Author's note: Professor Broom is NOT dead in this storyline, and neither is Agent Clay - just for your information. How they survived the events of the first movie, is another story and will not be told here.

Part I: Bored to Death

Chapter: I'm going to strangle you!

Four months later:

Agent John Myers lay on his bed, staring at the roof in darkness.

The alarm clock went off, it's sharp sound startling him, even if he had been awake already. It had been one of those nights - he'd woken up to a nightmare at 2 am, and couldn't have slept since.

The nightmares were always the same. He died. He was shot, and he died, bled to death on the cold floor of an abandoned mansion, far far away from home. Too bad, that they weren't really nightmares, but memories. He'd talked to a shrink, sure - it was the procedure after you almost died doing the job - but it hadn't really helped. Besides, the nightmares weren't his biggest problem. The real problem was-

Don't think about her. he told himself. You were bleeding to death, and she left you. Take the hint.

With a long sigh, he sat up and turned off the alarm clock. 6am, rise and shine. He ran his fingers through his hair, got up of the bed and shuffled his feet to the bathroom.

Myers had a small two room apartment on the lower levels of BPRD, not that far from Broom's library or Hellboy's room. At first he had resented the thought of living here, on the underground tunnels, separated from the 'real' world. But soon he'd come to notice it was actually quite handy. You never knew when work called, and often it was on unearthly hours. Living at your workplace helped a lot with commuting.

But lately… this home hadn't really felt like home.

Nothing had felt like it had before. Not since he'd died, not since Margot had-

Do not think about her! Myers frowned at his face in the mirror while brushing his teeth. This was going to be one of those days, he knew. One of the day's she'd be in his thoughts no matter what he tried.

He left the bathroom, annoyed at himself, picked a shirt and a suit from his closet, a dark tie and black socks, and laid the clothes on his bed.

Margot.

He hadn't been able to forget about her. And God knew, he had tried.

During the painful weeks of his recovery in Prague, every time the door of his room had opened, his heart had stirred with hope that it would be her.

And after returning home, it had been even worse. With no real hope of meeting her, he had begun to see her everywhere. Every redheaded woman on the streets, every french conversation that caught his ear, made his heart jump. But it was never her.

It never would be her.

She had ripped his heart out of his chest, he knew, and it would never heal, unlike the injuries he'd gotten from the gun.

He took a look at the large mirror that hang on the wall. He was wearing only his underwear, and thus it was easy to spot the wounds. He raised his fingers to his right shoulder. Right there, under the collarbone, the bullet had entered. The bullet that had almost taken his life. There was an ugly, red, star shaped scar, and above it, a bigger one with marks of the stitches still there, marking the place where they'd cut him open trying to save his life.

The broken collar bone had healed by now, as had the broken ribs. The shattered ribs, that had sliced his lungs and almost made him choke to his own blood.

Myers let his fingers move to his arm. Another bullet hole there, on his bicep, close to his shoulder. It had broken his humerus - the cast had come off just a few weeks ago, and there was still a titan pin holding the bone in one piece. The arm still seemed weak, gone were the strong, lean muscles - though he knew they'd grow back now that he had the permission to hit the gym again.

His eyes wandered to the next scar on his body. On the left side of his lower abdomen, near his hipbone, the bullet had entered. By miracle it had missed his guts, but ripped open his side as it had exited. The scar made by the bullet was lost under a bigger one, an operation wound. They'd stitched him together, the muscle and the skin, the ripped veins and tissues. A big ugly scar went around his side, still red and raw, even if it had been four months already.

And then, the last. Myers' finger brushed the spot lightly, on the upper part of his left thigh. It had been nothing but a muscle wound, but still a painful one. The bullet had ripped through his thigh, barely missing the femoral artery. "You were lucky." had the surgeon said. "Had it cut the artery, you would've bled to death in two minutes."

Lucky. Yeah, right.

Myers gave a small, bitter smile at his image in the mirror. He'd felt many emotions during these months, but lucky wasn't among them.

He still looked worn and pinched, his face pale and the dark shadows seemed permanent under his eyes these days. He'd lost weight too, most of it muscle, and he was so lean that all his clothes felt a bit baggy. He knew he should buy new ones, but just the thought of it felt exhausting.

Besides, it reminded him of the last time he'd bought a suit.

In Brussels, for Margot's birthday. The navy blue Massimo Dutti, that fit like a glove. She'd said it made him look great. Myers' shivered remembering the way Margot's hands had pulled the jacket off his shoulders, caressed his shoulders and arms, on their way down… And how it had felt, when she'd opened his pants, just to grab his-

Damn, what is wrong with you!? With an angry snort Myers turned his back to the mirror, and began to dress. Stop thinking about her already!

Why did everything remind him of her?

When would this stop?

