New Members, New Problems: Chapter 2
A/N: Thank you many times over to absolutely everyone who reviewed. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
Shout-outs:
Mattb3671: I'm rather fond of my OC as well. That's why I'm writing about her! Thanks!
Silentkey: Wait no longer!
Steakums13: Why thank you! Here's what happens when Hellboy finds her. Interesting reactions, don't you think?
Dragoneyes171986: Thank you again!
Epalladino: Thanks for noticing my stupid careless mistakes! When my editing side goes on vacation, good helpers like you are a life-saver for me. Plus I assume that I make at least some pointless mistakes, and seeing them written down means I know I haven't made too many. Probably.
Lioness78: And very right you are. As you shall see.
Disclaimer: Don't own Hellboy, Liz, Abe or the BPRD. However, BPRD not only stands for Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, but also for Bainbridge Parks and Recreation Department. Bainbridge is an island near where I live. Interesting, huh?
Chapter Two:
Cat leaned back in her chair, arms akimbo, one eyebrow raised, completely unfazed by the appearance of Hellboy.
"I'm Cat. Who're you?" she replied.
"Hellboy." The large red demon growled back, confused by her unsurprised reaction to him. Most people screamed, or fainted, or started praying at his well-over six ft. tall height, red skin, huge right hand, tail and horn stumps. But this (apparently) typical girl wasn't really reacting at all.
Hellboy walked across the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator, his back to the strange girl, stalling for time to think. He fished around inside the fridge, didn't find anything he wanted, closed it. He wasn't hungry anymore; he was too confused to be anything but confused.
When he turned around again, the girl was writing busily in her notebook, apparently ignoring him. Still writing, she stuck out a hand, feeling around until she found her cup of tea, almost knocking it, the sugar and her box of teabags over in the process. When she found her cup, still writing, she picked it up, shook it slightly, and, finding it empty, sighed and stood up.
The girl, Cat, walked over to the stove and put a tea kettle on the burner, putting a fresh teabag in her cup. All the while Hellboy watched her with a turmoil of emotions fighting inside him. Who the hell was this girl, what was she here for, and why in the name of God hadn't anyone told him?!
"Want a cuppa tea?" Cat asked.
"No." he said, flatly, sounding nastier than he had intended. The girl gave him a sideways look, both eyebrows raised this time. She paused for a moment, then rolled her eyes expressively.
"Geeze, I was just asking," she muttered, flipping her hair out of her face with an annoyed flick of her neck. "Bite me, why don't you?"
An awkward silence fell for a few minutes, broken by the shrill whistle of the tea-kettle. Finally Hellboy, reluctant, muttered "Sorry."
"Apology accepted," the girl said crisply, making it clear the subject was closed, as she poured the boiling water into her cup. Picking it up she walked back to the table, then sat down again, pulling the chair out with a foot before swinging herself carelessly into it.
"Have a seat," she said, gesturing vaguely at a chair across and a little to the right of her.
"I'll stand," Hellboy said, then added "Most chairs can't hold my weight." As his words faded into the nighttime quiet, yet another awkward silence grew, only accentuated by the ticking of the clock and the scratching of Cat's pen across the paper, both magnified in the silence.
"What're you writing?" Hellboy finally asked, gruffly, unable to take the silence anymore.
"Love poem!" Cat replied enthusiastically. "See, my friend has a huge crush on this one guy and wanted me to write something for her to give him, so I am, and it's really fun, I get to use all the clichéd fluff I want, which I like, never get to do!"
Hellboy leaned back against the counter, his stone hand making an odd scraping noise against the polished granite countertop, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Love poems weren't up his alley. For that matter, neither wee teenage girls, let alones ones who wrote poetry at all.
At this point a yawning Liz shuffled in, obviously exhausted. Seeing Cat and Hellboy she gave a quick double take.
"Whoa! Oh, hello you two. Cat, this is Hellboy, the last member of our group of misfits. We were going to introduce you to him earlier but he was throwing a tantrum. HB, this is Cat, your new teammate, be nice to her."
"Yeah," drawled Cat sarcastically. "Seeing as I'm so innocent and easily hurt, poor harmless, helpless me."
Liz merely yawned again in reply.
"You look awful," said Cat, a warmly concerned tone creeping into her voice. "Here, have a cup of tea, you look like you need it." She turned around and busied herself pouring some of the still-hot water into a new cup.
"Here, it's chamomile. Good for sleeping. What brings you down here to join the party?"
"Nightmares," Liz said, her face swiftly changing from sleepy bemusement to chilling, sorrowful seriousness. She picked up her cup of tea and took a long drink, hiding her face from her companions.
Cat stood suddenly, pushing her chair back with a clatter. She strode defiantly over to Liz and wrapped her in a fierce hug. Then, blushing, she moved over to the stove and started putting still more water on to boil, making more noise than was perhaps needed in the process. Her back was turned, so she missed the grateful look that spread across the pyrokinetic's face, melting the sorrow it held.
At this pint Abe entered the kitchen.
"Why don't we save everyone a lot of time and just send out invitations?" asked Cat, exasperated. "I mean, really..."
"I gather I am not the only one having trouble sleeping tonight," the Icthyio sapiens said quietly.
"Liz had nightmares, I was hungry and Cat"
"Was writing." Interjected said person, interrupting Hellboy. "Is it just tonight, or does this happen regularly.
"Nope, just tonight," said Hellboy.
A quiet and reflective silence fell, more companionable than the earlier ones. After a minute, Cat sighed and closed her journal.
"Looks like the Fates have decided I've done enough writing for tonight..."
"Would you mind reading us a poem?" asked Abe. "Earlier you said you would share one with me, and there is no time like the present."
"Actually, I would mind," said Cat, looking slightly embarrassed. "This is my bits and pieces book that I just write the beginnings of poems in, the rough pieces. It is extremely private."
"Okay," said Abe.
"Why do we need this girl on our team?" asked Hellboy. "We're good enough without her and she's just a kid. Does she do anything?"
"Cat can control anything that is a plant or comes from a plant," said Liz.
"Cat can speak for herself," said Cat wryly. "It's why I was gifted with a tongue. Anyways, I can control anything that comes from a plant and I have fangs. I also am rather good with throwing knives."
"What good is that!?" asked Hellboy, sounding disgusted.
"For lots of things," said Cat. "For instance..." she trailed off, closing her eyes, her hair trailing over her face, effectively hiding it.
With a quiet rustling, the chair nearest Hellboy shot out a branch, wrapping it around his left hand, holding it against the counter. He had to struggle with it a little before it snapped.
When Cat looked back up, her face had reverted back to her less-human features.
"Drat, I hate it when I have fangs," she mumbled through a mouth full of tooth. "I can't pronounce anything right at all...Lord, this is annoying..."
"Okay, okay, you're useful." Muttered Hellboy.
"Good. We understand each other." said Cat coolly. "Now, I, at least, am tired and am heading off to bed. 'night, all."
"Me too," said Liz, getting up and leaving. "Goodnight!"
"I guess I will leave as well," said Abe, doing so.
Hellboy was left in the empty kitchen. Eventually he sighed and went back over to the refrigerator. He was still hungry.
A/N: Well, how was it? Why don't you send me an email or put out a review informing me? It makes me happy, might make you happy, and certainly won't make you feel worse. Win-win situation, eh?
