Abe sat cross-legged on the foam mat, a thick leather book in his hand. On the cover there was no title, but an etched picture of a skull with waves radiating from it let anyone know, undoubtedly, what the book was about. Telepathy. An interesting subject in itself, something that most humans were capable of. Whether they wanted to do it or not, that was the kicker. But Abe's theory was that it would be easy for Radais to access the third eye and be able to use telepathy quite well, given her magic heritage. And she undoubtedly wanted to have a 'special skill', aside from the fact that she was ridiculously strong and fast and intelligent. She often complained about feeling 'too human'.

Truth be known, Abe didn't want much to do with the girl. He was only helping her because it would help the team. The hybrid was an enigma, a fluid mosaic of personality and emotion. She was the kind of person that would take you, give you wings, and spoil you for everyone else. Had Nuala been so different? Death itself was a traumatic experience for the living, but had she not spoiled him since before that moment? Abe fell further into thought, eyes focused on the dark leather grains of the book in his hand.

A loud smack, the sound of skin on the mat cover, roused Abe out of his brooding. Radais was on the floor, her golden hair loosed from its ponytail, struggling against the hands of a human karate instructor. A hiss, like that of a cat, came forth from her teeth and she raised her legs around his neck, pulling him off of her with tremendous force. He toppled backward, somersaulted, and came to rest on his back. He groaned mildly, as if he was more surprised than injured. Radais leapt up and ran over to him, her face distorted with concern.

"Oh, gosh, Jason! Are you okay?" she asked the young man, extending her hand to help him up. He commented that it would take more than that to knock him out, and the two proceeded into another sparring match.

"Whatcha got there?"

Abe looked to see the speaker, Red, who was looking over his shoulder at the book.

"Oh, it's you," he said, thankful that it wasn't Manning, "Um, this," he raised the thick volume into the light, "Is a book for Radais. It's about telepathy. I think she's be very adept at it."

"Hmmm," Red considered, scratching the base of one sawed-off horn, "Think she'll go for it?"

"Why wouldn't she? She's absolutely desperate to bring something to the table besides the obvious."

"Yeah, true. She does complain. But I dunno if I'm comfortable with her in my head," Red said jokingly.

"I doubt she'll be able to do that," Abe said, not hinting that he accepted the joke, "Hardly anyone can."

"It was a joke, Abe. Relax," Red said, glaring at her friend. Radais had been at the bureau for two weeks, give or take, and the entire time, Red had been trying to get Abe to spend some time with the fascinating hybrid.

Just then, Radais finally managed to put the young and fit Jason on the ground, then danced over to where Red and Abe were sitting.

"Did you see that?" she said happily. Red, who was happy to see her so excited, smiled and nodded. Abe stared passed the girl and didn't say anything.

"So, um, I think we should have a movie night, ya know, with popcorn and junk food and stuff? I know the perfect movie, it's this scary movie about a killer ghost on a subway train, it looks pretty good."

"Sounds like a blast. We can try to do it tonight, Liz and I have nothin' else to do. I'll ask around," Hellboy said supportively. He nudged Abe hard in the back.

"Hm?" said Abe, waking from his space-out, "Oh, um, sounds great, but I'm busy."

Red grimaced. Abe and him would have words, shortly.

Radais looked a little down-hearted, her elated manner cooling into her normal sarcasm. "Oh, that's okay. Nothin' says you have to come, anyway."

Abe stood, his eyes dim and his gills flared. He handed the book to Radais hastily, muttered something unintelligible, and walked out of the training room. Red followed, his jaw set, telling Radais that he had an issue to take care of.

Red finally cornered Abe in a small, lonely corridor, near Abe's library. He grabbed the fishman's shoulder with his flesh-and-blood hand, and Abe turned to face him, his expression bitter.

"Why won't you give that girl a chance?" Red growled.

"Cause she's trouble," Abe snarled back, his mood too poor to use proper grammar.

"Oh yeah? How do you know that? You don't know her."

"You do?"

"A hell of a lot better than you!" Red's tone was fierce, "She's funny, smart, a dreamer, the most compassionate thing I've met, everything you could possibly want in a woman."

"And what does that mean for me? I had my chance, Red! And I lost it!" Abe was shouting now, "She's the kind of person I don't want to be involved with, cause either way I'll get hurt!"

"All you do it whine about what was, what could have been, and you're too blind to see the future and what you have now!"

"I look at her and feel nothing! No emotion! Not of passion, not of interest, not of comradery. Hell, Red, I don't feel anything about anyone! I died with her, and there's no hope of anything!"

"There you go again, giving up! If you actually tried to live, maybe you'd find happiness. Maybe not in the girl, but in something!"

"Nuala was my happiness!"

"Nuala's dead!"

Abe fell silent, recoiling as if he had been burned. His eyes closed and his head hung, and he appeared to be deflated, as if all the breath he had held, waiting for a sign from the princess, had suddenly come soaring out of his lungs.

"And she sure wouldn't've wanted this pathetic excuse for a life for you," Red finished, his tone kind. He seemed sad. Slowly, he turned and walked away, back to find Liz, away from the fishman, whose blood had turned to ice.