Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, except for for Regina snd a few situations. All others, are property of Mignola and Guillermo del Toro, since it is based on the movie. Please don't sue me, pretty please! And do enjoy!
Prologue
Regina walked with a steady pace as she made her way down Warner St.. The earlier rainfall had brought wet sidewalks and streets. The sky was gray and cloudy, and there was a bit of a breeze. It was an ordinary late October afternoon in Newark, New Jersey.
Although everything seemed to be normal, Regina could tell other wise. She could fell a dark presence that was elusive, yet familiar, in a way.
"Probably just the day's mood," Regina thought to herself, "after all, it is Halloween!"
She continued down Warner until she reached Main St.. As she turned the corner onto Main, she paused at something in the corner store window. Gary's Prop and Pawn Shop was a very popular hangout for different kinds of people. The owner, Gary Carmichael, had opened the shop back in 1999, just in time for Christmas. Gary sold all sorts of interesting stuff. Things like electrical guitars and old television sets. Lava lamps, typewriters, old vinyl records and players, anything that might sell.
Not only was Gary's Prop and Pawn Shop a pawn shop, but a coffee bar as well. So, naturally, different kinds of people would come hangout at Gary's shop. Regina would usually come in every now and then for a good, hot cup of coffee. Like her best friend, Regina took her coffee black.
But today was different. Today, Regina saw on one of the television sets in the window, an image she knew all too well. Pat O'Connell hosted a show called "Pat! Here and Now," a rather small, yet popular one that seemed to focus mostly on public affairs. Today, Pat was talking about one of his favorite subjects, Hellboy! Some amateur photographer had taken a picture of the famed half man, half devil known as Hellboy, and who else did Pat have for his guest, none other than Tom Manning, Head of Special Operations for the F.B.I..
"There, that's the a…that's the tail, and a…these are the horns," says Pat, pointing to the blurred picture of Hellboy.
"I have a question." says Manning, gesturing to the screen, "Why is it, in these pictures, the pictures of aliens, UFO, the Yeti, a… Hellboy; Why is it they're always out of focus?"
"Nice come-back, Manning!" thought Regina as she continued watching the show, "Let's see what Pat says to that!"
"Why don't you tell us about the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense?" Pat asks, folding his hands and reading from a sheet of paper.
"Now I wanna to tell you, I wanna tell the American public…uh… one thing. Now this Bureau for the um….," Manning looks to Pat for help.
"Paranormal Research and Defense." says Pat, finishing off Manning's sentence. Manning nods in agreement. Then, pointing to the camera, and after a moment of hesitation, says, "There is no…such…thing!"
Immediately after hearing this, something popped into Regina's head. A mental picture of a tall square building with two bronze statues of mounted horsemen in front of it, both standing off to the sides, and what looked like an Olympic torch standing directly in front of it. The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. A place she knew all too well.
"Ah," said Regina, "Home, sweet home!"