Hmmm...another one of my other characters, Scott, is introduced. He plays a small part, but he's there nonetheless. He is based off my brother, who knows how to ROYALLY piss me off.... I still don't know where this story is going, exactly. Thanks for reading! Keep up with the reviews!

Also note, as Toady pointed out in her review, that in the first chapter all my italics got messed up. It was supposed to be that all things people thought were in italics, but fanfic messed it up royally. An apology to all of you, as I cannot seem to fix it! Instead, from now on anything that someone thinks will be in a single quotation mark.

Chapter 6: Pushing Buttons

Typically Fox could get her tail moving, no matter what time it was. But after being introduced to a fellow creature of the night and settling in at her new home in America, she felt drained. The stupid strobing red lights didn't help her annoyance, either.
"What's that all about?" she asked. They were standing so close to each other she didn't have to yell. With a final squeeze, Hellboy released his grip on her and said, "Monster squad."
"What does that mean?" she asked, this time yelling over the sirens.
"You'll find out." he said enigmatically with a quick 'swish' of his tail. The two climbed over the mountains of wrappers and cats and opened the door, a few lone comics scattering in their path. Broom, surprisingly, was waiting for them outside. By his side was an enormous cart of food.
"We have an entity." the professor said expressionlessly. Hellboy muttered, "Duh."
"A medium size undead. Incorporeal. It is currently residing in a small house not to far from here. A two-hour-long car ride. Fox, I'm sending you and Hellboy on this one. I already talked to Abe, and he suggested I give you field time."
"Rightio." she said with a slight smirk. Hellboy looked...odd. Fox had no words for the features on his face. It was a combination of what appeared to be utter horror and sheer joy, with the usual nervousness. She really had to wonder about the big lug.
"Um, wait, a car ride?" Fox asked. Broom waved his hand and led them down the hallway. There was a large metal cart at the end. Fox was ignored.
Hellboy walked up to the cart and pulled on a dented handle. A door bearing the B.P.R.D. symbol swung open, and Fox could see that it was more like a cabinet on wheels. Hanging inside was a various arsenal of weapons, crucifixes, oddly shaped bottles filled with various substances, and different herbs. Hellboy picked up a handful of leaves, smelled it, and stuffed it into his left coat pocket.
"Arbutus Unede. A lot of spooks hate this stuff." he explained. Fox looked halfheartedly at the different items, then turned to Hellboy.
"Do I take something?" she asked sheepishly. Hellboy nodded.
"If you'd like." he said. She looked at the cart and picked up a bottle filled with a strange blue liquid.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked. Hellboy gave a meek grin.
"It depends on what you think it is." he replied quietly. As if on cue, the sirens stopped. Fox opened the bottle carefully, confident that she knew what it was, and took a noseful of the liquid. It smelled lightly of flowers.
"This is...extract from the lilies of Saint Leonard?" Fox guessed. Hellboy's grin grew.
"Nice guess. It's extract from the lilies, but blessed by a priest." he explained. His voice was small and weak, like that of a child. He shifted his weight nervously.
"Oh, then this wouldn't be what I need for a ghost, now is it?" Fox said, looking down in dismay. She capped the bottle and set it gently on the shelf, then picked up a small vial filled with a thick yellow substance. This time she fingered the cap, but did not take it off.
"Some sort of ectoplasm?" she guessed. Hellboy took the vial and put it back. Fox noticed that his fingers were shaking. He was a little bit clumsier than what she assumed was usual.
"That's not to be messed with." he whispered. Broom stood patiently, waiting for the two to decide on what to use. At this rate neither of them would have time to eat.
'Better for her to learn now.' the professor thought, reassuring himself that the specter could wait and Fox needed the experience. He ran his tongue over his teeth again, thinking of what Liz and Abe were doing.
"How about this?" Fox inquired. She reached for a long branch of wood.
"Sure." Hellboy said softly.
"Ash, right?" she asked. He nodded, and she shoved it into her pants pocket. Then she reached for an iron horse shoe. As she was about to try to fit that into her pocket, Hellboy touched his left hand lightly to hers.
"Hold on a minute. Just hang onto that for a sec, 'kay?" he said, looking into her eyes. She nodded, and Hellboy closed the cart. Broom looked up from the floor, his thoughts interrupted by duty.
