Animal Instincts
Psycho Llama
Disclaimer: Mike Mignola owns all but mousy. Yes, that does mean Mike Mignola owns the world. Flee; flee for your lives!
"…Your mother?" Hellboy grunted.
"Yes. Christine Schnitt; she chose to be buried under her maiden name," Dr Schnitt inhaled sharply, "I think she knew…"
Hellboy narrowed his eyes at the squat, elderly man; "Knew what?"
"About the laboratory," Schnitt grimaced, "And your friend…"
Abe made a strangled sound of disbelief, his face had gone periwinkle with shock, "It was you that found Melissa?"
"Alright, somebody tell me what's going on," Hellboy demanded, "Now!"
"I found your friend Melissa a few years ago when I was visiting Lisa, my late wife… There had always been a rumour about Dr Fielding's secret Munich laboratory; my mother, Christine, believed that it was located somewhere in this cemetery. I was walking to my mother's grave when I saw this-this man clothed entirely in black standing over Christine's grave—"
"Kroenen," Abe murmured quietly.
"I had no idea what he was doing. It was so strange—the man wore a mask and was dressed like, like…"
"A Nazi?" Hellboy growled.
Schnitt cringed; "Yes. I watched him; he was walking around with a map trying to find something, the tomb that Dr Fielding worked in, of course. He found it, broke into the tomb and vanished inside. I heard a sound—"
"Kroenen yelling," Abe interrupted, probing the old man's memory, "And then crashes… it was Kroenen trashed the laboratory, all those years ago."
"What about Mousy?"
"I waited until the man had left and I went down into the tomb. It was dark by then," Schnitt fidgeted nervously, "They said Dr Fielding was very advanced in his methods and had discovered many scientific wonders that had been lost with his death,"
"You were trying to find something in there to make you rich," Abe accused softly.
"I found your friend. I saw her body lying in that sarcophagus… all those tubes running out of her… she had no pulse but she was warm to the touch and the liquid inside of the tubes looked as if it were moving at a steady rate in and out of her body. I picked up a scalpel, cut the tubes and carried her to the hospital," Dr Schnitt reported grimly.
"So you broke into the hospital, your hospital?"
'To avoid suspicion that might trace him back to his discovery,' Abe sent the mental message directly to Hellboy.
"Yes, I broke in… she had no heartbeat. I called the nurse and we brought her back. Melissa lived. S-she looked so much like my mother did, when she was younger, I couldn't leave her," Schnitt protested.
"Mousy went in search of who she was, why didn't you tell her?"
"I couldn't! I didn't understand!"
Abe gasped, staring off into space; his head jerked towards Schnitt, "You talked to Kroenen, on the phone."
"N-no!" Schnitt uttered in disbelief.
"It was Kroenen that called you, asked where Melissa was, not the BPRD… Kroenen knows where Melissa is," Abe stated, feeling the liquid in his veins freeze and tingle.
Hellboy swore. The red daemon grabbed the old man by the cuff, yanking him before him and up the stairs. Abe had already darted ahead of them, startling the agents waiting above them.
Liz staggered backwards; struggling to breathe as the spider-like form of Kroenen crawled through the broken window, sand hissing through the clockwork mechanisms of his organs.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Liz whispered, terrified.
Kroenen surveyed the pyrokinetic with cold indifference and turned his attention to the injured figure lying in the hospital bed. Melissa's eyes were open and staring at him as if he were a ghost, which wasn't far from the truth.
Liz saw Melissa was awake, "M-Melissa!" she choked out.
Melissa snapped out of the trance, she struggled to sit up as Kroenen stalked towards her. Melissa turned her severed arm away from him instinctively. She drew in a weak breath; "What do you want? Why are you trying to kill me?"
"It's what you are, Christine. That is why I must kill you," Kroenen hissed with a dry voice, heavily accented by the assassin's lack of lips.
"I am not Christine," Melissa stressed, "My name is Melissa. Christine is dead; I am not her, I never was her. I am her genetic copy. Her clone."
Kroenen didn't move. The only sound in the room the soft ticking of clockwork within the Nazi killer.
"But I am still my mother's child," Melissa stated carefully, narrowing her eyes, "And I support her views."
"You dig your own grave."
"At least I will have one," Melissa replied firmly.
"That you will," Kroenen agreed scathingly.
Kroenen began speaking in German, Melissa hissing back in an equally rapid pace. Liz couldn't understand what they were saying. The pyrotechnic knew she hat to intercept before Kroenen was given the opportunity to strike at her.
"You can't kill her just because she's different! Nazi hypocrite!" Liz yelled, her eyes glowing with a fiery spark. Behind her back, Liz's hands balled into fists. Kroenen's masked head swivelled slowly and threateningly in Liz's direction. Liz's anger was abruptly dosed by fear.
"Christine got away, didn't she? She ran away—and then she went to find you. Did she tell you?" Melissa asked, steering Kroenen's attention away from Liz. Kroenen moved towards Melissa's bed, brandishing his knives.
