Surrounded by racks of weapons, Abe, Ariel, Hellboy and Liz suit up, tight-lipped and grumpy, Liz dons black army pants and a leather jacket. She jams an automatic handgun into her utility belt.
They move into a vast garage, big as a stadium. It houses a fleet of planes, cars, boats, helicopters and tanks. They load weapons and ammo on board their usual transport/mobile quarters - a garbage truck. The perfect gentleman, Hellboy holds the door open for Liz, but lets it slam in Ariel face and snickered when she comes out glaring at him.
"Oh real mature." Ariel snapped rubbing her forehead where the door had hit before she could stop it.
"Red! Red! Hold on a sec." Manning called out running to catch up with them.
"Oh jeeze, its Manning, watch yourself Liz." Red grumbled.
"Red, listen." Manning said falling into step next to them.
"Manning." Red acknowledged.
"Hi. We're going downtown Manhattan..." Manning said nervously.
"Yeah, it'll be fun." Hellboy commented.
"Downtown. Very dangerous. Dangerous for you…and for me." Manning stuttered out. "I know you dream of the outside world, but trust me…it's not that great. It's savage ... as a matter of fact and bad." Ariel and Liz walked over to some equipment leaving the two behind to talk. "These ... on the other hand…" Manning said pulling out some cigars. "…are good. Cuban…being seen...bad. I confiscated a box of these. I get you some more, but you got do me a little favor. Tonight out there, you have to be ... be very, very …"
"Discreet." Abe said as he passed by.
"Thank you." Manning said.
"You're welcome." Abe said walking on to their transportation.
"Discreet. Invisible. In and out." Hellboy nodded.
"Really?" Liz scoffed as she walked by.
"I can be discreet, if I wanna be." Hellboy replied.
"Oh dearest brother," Ariel said as she walked over to him and gave him a hug while smiling up at him. "No you can't."
Hellboy tried to pop Ariel upside the head again, but failed again when she flipped out of his way with a smirk before following after Liz.
"I followed Liz and Myers, didn't I?" Hellboy called out.
"And then you have him transferred to Antarctica." Liz shot back. "That's very discreet."
"He said he liked the cold." Hellboy waved her off then looked to Manning taking one of the cigars. "Like a shadow." He started to walk away then came back taking another. "Like a shadow in the night."
Hellboy took another cigar then walked away to the truck which had been refurbished with more high-tech equipment. The engine starts and the headlights blaze as they took off for the auction house.
-0-
The cops have surrounded the building and helicopters hover overhead. The BPRD garbage truck pulls to stop, completely refurbished, with a bank of monitors and a large digital world map, tracking each Paranormal. As soon as they arrived they were ushered into the building and up to the scene of the crime making sure that none of them were seen.
"Whoah." Ariel waved her hand in front of her face. "That is pungent."
"Jeeze, it stinks in here!" Hellboy agreed wrinkling his nose in disgust. "This is worse than my room."
"It runs a close second." Ariel said pinching her nose.
"Oh come on…" Hellboy shot her a look.
"When was the last time you cleaned a litterbox?" Ariel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I…uh…shut up." Red replied.
"That's what I thought." Ariel said as they started to gather their weapons. She strapped her short swords on her back, her sleek pistols with the saying 'Judge Jury and Executioner' engraved on them went into her hip holsters, and she had new knives; two in each boot, two strapped to each thigh, and one strapped to each forearm.
"Say cheese!" Abe said pointing a large camera like object at Liz and Ariel, both who smiled wrapping their arms around each other as he snapped a shot before moving into the main room.
"Let's go!" Liz said walking past Red who locked and loaded on of his big guns. Liz and Abe paired off with a couple of agents going one way while Ariel went off with red all guns drawn.
"Whatever they called us for, it's over." Ariel commented over the comm.
"Over 70 guests reported. We have no survivors, no bodies ..." Liz added as they searched the rooms.
"Same story here, babe." Red said.
"Don't call me, babe." Liz replied.
"Abe. I said, Abe!" Red tried to cover as he fiddled with his comm. "Wrong channel." He let out a sigh. "Abe, I think Liz is still mad at me."
"Still the same channel." Liz deadpanned as Red winced.
"Can I ask you a question?" Red asked breaking the silence they had fallen into.
"No." Liz replied.
"Listen. When we get home later, I'm gonna clean up the whole mess." Red offered.
"It's not the problem." Liz snapped.
"What is it?" Red asked.
"Not now." Liz shut him down then switched off her comm. making Red groan.
"Ariel, you're a girl right?" Red said coming over to his sister who was looking into another room.
"Last time I checked." Ariel replied.
"Well then what's wrong with Liz? Why's she so mad at me?" Red asked her.
"That you have to ask what's wrong and don't intuitively know what's wrong that's what wrong." Ariel replied.
"What the hell does that even mean?!" Red looked to Ariel.
"This is one of those things that is strictly between you and Liz." Ariel said moving on leaving an annoyed Red behind
"A fat load of help you are." HellBoy grumbled as he followed her.
-0-
"Abe, what do we got?" Liz said walking up to Abe who was looking over a tall box with a gold tree on it.
"This is interesting. Both boxes have the royal seal, only delivered at time of war." Abe replied as he took a picture of the box and handing the pictures to Liz. A strange noise heightened the ominous setting brought on by the news. Abe took off his glove and spread out his hand scanning the room.
"Red, Ariel..." Abe said over the comm. "We have company."
"What are they?" Ariel asked.
