to him and glared down at her with its eyes as sinister as its sharpened smirk.
Liz felt her breaths start to slow and her eyelids want to close. She was losing to the poison in her veins and soon she would black out and that scared the hell out of her. Above she heard the beast lowly communicate in their tongue but she paid them no mind as her thoughts slipped elsewhere.
She thought of what would happen after she passed out. Would she even wake back up? And if so, where? Would Red come after her like he promised to always watch out for her? Would he even know where to start his search for her?
Liz felt the water on the ground that she was laying in seep through her clothes. She shivered and let her head roll to the side to stare off across the running river just feet from her exhausted body. Noises from around her were hushed and she felt somewhat peaceful as she watched the current and imagined that it could just sweep her away.
As she stared off over the stream, she noticed that someone was now standing on the other side that hadn't been there before. Their outline was dark and fuzzy, but she could definitely tell that there was a person there and it wasn't her eyes playing tricks on her. They started moving forward, closer to the edge of the stream and her before they disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Liz closed her eyes tightly and reopened them and saw that the figure was truly no longer there. A hopeless thought came to her that it was Red. That her boyfriend had found her and was there to rescue her from these creeps. But a small voice in her head said that it wasn't. He was somewhere else. Far away and not knowing about her current and worsening situation.
She was going to receive help from no one.
Liz turned her stare back onto the creatures hovering over her except this time there was three. The third one that fell earlier must've finally caught up to them. If she weren't in such a helpless position she might have laughed at that.
She held on and tried to stay awake as long as she could and watched the three creatures above. They seemed to be discussing something and the one on the end was disagreeing with the other two. Their voices were getting louder but then something happened to make them all go silent. She squinted her eyes at them in confusion as all three of their heads turned around. There was a moment of silence for a bit more until the three growled and grumbled something while removing the weapons at their sides.
Liz watched in fear as they drawled their weapons but relaxed a little when they didn't point them at her and started walking away. If she had the strength to lift her head then she would've looked to see what had distracted.
She had no other choice but to just lay there and listen and hope that whatever won and killed them wouldn't end up killing her. She thought about the person she thought he saw standing across the river. Was it possible that it was that stranger that had angered her attackers and drew them away?
Though the world around her seemed as if someone had lowered the volume, Liz was still able to hear the faint sounds of beasts hollering and metal meeting metal. It sounded slick and sharp when the metal would clash and skid against the others. A sword fight perhaps but that was no good for the stranger if that one with gun who shot her were to aim at them.
She listened for the sound of a gun firing off but she couldn't. As she attempted to listen she noticed that the sounds of the fight had come to an end. It was now quiet and Liz could hear nothing but the sloshing of the stream a few feet from her head. It was nerve racking and she just wished she had the strength to work her own neck up.
Liz uncertainly watched the river in hopes of it calming her. Her anxiousness was eating at her to find out what had exactly happened and who had won. It was the uncertainty that was keeping her from letting go and falling asleep.
She had been listening for the footsteps of another, but she seemed to have missed them. Someone had silently crept up and was standing above her. She could feel their presence and their dark shadow hang over her form.
Nervously, Liz turned her gaze to the figure and let out a tiny gasp. This person was not one of her three assailants. No, this person was new and nothing like those foul beast. She helplessly stared into his gleaming eyes that peered into hers. They just stared at each other in silence until he broke it by moving closer towards her. Liz bit her tongue and watched, wishing she still had her voice and demand what they were up to.
She watched as the stranger stopped at her side and crouched down next to her. She felt a cold hand brush the part of her cheek that was exposed and moved hair from her eye. The touch was gentle but she could feel how callused their fingers were against her skin. Was this their way of telling her that he weren't going to harm her?
They pulled their pale hand away and she watched their eyes scan her body for a moment then rest their gaze on her injured leg. They didn't say anything and gradually reached out towards it. Liz felt the muscles in her hurt leg flinch by his gentle touch. He gently glided his fingertips in a circle motion around the wounds then pulled back.
If she had the voice to make any sounds then she would've when she felt one of the stranger's arms wrap around her shoulders and the other tuck under her knees. She noted that he was careful when pulling her hurt knee up and against the other. She looked up at him in surprise and saw that he was studying her face, like trying to see from her expression whether he was hurting her or not.
Liz swallowed and looked away from their gold gaze. She hated that he was watching her when she could barely make out his own facial expressions. He was nothing but a white blur with two piercing golden eyes.
Liz felt the stranger pull her securely against their chest and stand straightly back up. He started moving but she could hardly tell because his strides were so swift and precise. It felt like she was floating. It had never felt this way when Red had carried her.
Even though she was being abducted from her other abductees, Liz felt like she didn't need to worry as much. She sure as hell didn't feel 100 percent safe or did she trust this new guy, but she felt like he wasn't going to do her any harm. And he did save her from those ass holes that shot her.
The fear and anxiety from earlier was starting to fade and Liz felt her body loosen like it was ok to sleep now. She honestly didn't know how long she'd been able to keep her eyes open but now her nerves were finally quieting down. A voice in her mind was telling her it was ok. She was going to be all right and to just shut her eyes. The urge to do so was too overwhelming anyways and Liz finally gave in.
She let out a soft sigh of contentment and glanced up stare at the strangers blurry face one last time before she let sleep take over her.