"Of course she did, that's why you were trying to kill me. But she got away, even though she didn't have the shape-shifting modifications, she got away from you."
Kroenen's black leather encased fist struck Melissa's face suddenly, forcing the girl's head backward. Melissa cringed away as a dark welt formed on her cheek.
"Hey!" Liz shouted, fists balling at her sides.
Kroenen ignored her; "You know nothing!"
"No you don't know anything! She loved you! You loved her, and you threw it all away for a technicality!" Melissa shrilled.
Kroenen raised the back of his hand again and Melissa flinched backwards.
Liz squeezed her fists tighter and flames flickered to life. The pyrokinetic marched towards Kroenen, the flames engulfing her arms, "Back away from her you—"
"Do you think we're going to make it in time?" Abe babbled anxiously, climbing out of the garbage truck behind Hellboy.
"Well—" Hellboy started, equally worried about Liz. An explosion shook the ground shortly followed by an ear-splitting crash as a ball of fire erupted from a window on one of the higher floors of the evacuated hospital.
Hellboy watched unemotionally as the flaming black figure crashed to the ground, knowing it was Kroenen, "Looks like the party's started without us."
"Fire extinguisher! Above your head!" Liz yelled out in frustration. The pyrokinetic was barely keeping the flames within her from obliterating the entire hospital. The shape-shifter on the bed stretched her arm upward to the fire extinguisher and knocked it off its perch.
The red cylinder fell heavily on the bed and Melissa fumbled to get it into a position where she could aim it accurately at Liz with only one arm. Her willowy fingers slid the pin out of the head and she clenched the release lever with all her meek strength.
Thick white foam hit Liz square in the face; she squeezed her eyes shut against the sting and felt the foam douse her head and shoulders, sliding sickly down her back and dripping onto the floor. Liz reached up and clawed the foam out of her eyes; "Thanks."
"Thank you," Melissa smiled quietly, "You just saved my life… I guess that makes it everyone in the bureau by now."
Liz chuckled, "Well he deserved it… I-I mean—"
"He loved Christine."
"What about you?"
"I didn't exist. I wasn't even physically alive until a few years ago," Melissa laughed nervously, "Abe must have been reviving Christine's memories…"
"But you said that he loved you—you're clone… I mean; you, the clone of… something," Liz gave up trying to make sense.
Melissa laid back on the ruffled bedding, no longer able to support her throbbing head, "They were in love, but Kroenen was… very antisematic, even before the Nazis." Melissa closed her eyes; "After Kroenen went to fight in the Great War I—Christine tried to find out about her mother, who apparently died of tuberculosis in London, when Christine was little. She was Jewish; my father murdered her when he found out."
"Oh God…" Liz whispered in horror.
"Killing Mother almost destroyed him. He went mad. He created me in an attempt to 'cleanse' his daughter. Christine ran away before he could kill her too, but I don't think he could have done it. Christine was worried what to tell Kroenen; she knew he'd kill her too if he knew."
"And she told him?"
"I don't know… If she did, then I guess he loved her enough at the time to let her escape," Melissa sighed, "His hatred must have festered into something evil over the years… and then he saw me."
Liz stared sadly at the battered shape-shifter, trying to think of something comforting to say that didn't sound like too much of a cliché.
Melissa turned her head to the raven-haired lady, "Is he dead?"
"I'll check." Liz turned and leaned her foamy torso out of the broken window, carefully avoiding the melted glass shards jutting out of the frame. Floors below on the dull concrete floor lay a pile of black ash, scorch marks on the side of the surrounding buildings mapping his downwards flight. "He looks pretty crispy. All I can see is a black pile of dust."
"Liz!"
The thundering of heavy footsteps gave way to a loud baritone as Hellboy yelled her name down the corridor. Liz stepped away from the window, "In here!"
Hellboy's massive red frame came into view, "Liz; you alright?"
"Fine, fine," Liz nodded, still half-covered in fire extinguisher foam. She smirked and ran up to the daemon and gave him a bear hug, "Where's a big red lummox when you need one? We had to defeat Kroenen all on our own, you know."
"Yeah, I saw the fireworks. Ah great, now I've got white foam crap on me."
"It washes out," Liz smiled.
"How's Mousy holding up?"
"She's alive."
"Hey," Melissa called lamely, waving her bandaged stump of an arm.
"Good job on killing pin-head," Hellboy smiled quietly to Liz, who shrugged; "It was a team effort."
Abe's head poked its way around the doorframe; "Melissa?"
The shape-shifter's head turned, a silly grin growing on her pale face, "Abe—"
"We shouldn't have left, I know! We didn't know that Kroenen was still out there and we didn't leave any backup, I know, but we know never to do that in future—"
"Stop it!" Melissa laughed, "It's okay; Liz fired him."
Abe blinked both sets of eyelids, "You remembered…"
Melissa nodded, "Yeah, timing couldn't have been better either." She stretched her arm out to hug the ichthyoid and was promptly smothered by blue fish.