He made a mental note to throw away the Massimo Dutti suit. At least then, there would be one less thing reminding him about her. But as he finished dressing, he knew it would make no difference.

Margot was in his mind, night and day, as if she'd left a tiny part of her soul inside of his, and he knew there was no escaping it.

Abe took a long look at his friend, silently observing, as was a habit of his.

John Myers was sitting by a large wooden desk, buried in a huge, old book, making notes in a notebook as he was reading. He was wearing his usual black suit and a blue tie, and every inch of him was just as punctual and sharp as Abe was used to seeing him.

But there was more than met the eye in John, Abe knew. He hadn't been the same since he'd returned from this mission in Europe. Yes, almost dying can change a man - Abe knew something about that himself - but he had the feeling there was more to it.

"What are you reading?" he asked, his voice muffled by the water in his tank, but Myers heard him still. He looked up from his book, and Abe noticed once again how pale he was.

"Ah, nothing." he shrugged. "Just this old book about Aztec gods. Professor Broom said there had been some weird sightings in central America, so I thought I'd check this out."

"That's interesting. What kind of sightings?" Abe replied.

"You should ask him, he knows better than me."

Myers turned his gaze back to his book, picked up his pen and continued what he'd been doing. This was how he'd been lately. Just work, no fun. Most of his time Myers spent either in the gym, in his own room, or buried in books in Brooms library, avoiding conversation and eye contact with practically everybody.

"John." Abe interrupted his work. "Would you mind turning pages for me?"

"Oh, sure." Myers got up, and walked closer. "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's quite alright. I have all the time in the world."

Abe observed as Myers walked past the glass of his tank, and turned the pages of all four books he was currently reading, not meeting his eyes. His thoughts were not here, Abe knew. They were somewhere else entirely - in Europe, to be specific.

"Why didn't you tell me you met a girl, John?"

"Stay out of my head, Abe." Myers snapped, but his cheeks blushed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." Abe was silent for a while. "But sometimes I catch a thought, or a feeling, if it's very strong."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Myers' voice was strained, and his posture stiff as he walked back to his desk, and sat down. He lowered his gaze back his book, but Abe saw he wasn't really reading.

"She's very beautiful." Abe said silently, as Myers turned a page.

"I told you, stay out of it." There was a warning tone in his voice.

"Ah. But this is important, isn't it John?"

"And none of your business."

"I see." Abe pondered on his words for a few moments. "I wonder if you know, that she saved your life?"

Now he'd gotten Myers' interest. He looked up from his book, a dark look in his beautiful, blue eyes. "She what?"

"You died, didn't you? Your heart stopped. Did you ever wonder, how did it start beating again?"

"The did CPR, so-"

"John." Abe interrupted. "I can see her fingerprints all over your heart."

Myers blinked a few times, his face suddenly pale.

"What do you mean, Abe?"

"Come closer." Abe asked. He placed his hand against the glass of his tank, and Myers, hesitating, stood up and walked to him. He pressed his palm to the glass, so that they were almost touching, just the thin layer of glass between them.

"Yes, it is as I thought" Abe said, after a few heart beats. "She revived you. And she fixed you. You would've bled to death on that hallway, if she hadn't used her powers to save you. It took all she had, though. She almost died bringing you back."

Myers looked up to his eyes, and Abe noticed something dark in them. An intensity he hadn't seen before.

"She almost died?" he asked.

"Yes." Abe replied. "How come you didn't know this?"

Myers shook his head. "They told me she left! But why-?"

"Don't ask me." Abe said. "I wasn't there. But I bet there is someone here who can give you answers."

"Christ!" Myers cursed. His cheeks were burning now with emotion. "I'm going to kill Red. And Kat wagner!"

With that he took off, running out of the library, leaving Abe alone in the now quiet room.

"Don't thank me." Abe said, though no one was there to hear him.

Myers pushed the door open violently, and stepped inside with a face that immediately made Kat (who was at the moment in her normal human form) stood up from HB's bed where she'd been slacking, reading comics with Red.

"Myers?" she asked, taking a look of his pale face and burning cheeks. "Hey, what is it?"

"I'm going to strangle you!" Myers groaned, pointing a finger at Kat.

"Hey!" protested Hellboy. "That's my girl you're talking to."

"Yeah? Well, I'm going to strangle you too!"

Hellboy tried to hide his grin. "You can try, wimp, with your one functional arm."

"Stop that." said Kat, giving both of the guys an angry glance. "What is it, Myers. Why do you wanna kill people? And before lunchtime? It really isn't like you."

"Because you both knew that I died, and Margot brought me back from the dead by fixing my guts for me? And you didn't tell me!"

An uncomfortable silence fell to the room.

"Oh, that." Kat said. "Damn."

"So it's true then?" Myers asked, still having hard time believing his ears. "You're not denying it?"

"Yeah, it's true." said Hellboy, making a face. "Sorry."