"I've arranged for you, Agent Foxley, so that you only have to meet one other employee here for now. I can see that the trip here from Europe must have stirred you." Broom said. Fox let out a sigh of relief. She hated people...she hated being different. It was easier for her to just imagine she belonged with everyone. But mirages, sadly, weren't real. In this case, reality dropped an anvil on her head.
"Thank you, Professor." she said meekly. Good luck and bad luck mingled-she felt lucky and downtrodden at the same time.
"Well, time for you to get your belt, Fox." Broom said, clearing his throat. Fox looked at him confusedly.
"Belt?" she asked. Both the Professor and Hellboy nodded. Broom blinked, preparing to reply.
"Your locator belt. All of our field agents get one so we can track them. It also comes in handy for storing items such as that horseshoe there." he said, pointing at the iron curve that Fox gripped. Her hands were so...delicate and white.
'She doesn't look like she could hurt anything with those hands. They're artist's hands.' he thought to himself. He just then noticed the wings. Staring at her back in fascination, Broom added, "What color do you want: red or blue?" he asked. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then spoke up.
"I think I want pink." she said. If Hellboy has eyebrows he would have raised one. Broom did just this.
"There are only red and blue." Hellboy said blankly. She flashed them a sort of lopsided smile.
"I can take care of that. Please, red for now." she said. The two stood there in a sort of dumbfounded trance for a moment, then snapped to.
"Alright then. Son, take her to the garage and set up a garbage truck. I have arranged for Scott to meet her there. He was the only one that was in garage 5 at the time. She'll get the belt there, too." Broom said expressionlessly. He took the cart's handle in one hand and, gripping his cane with the other, shoved it further against the wall as Hellboy ushered Fox down the hall.
"So does the belt come with anything? Any utility stuff, like in batman?" she asked jokingly. Hellboy took her seriously.
"No, it doesn't. The pockets are empty. But, if you'd like..." he said, fishing around in his coat pocket for a moment. "There's always this." Entangled in his right hand was silver amulet on a thick black leather string. Fox's mouth dropped.
"It is the amulet of something-or-other. I forget the name, but it lights up pretty colors in the presence of evil." he said, extending his hand in front of Foxley's face.
"For...for...for me?" she stammered. Hellboy nodded as the two turned a cold and dank corner.
"Perhaps it will...warm you up." he said with a smile. Fox grinned too, taking the amulet and slipping it over her neck.
"I think I want to wear it instead of put it in the belt." she said, her eyes glimmering in admiration. Hellboy nodded a bit and stuffed his left hand in his pocket. Before it was completely in, Fox saw that it was gleaming with sweat. She decided not to bring it up.
They walked a bit longer in silence, sometimes exchanging glances and smiles. Throughout the walk, Fox ran her thin fingers along the patterns on the amulet. It looked Celtic, with interlocking rings circling some sort of dragon. When she touched it the amulet didn't glow. She was thankful for this. As though to break the silence, Hellboy spoke up. Fox could tell he was nervous.
"Um, yeah, that amulet was a memento mori given to the prince of some European province that doesn't exist anymore. It was nothing more than a dirty trick because the guy that gave it to him said that when it glowed it meant instant death. Well, the guy that gave it to the prince sent a harmless ghost out after the prince and when it glowed the prince dropped dead from fright. That prince never knew the real nature of the amulet. Kinda neat, huh?" he said in his little-boy voice. Fox was stumped.
"What's a memento mori?" she asked. Hellboy chuckled a bit.
"It's an object that is supposed to remind you that you're gonna die." he explained. The two turned a sharp corner and arrived in front of a weighty iron door. Hellboy reached forward and tugged on the its thick handle. The door opened with a groan and Fox was almost afraid to see what was on the other side of a door so heavy.
There was a large, almost cavernous room with a huge truck in the center. She suddenly noticed that there was a sign spray-painted above the door: "Garage number 5."
In the bright florescent lights of the garage, she saw a scrawny man leaning against the monstrous truck. He had a thick head of sandy brown hair, with a light reddish-brown goatee and strange black eyes. The way his body was positioned reminded Fox of a large cat resting in a tree. The man's thumbs tapped out a constant rhythm on the side of the truck. His feet tapped, too, but his eyes were only half open. It looked like he was having a strange dream.
