Author note: SORRY it took so long to update! My computer had technical difficulties!! And I also had familly duties like visiting my great great great aunt...well, really she's just my great aunt, but to me she seems greater than just great... Hope you like this chapter, I didn't really get a long time to spend working on it... please review! :D


Chapter 8: Cupcakes and Guns

"Eww, and to think that grows in my garden." Jude said peering over the gigantic Venus Flytrap thing lying still on a table in the lab. He crossed his arms then walked over a paramedic who was doing some sort of operation. He looked over the guy's shoulder.

The guy only stopped what he was doing and stared back at Jude. "Can you stop leaning over my shoulder? It's hard to concentrate."

"By bad." Jude held up his two hands trying to look innocent. Then he shuffled his feet a little to the side so that the paramedic wouldn't have anymore complaints. "Your crazy doing this job. How many of those nasty buggers come here for operations anyway?"

"Shhhh. Be quiet." The paramedic shushed. All was well until Jude showed up. In fact he would never shut up.

"Pfffft" Jude gave up on this guy. "Go eat yourself."

"Shut up! This takes a matter of concentration and you shouldn't even be in here. This is a lab. Go entertain yourself else where."

"Fine" Jude stomped towards the door. "Someone's feeling like Mister. Rogers today…" Jude muttered sarcastically. "I'll go visit Myers, where at least someone appreciates my interesting chatter. Cause you know I'm amazing." He snapped in a "Z" formation being exasperatedly enthusiastic. "Maybe you should spiff him up with your happy power, Mister Rogers…"

"OUT!" The paramedic said raising his tools in the direction of the door. He looked vicious now.

"Ok. Ok. You should really think about seeing a therapist. You are just so moody today, Mister Rogers… wait, or are you Barney this week?"

"GET OUT!"

"I'm out! I'm out! And if you are Barney today, just know that I always hated you."


The teapot was lifting up slowly by itself. It tipped, making the hot flavoured water pour in a mug. Ryan was concentrating hard to get it right. His eyes narrowed slightly in the process, but he managed to get a spoon to put sugar in the mug and stir it. Finally, he the lifted the mug with his mind to go on the counter beside where Myers lay down.

"Your pretty good at doing that stuff. I mean, without working arms and legs it's sort of hard to even lift something. Have you ever read Matilda? Our teacher made us read it back in grade two. But do your powers work the same way? Like by anger and frustration?" Myers asked, holding the mug in his hands and taking a few sips. His legs were bandaged. They had already treated his legs and it took 30 stitches to seal the wounds together. Neither Hellboy nor Myers won the 20 bucks.

"Nah." Ryan adjusted his wheelchair to get a plain view of Myers. "It's just like moving my arms and hands, only it's all in my mind. It's like I can feel the object I just don't have any physical contact with it. It's sort of hard to explain…" He looked down giving a wry smile.

"Is this sort of rude to ask?" Myers began.

"What?"

"How did you…" He pointed to the wheel chair. "…get to be like that? Were you born with it?"

"Born with it? Oh no, no, no. I have muscular dystrophy. My muscles have been weakening all over my body and as you can see," He waved his hand, "I only have a hand left that can work and my face. Thank god, I can still have good conversations."

"Oh. And so you where born with your power?"

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. I had my telekinetic ability before, but never knew I had it. It's just ever since I lost the gestures in my arms and legs, I tried hard to move things with my mind." He looked side to side making sure nobody heard him speak. "You only discover your power, when you need it most. With me, it was the fact that my arms and legs couldn't work so I forced my mind to do every little incentive."

"Poor you" Myers said with a little laugh.

"Well…actually…poor me, indeed." Ryan began loosing his words. He never looked this sad.

"What? Is there something wrong?"

"Yah…The doctors said I'd…" He looked around. "My body can not withstand so much and…"

"And what?" Myers asked with a worried expression on his face.

"They said, I'd only have a few more months. They said, I would be lucky if I could last till the end of the year, but …my chances of that happening is about one to ten. My muscular dystrophy has defeated my body little by little."

The room had gone silent. Never had anyone told Myers that they knew they were going to die. Myers felt all of a sudden uncomfortable.

What should I say? I'm sorry for you? It's OK buddy? Should I change the topic?

"Don't tell Rebecca O.K.? It will break her heart. She always thought I was so…cute (And I don't really think I'm teddy bear cute but hey, if she says so). But if I tell her, my heart is going to shutdown along with the rest of my body, she'd be bawling her eyes out not letting me go to sleep. I just want her to live like she always did."