"Come on, Blue, give us something to work with here." Red said as he held up his gun.
"Burrowing creatures." Abe said as he grabbed a book.
"How many of them?" Ariel asked tightening her hold on her guns.
"Many." Abe replied. "There are no corpses, because there are no leftovers. Have you noticed the floor?"
"Oh, crap!" Red and Ariel exchanged disgusted looks at they raised their feet looking down at the slimy substance coating the soles.
"Precisely." Abe nodded. "All these things do is eat and eat, then poo, and then eat again."
"That is disgusting." Ariel winced.
"Remind you of anyone?" Liz said sarcastically.
"Just one person that I know of." Ariel caught on.
"Abe, what are these things?" Red snapped as they whirled around catching movement on the fertility statue behind them.
"Calcioda Calcarea." Abe replied.
"English, English." Red snapped.
"They are toothfaires." Ariel translated.
"Ha." Red scoffed.
"No, no. Third century, the Black forest, feed mostly on calcium: bones, skin, organs. But they do go for the teeth first. Hence the name toothfaires." Abe explained.
"I bet you they don't leave money, either." Liz commented.
"But what they do leave behind the leave in abundance." Ariel said as her eyes scanned their surroundings. "What do you got Marble?"
"I think I may have found one." Marble replied as he walked over to a fallen chair where one of the toothfairies was foraging for food in the feces. "He is kind of cute."
"Don't go near it." Red tried to stop him, but it was too late. It attacked Marble biting his chest.
"It's gnawing me!" Marble screamed as Red grabbed the fairy crushing it in his stone hand until its head popped.
"They're swarming." Ariel said as fairies filled the air. She aimed her guns and started to take them out as quickly as she could at the same time trying to keep them from eating her. She holstered the guns unable to re-load them and took out her swords cutting through the fairies before they could reach her.
"Red, we need you here." Liz called out.
"Nasty little..." Red seethed as they were bit all over. They overwhelmed Marble killing him as they ate him.
"Damn." Ariel and Red said in shock as she saw what was left of Marble.
"Keep firing Red!" Ariel called out.
"I got a better idea." Red said running up to the fertility statue throwing of his jacket as Ariel kept him covered. Red pushed the statue on top of the little monsters crushing them. "Sorry, lady."
"Red, this way. The others are on the other side of that wall." Ariel called out slashing down more of the creatures. Red pushed the statue rolling it through the wall crushing fairies as he went, Ariel staying close on his tail. Ariel saw Liz on fire and knew what was about to happen.
"You should be running." Liz said as the fire consumed her.
"There is a safe upstairs." Steel said.
"How do we get there?" Ariel asked cutting a few more fairies in half.
"This way." Steel said pointing to the stairs. "Up to the safe. Now!"
"Abe, Ariel, upstairs." Liz ordered.
"On our way." Steel called out.
"Follow me and stay close." Ariel said as her blades started to move in a blur mowing down any fairies who came near them.
"Come on, Liz, burn them all." Hellboy called out. "Go! Go!"
"Yes, we're going." Abe replied still shooting.
"In the safe, both of you, now." Steel ordered right before he was overwhelmed and dragged down the stairs by a hoard.
"Steel." Ariel called out, but could do nothing.
"Ariel, hurry, come on." Abe called out as he shot the fairies, Ariel still using her swords as the ducked into the safe and tried to pull the door shut while keeping the fairies out. "Damned beasts!"
"Fire is mine. Fire is in me." Liz chanted. "Red, stay away from the window!"
"Stop biting me." Ariel snapped squishing the creatures, still struggling with the door.
"World ... here I come." Red said right before Liz exploded sending him through the window.
Abe and Ariel pulled with all their might, but it was the blast of fire that forced the vault shut with a slam Abe grabbing Ariel and pulling her back from the blast, both sent back, Ariel falling on top of Abe his arms wrapped around her as they fell to the ground panting hard.
"Thanks for the save love." Ariel smiled kissing him on the cheek before she stood up, loving the way his breathing apparatus filled with bubbles as he sat up pecking her on the lips making her smile grow.
"Any time my dear." Abe replied standing up and helping Ariel up as well then going to the door.
"I think it's clear." Ariel said after listening at the door. Abe helped her open the door and they crept down the stairs past burnt remnants of the fairies over to where Liz was standing starring out a smashed window angrily.
"Oh dear." Abe commented.
"Please don't tell me…" Ariel snarled as she spotted Red standing on the smashed police car as the News swarmed around him.
"What have you done?" Manning snapped.
"Guess we're out." Red smirked back.
To say that Ariel, Abe, and Liz were in a state of shock as they walked out of the building only to be immediately set upon by the press and bystanders was an understatement. Ariel looked to Abe as pieces of paper were shoved into their hands with pens for their signatures and flashes of camera went off in their faces.
"Ariel." Liz said uneasily shifting closer to the other woman. Ariel wrapped her arm around her pulling her close.
"Abe, stay close." Ariel said as she strong armed her way past the people till they reached the truck. She got Liz and Abe in making sure they were secure before stalking off to find her brother.
"Hey sis, isn't this great." Red grinned as Ariel came up to him with a smile then leaned in close so the reporters couldn't hear.
"You get in that truck and you get in it now." Ariel said darkly though her face was bright.
"But…" Red started.
"I said now." Ariel ground out her eyes flashing and reluctantly Red did as he was told, but stopped a few times to talk before Ariel grabbed him by his tail and painfully forced him back to the truck.