Well this is just great. Damn great.

"Four months!?" Myers shouted, losing his temper. "Four months have passed, and neither of you thought I should know what actually happened?"

Kat seemed really awkward. "Margot told us you were not to know."

"Yeah?! And when has that ever stopped you before?"

"This is different. She's my friend. Besides, she said it was either this, or she'd wipe my mind. And I hate that thing." Kat rolled her eyes at Myers. "I didn't want her messing with my brain."

"She couldn't have done that through the phone!"

Kat was silent for a few heartbeats. "True. Damn!"

The anger was now leaving Myers' body. Kat seemed so damn miserable, and Hellboy was busying himself feeding his cats, clearly avoiding Myers' eyes. It wasn't their fault, really. They were his friends - they had been here for him every day, through all of his recovery, the worst and most horrible parts of it, never complaining. This was all Margot - she'd made these two keep the secret.

"But why?" Myers' tone was desperate now. "Why put her own life at risk like that? Why bring me back from the dead, and not tell me? "

"Because she's in love with you, you moron!" snapped Kat.

Myers froze. His heart skipped a few beats.

"She's… what?"

"In love with you, moron." That was Hellboy. "Can't believe you didn't get that."

"Are you serious?"

Myers glanced from Kat to Hellboy and back, and suddenly he felt dizzy. He had to sit down - his rapid heart beats were like wings of a hummingbird, and his cheeks were burning.

"Of course I'm serious." said Kat, sitting down by his side. "I've been listening to her whining after you over the phone these last four months, so yeah, I've got a pretty clear picture of what's going on."

She's in love with me. It took some time for that thought to sink in. She's in love with me!

"Why didn't she say so?" Myers looked up to Kat. "She knew how I felt about her. I told her I loved her. Why send me away, and make me think she didn't want me?"

"Because she's a nutcase!" Kat rolled her eyes. "That's why."

"Hey!" Myers protested. "She's not a nutcase."

"Well she's not a normal person either. And stop interrupting me all the time if you want some answers. I might as well tell you all now, she's gonna strangle me anyways."

Myers couldn't help but to smile to that image. "Please, do."

"I've known Margot for a few years now." Kat began, her pale face suddenly serious. She pulled her black hair back behind her ears. "We met on this training camp, and somehow neither of us really fit in, so we befriended. We've become quite close during these years, so I think I have some insight on her thoughts."

Myers said nothing, partly because he didn't want to interrupt her again, partly because he still found it hard to say anything at all, but he gave Kat a small, encouraging nod.

"There are two things you should know about Margot." Kat continued. "The first is, that she's always afraid she'll go nuts, turn to the dark side, and start killing people. And she doesn't want to drag anyone with her. Hence, no serious relationships."

"A dark sith?" Myers gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I can live with that. What's the other thing?"

"She doesn't believe anyone could really love her."

"Why?"

"Because she's a telepath. She's sending out her own feelings all the time, and thus whenever someone is interested in her, she thinks they're just mirroring her emotions. Then it would not be 'real love', but just her subconscious luring people to want her."

"What?" Myers could hardly believe his ears. "That's nuts."

Kat shrugged. "That's what I said."

"But even if that was the case, and I just wanted her because she wanted me-" Myers blushed remembering the passion between them on their short time together. "- it could hardly affect me anymore, right?"

"Duh." Kat said. "You would've gotten over her the minute she left you."

"Well, are you, kid?" Asked Hellboy. "Over her?"

Myers shook his head, staring silently at the opposite wall.

"No." His voice was nothing but a faint whisper. "How could I be?"

Myers took a deep breath, and leaned his head to his hands.

He remembered now, remembered her voice in the darkness, calling his name. And he had followed her, through pain and through death, fought his way back to her from the other side.

"Myers, you ok?" asked Hellboy. He was still holding a can of catfood in his hand, and there were several cats winding in his feet, meowing loudly.

"No." he replied. "But I will be."

"Right." said Kat, and stood up to pick her phone from the table. "Time to put an end to this stupidity. You're gonna call her right now."

"Nope." Myers stood up, suddenly feeling resolute. "I'm going to Europe."

"Even better." stated Kat, and gave him a wide grin, revealing her white canine teeth. "Besides, we have a job there, Red and me."

"You do?" Myers asked. Suddenly his heart felt light, and there was a smile in his face, the first one in ages. "What job?"

"Iku-Turso!" Kat laughed. "Can you believe it?"

"No." he replied, still smiling. "It's not real."

"Well, apparently it is. And we're going to take care of it."

"You'd better take a picture for Margot then." Myers stated. "She's gonna go mental if you don't."

He walked to the door, and pulled it open, only turning to look behind him once more.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked. "Start packing, for I'm going to tell Manning we're leaving tonight. And he'd better let us take the plane!"