"So, you're a clone then, are you?" Hellboy stated from across the room, lighting a cigar right beside a 'no smoking' sign. Melissa nodded silently on Abe's shoulder. Hellboy took a long drag from the cigar and puffed it skywards. Hellboy chuckled; "I guess that means you bet Dolly to first sheep way back."
Melissa laughed softly, hugging Abe tighter.
A trail of the smoke from Hellboy's cigar wandered harmlessly up into the ceiling and triggered the sprinkler system. Hellboy made a pouty face at the sight of his soggy cigar.
"They found Kroenen's… remains," Myers announced from the doorway, holding a bunch of papers above his head to avoid getting wet; "All that's left is the clockwork; it looks kinda cool actually."
"Off his head, just to be sure," Hellboy ordered, muttering to himself, "Damn pin-head never stays down."
"Well that's when you fought him, Red. Melissa and I managed to dispose of him without even breaking a sweat," Liz smirked coyly in the rain of the sprinkler system.
"He hit you," Abe murmured, examining the dark bruise on Melissa's face.
"Just don't touch it," the shape-shifter scalded, jerking her head back.
"I'm glad you're alright…"
Melissa's smile softened, "Me too."
The ichthyoid slipped undetected into her mind, filing through the events that had just passed. He heard the German words Kroenen had spoken to Melissa; 'I know what your father did, Christine. He cleansed you. As long as you purify your thoughts there is nothing I can hold against you. I've missed you for so long, Christine.'
'I am not Christine and I do not care if you miss her; you chose prejudice over love, how you suffer is your own problem, don't try to pull me into it.'
'I thought you remembered whom you were, Christine. You certainly gave the impression of it.'
'You almost ruined Christine's life and you've hunted me almost to extinction. Go to hell.'
Epilogue
"Dr Foreman? How is she?"
"She's recovering, Abe, just like she was five minutes ago," the blonde woman gently admonished.
The ichthyoid relaxed back into his seat, ignoring the burn of his parched skin sticking to the warm leather; "Will she be able to grow her arm back?"
Dr Foreman shrugged her small shoulders, "I don't know, Abe. I don't know if she will ever be able to change her shape or do any of those fancy tricks ever again, who knows. She might change into an animal and get stuck that way. The surgeons weren't able to find anything that could help her; they're as much in the dark about this as you and I."
Abe sighed dejectedly, resting his chin on his hands. Dr Foreman looked sceptically at the fish-man; "Abe… how long have you been out of your tank?"
"Not—"
"I want you back in it, right now," Dr Foreman smirked coyly, "It's not going to make her any better knowing that you're shrivelling up for her."
The ichthyoid scowled darkly up at the squat woman half his height. He stood up slowly, the clammy skin of his thighs sticking to the chair before peeling painfully away from the leather surface.
"I'll call you if there's any progress in Melissa's health, alright?"
"Please do so. I will be in my tank," Abe replied moodily, stalking off in the direction of the library.
Abe climbed sluggishly up the spiral staircase leading to his tank, 'What if she never heals completely? What if she can no longer change her shape? Will Manning order her out?' Abe slipped gracefully into the water, sighing contentedly as the cool liquid soothed his itching skin.
Two hands with vice-like grips grabbed Abe roughly from behind. Bubbles erupted from Abe's mouth as he cried out in shock and spun about—and came nose-to-nose with a mermaid. Melissa laughed silently, the gills on her neck fluttering. Abe simply stared at her with his jaw hanging loose.
The shape-shifter grinned; it was obvious that she had gotten the mix right. While she tried to replicate how Abe looked, she had kept her chestnut hair and kept her palms smooth. Dark green freckles in similar formations to Abe's stripes accented her light peppermint skin. Melissa blinked both sets of eyelids over her large, grey eyes. She blushed; "It is really hard to find a swimsuit that doesn't squash the fins, isn't it?"
Fin
Thank you everyone for all your wonderful reviews: D I wouldn't have made it to the end without you guys! Hoped you like the trip; it was a huge amount of fun to write! If anyone wants me, I'm on Deviant Art as psycho-llama. or email me at ahyland Your hopes have been answered! It has been carried on, and finished : )
epalladino: Thank you so much! Don't worry, I'll try to vet my words more carefully, and no more innocent characters shall be aquatinted! I fixed the error, thank you again!
ToTaKeKe13: :D thank you!
Flyingfish15: Lol, I hope that I remembered to explain everything…
Blu Embyr: It's fin! Thank you for reading!
theshadowcat: Aw, thank you!
amyltrer: Oh yes! You read my mind! Everyone else is worried about how they are going to ever stop Kroenen and then Liz just goes boom. Bada boom. Hope you like!
Firepup: glomp luff!
blade assassin: Thanks for reading: D
lt. commander richie: Thank you! Hope all is made clear now!
And thank you to Owlet for your email: D it is much appreciated!