Myers looked up at him and stared. "When do you think you'll…"

"I don't know. I don't feel it yet. But… HEY. Just because I'm a cripple and I'm dying doesn't mean you should be all nice to me. I hate people who do things out of the ordinary just to please me." He snared. "In your eyes, I'm just as normal as everyone else, capeesh? If I break the law then throw me in prison ok? I don't want any passed charges."

"Yes sir, Hellboy." Myers saluted Ryan.

"That's more like it." Ryan said. Right after they laughed at each other, Liz came in holding what looked like a nicely rapped present.

"What are you two laughing at?" She asked in a motherly sort of tone.

"Nothing of your concern. Is the present for me? Cause you I'm just so special." Ryan peered at the present in her hands. "I hope it's an I-phone. I always wanted one of those."

"No, it's for John. It doesn't look like you're the sick one right now." She said crossing her arms

If only she knew. Myers thought a little disturbed. She gave the present to Myers and he thanked her.

"I wanted to surprise you John and bring you a cake, but then I realised that if other people came in, then they would want some and you would only get a sliver. So I bought you this instead."

Myers opened the rapping, then he opened the box that was underneath the rapping. "What do you need a box for, if it's only a book?" He said confused holding up the book and holding the box in the other hand.

Liz put her hands on her hips. "Because it's a damn good book, and besides, books would look like saints in the state your in right now. The only thing you can do is sit there and look at the ceiling, or watch boring soap operas on TV. Therefore I got you a book."

Myers shrugged then looked at the cover of the book and read. "Pillars of the Earth"

"It's good. I read it. You might want to know, the sequel just came out." Liz leaned on Ryan's wheelchair. "So what did you bring Myers, Ryan?"

He looked up to her all he could. Then he said in a silly voice. "I gave him my love." She slapped his forehead. "Ow. What was that for?"

"Whatever it was for, it was probably for a good reason." It was Rebecca who just answered him. She walked into the room with her hair tied up in a messy bun. "Hi John" she waved and brought yet another present from behind her back. "This is for you." She handed the item over to Myers. And he started opening it.

"No fare." Ryan complained. "Why does the sick people get presents? I want a present. Can you get me an I-phone?"

"No" They both shouted in his ear.

"Sheeesh. Women." Ryan muttered. By that time, Myers was holding up a CD.

"The Beatles? Thanks…I guess."

"Myers! You are so rude when you receive presents. Just say thank you and pat the person on the back or whatever." Liz rolled her eyes.

"I was going to get 'Three days Grace' or the 'Gorillaz' or something, but I wasn't sure a man or your cult would like that type of music." Rebecca giggled, seeing the expression on his face.

Shit, she thinks I'm old. Myers started thinking in his head looking at the petty face giggling at him.

"No, I don't think your old Myers. The Beatles are cool any day."

He looked at her in shock. Right I forgot you read minds.

"You should have known better, and talk in front of people, John. It's rude if you don't."

Ryan looked utterly mesmerised. "What was he saying? I want IN on the info."

Just then Jude peered through the door. "Did I miss something? Wow John. Nice stitches."

"Don't tell me. Yet another present?" Myers eyes were closed and his hand was out to get the rapped piece of whatever. When he realised nothing happened he opened his eyes to see Jude staring at him with his eyebrows raised.

"A present? Eww, why would I give a present to you?" He was still leaning on the door.

"Oh, I thought…I just… never you mind."

"Right, well anyway. Abe sent you his regards. He can't be here right now. He's going to go analyse the plant and see whether he can tell where it comes from or not. If not, then it isn't really essential to let it out, obliterating everything in its path. Oh and how's life down there? Do you feel useless and ineffectual?"

"Yah." Myers answered.

"Ah …then… good." He smiled then departed. "Oh and Manning want's a full report on what happened last night, but I told him that if he didn't have a good explanation to why he wasn't the one fighting off the deadly plant thing instead of you, I'll assume he's a scaredy-cat. Yah, I practically saved your arse, Myers. You owe me BIG TIME."

"Thanks! I do owe you." Myers shouted. Jude had already vanished halfway down the hallway and you could hear him singing "It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood a beautiful day in the neighbourhood…"

They listened for a moment. "Why is he singing Mr. Rogers's song?"

"Beats me." Liz shrugged.

Hellboy pranced into the room. "What did I miss? What did I miss?" He asked in a hyper mood.

"You missed Jude. He just came in awhile ago and you missed us giving Myers a present." Liz exclaimed.