"Hey, beam me up Scot-tay!" Hellboy chortled at the man, waving and walking over. Scott opened his eyes and scowled. Hellboy stopped in his tracks and forced a devilish smile.
"I told you; don't say that." he snapped. Scott closed his eyes again and began tapping furiously. Fox looked confused and stepped bravely forward.
"What's YOUR problem?" she growled. Scott stopped his tapping abruptly, yet didn't open his eyes.
"All Red is trying to do is be friendly." she continued, her voice growing slightly meeker. Scott opened his eyes and looked up at her. She took another step forward so that she was up close to the man. She could see that he was a bit short and very lean. His blue shirt was stained with oil.
"Oh, so Broom took in another stray from the streets." he said smartly. Anger rushed up inside Fox. She hated reference to her nature.
"I'm not a stray, I'm a person." she hissed. Scott smiled cruelly.
"Have you looked in the mirror lately? I don't think person is the right word for it." he said, shooting the enraged Fox a cold smile. Hellboy stood in near shock where he was.
"Hey, there, Scott, I'm sorry. I forgot about the name thing, okay? Just leave Foxley here alone." he said cooly, stepping in between the two as though they were about to fight.
"Oh, so it has a name?" he said, glaring at both of them.
"Yeah, SHE has a name. So lay off, okay?" Hellboy said, his eyes widening in concern. He could see the lost look in Fox's eyes, the same look he had at a younger age when one of the doctors at the B.P.R.D. had done a very similar thing to him. People could be so inconsiderate.
"Fine. I'm just sick of the dumb bigwigs treating things like you two like you're people. So here's your belt, Fox." Scott said heartlessly, holding up a large leather belt in one hand and flipping the two off almost invisibly with the other. He ended the statement with a change of topic, hoping he could get away with what he just said. Somehow, he made Fox's name sound like "f-you." It was obvious he saw the two of them more as things than as fellow beings of equal intelligence. Both of their eyes lit up, Fox's with renewed rage and Hellboy's with surprise.
"Oh, okay then. I suppose you're any better than us? You do know that most of the dishes in the kitchen I've eaten off of. I shit in the same toilet, I drink the same water, and I walk on the same floors. How are you an intelligent being and us nothing more than animals?" Hellboy snarled with surprising intelligence. He had a sort of glimmer in his eye. Scott had obviously sparked something in Fox that had spread to Hellboy...
"Exactly." Fox growled. Scott looked nothing more than amused. With two towering demons standing in a room, growling and mad, one would assume the small Scott would feel a bit out of place. But he knew that the two couldn't do anything without getting in mundo-trouble.
"Because..." he said, trailing his voice off to see their reaction.
"Because?" Hellboy continued. His voice was booming and gruff.
"Because look at you two. You're a big red giant with horns, and she is bat-woman with her wings and claws." he said. There was a certain sharpness in his voice that drove his words deep into Fox and Hellboy's skin. Fox looked ready to tear something to pieces. Hellboy looked like he was ready to cry, but not. It was a sore spot on both of them, one that was volatile and ready to explode. It was game of who would snap first. Scott was the one pushing buttons.
"Bat-woman?" was all Fox could manage to get out. She nearly choked with anger. Her normally pale-pink skin had flushed a bright sanguine red. She looked almost as crimson as Hellboy himself. The normally red guy had gone pale, the blood draining from his cheeks. He looked almost like Foxley. The two matched.
"Yeah, that's right. Catch, batty." Scott sneered, pretending he was about to toss the belt at Fox. Instead, he twisted his arm back and whipped the belt at Fox as hard as he could. It hit her squarely in the jaw. She raised a quivering hand to her face, felt a swelling lump with one finger and flipped Scott off with another. Her hands shook with uncontrolled rage.
When Hellboy got angry, as it seemed he often did, he at least knew control. When Fox got angry, she got ANGRY. And Scott had pushed her buttons for the last time...

Ha...just because I LOVE to keep you guys hanging, I'm posting the rest of this chapter a little later. I don't feel like writing all that much because I'm bust this week...you can play some guessing games while I'm 'gone'

-Rae Goss aka Gossgoyle