Hellboy stopped prancing about and looked at his bouquet of picked wild flowers. "Aww. And I thought my idea was original." He held out his arms and gave the flowers to Myers. "I saw these flowers." He began, "And when I saw how milted and withered they looked…" He looked up making a dramatic face. "I thought of you."

"Withered old flowers reminds you of me? OK…That's cool…I guess. Thank…you?"

"No problem buddy." He patted Myers head and turned around seeing Rebecca and Ryan, smirking to each other. "Hey squirt." He said to Rebecca. "You haven't done training yet have you?"

She swayed her head side to side. "Nope. Someone has to teach me how to hold a gun and fire. Other than that, I took karate when I was a kid and got to the second last level. I know the basics on fighting."

"Then come with me, squirt. I'll show you how to trigger this baby." He held up one of his revolvers. It was fancier than most guns. It was a more modern brand. With that Hellboy gave a quick kiss to Liz and he and Rebecca left the room to say goodbye to Myers.


"Does the gun have a name?" Rebecca asked Hellboy jokingly when they got passed the medical clinic halls.

"Yah, I call her," He turned around doing a striking pose. "Esmerelda."

Rebecca laughed. "You just made that up. Didn't you?" She gave a small punch to his arm "Or are you being serious?"

"Pffft. Yah, I made it up. But you can call her that if you want." They started walking again.

"You know what I just realised?"

"What?"

"What's with men? They always call machines a 'her'. It's never a guy. Girls don't call cars, 'sexy beasts' if you know what I mean…"

"Woe woe woe. First of all, guys think of women all the time so they refer everything to girls. And secondly…do girls really call guys 'sexy beasts'?"

"It's just figure of speech. I think I like the name Esmerelda"

"Good, because this gypsy baby is yours, once we are done with her today." They arrived at two doors with letters printed above saying, "Shooting Range." Hellboy turned around to face Rebecca. "This is the Shooting Range…well duh" He said pointing to the sign on top. "The sound is totally insulated so don't be surprised when you walk into a room with sounds blowing off your ears. I think you should wear one of those ear cover things." He then pointed to a rack beside the two doors holding tons of earmuff things. "And the acoustics to this room are beautiful. It's like an orchestra of guns." It looked like he was in a trance for a moment, but then the two of them put on earmuffs and stormed into the room.

There were rows of shooting ranges, and agents were already there, shooting. The sound was searing. If Rebecca hadn't worn earmuffs her eardrums would have blown in seconds. The walls were made from gravel and some steel was aligned but not much. It seemed that the shooting range would go on forever. However, you wouldn't want to walk down there to see how far it goes, not with people trying their new guns out.

Hellboy stood at one of the booths, facing the target that seemed a mile away. "Over here little squirt." He shouted and beckoned her to come. She was hesitant now. Now that she knew it would be impossible to hit the middle of the target from that vast distance. "What you want to get is a straight bull's eye." He held the gun and gave it to her then he put protection glasses over her eyes. She stared at the gun he gave her.

"I think I know the basics," she called up to him "But now that I'm put on the spot it seems a whole lot harder." He gave her a pack of bullets and showed her how to load the gun. When she did the same thing he did, he told her to figure out the procedure.

She pushed down the hammer on the back of the gun to set the bullet. Then she aimed the gun and was about to pull the trigger.

"STOP! Stop stop!" He yelled to her. She flinched at his reaction. "Don't put your hand over that part. You would have burned your hand if you pulled the trigger."

She looked to see what she had done. She had put her hand over the barrel, just four centimetres from the muzzle.

"Sorry" She said, a little frustrated with herself.

"It's OK. Nothing would have happened to me. It's your hand that would have needed to have treatment afterwards."

Rebecca gave a deep breath. Then went back to aiming at her target. She aimed then, pulled the trigger and fired.

She got it all right. She got a straight bull's eye. But there was only one problem.

"Hey listen girl," said the agent poking his head from the booth beside her. "I know you're new at shooting and all, but it would really be better if you just stuck to 'your-own-target'." He rolled eyes and disappeared behind the wall separating the two.

Hellboy started smirking which lead to booming laughter. "You're going to need a whole lot of practise. Keep at it little squirt. And maybe next mission, we can bring you along, as long as you are able to hit the right target." He pointed to their neighbour's target with a hole right in the middle of it for an example. He began walking away.

"You're leaving?" Rebecca asked.

"Yah, I'm making sure you don't get me as your next bull's eye."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, then aimed at the target again. This would take a long time for her to get the right target…a very long time…

Esmerelda...don't fail me now.