Obligatory Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Mr. Mignola own all, save for my own original characters. A special thank you to Guillermo del Toro for bringing this wonderful character to my attention.

Much to Hellboy's chagrin, the two ladies opted to spend the next part of the afternoon in what everyone still referred to as Professor Broom's library.

When Kate had made mention of a specific book title, Torie responded with curiosity and they were off. The two women tried cajoling Hellboy into joining them, but with a roll of his eyes he sent the two women on their way, claiming that he had more important things to be working on and this was just the break he needed. Secretly, he was thrilled and terrified that they were getting along so well. He just hoped that an afternoon of chatting didn't lead to an evening of drinks, with himself the focus of the conversation.

But he was also grateful for the time to do some research of his own. Torie had looked him up on the Internet, now it was his turn.

Back in his apartment, Hellboy slid his bulk into his oversized desk chair and turned his computer on. While he waited for it to fire up, Hellboy pressed a lever under the seat, allowing the chair to tilt back to a nearly 45-degree angle and then spun lazily in a circle. It was an interesting turn of events that afternoon and Hellboy's mind was still reeling.

Hellboy stopped his rotation when he saw his desktop screen appear. He then pulled a business card out of his wallet. There was her last name. James.

Why didn't I think any further about this New York office?

Hellboy scraped the edge of the card against his chin several times, contemplating what he was about to do. He wasn't really mad at Torie and the hurt that he felt was mostly irrational, but since there was that tiniest bit of doubt he proceeded to type in the address from the business card into Google.

Hellboy was surprised that it was the address to various organizations, all seeming to be of international rights organizations. He saw Torie's name listed as president of W.E.N.T., or Women Everywhere Need Training. His lips curved into a smile. Another organization, Women Helping Others Receive Education, bemused Hellboy. Not because of the work they did, of which Hellboy was greatly impressed, but the acronym the organization went by. Of course Torie would call her organization that!

Hellboy then typed her name into Google and wasn't surprised at the lack of current articles on her. But there were a number of older ones and, with a deep sigh, he clicked on the first link that appeared.

It was a news article on the death of her parents. The story carried very little information about Torie, but it did include a picture of her exiting the morgue after identifying her parents. It had never occurred to him that her parents had died together, so he began reading the piece.

Brutal Double Murder Shocks Medical Community

The vicious execution of internationally renown medical doctors inside their New Orleans residence has left police officers stumped and the medical community, as well as the disadvantaged peoples the doctors cared for, stunned. Police found Dr. Michael James, 68, stabbed to death from multiple knife wounds in his kitchen and his wife Diane, 65, beaten over the head with a blunt object numerous times in their bedroom.

The bodies were discovered after police broke into the home when their neighbor heard shouts Sunday morning. No one answered the door when the neighbor knocked repeatedly. The neighbor immediately called 911.

Criminal Investigation Department head Senior Commissioner Mike Towelly said police rushed to the scene.

"The James' neighbor was outside, getting ready to go to church, when she heard muffled shouts coming from within their home. After waiting a few moments to see if she'd hear more, the neighbor went next door to investigate. When no one responded, the neighbor called 911."

Police are waiting for family members to determine if any of the victims' belongings were missing, which will help determine motive.

The Drs. James have toed the international spotlight through their charitable work in poverty-stricken areas around the globe through the medical organization they founded, MD – Must Do, as well as their ability to warm the hearts of the governments they plead with to dispatch further funding for the people they doctor. Through the doctors' advocacy, numerous governments worldwide have increased their budgets in medical spending on their countries' underprivileged.

The neighbor who alerted the police, Alice Mourton, said that despite the couple's travels, she felt that they were close friends. "I might not see them for months at a time, but they were good, kind people and always had a smile and a wave. And I never saw one without the other. They cared deeply for each other and for those around them. It's a huge loss for all of us, but it's a comfort to know that at least they're still together."

The couple leaves behind one daughter, humanitarian Victoria James, who as of press time has refused all comments.

He closed his eyes and began to mentally chew himself out. He should have asked. He should have cared. He should have…

No! She has had plenty of opportunity to talk about her folks. If she wanted me to know something, anything, all she would have to do is tell me. I won't pry and if she isn't ready to talk about it with me, that's her call. But maybe I can try to let her know that I'll listen when she's ready to mention it.

Hellboy opened his eyes and looked at the picture one more time. She was dressed all in black, but her mourning outfit was far from conservative. Rather, the clothes were trendy, the shoes were almost sexy and despite sadness tingeing her eyes, there was a look of defiance radiating off of her. She looked proper, but quite different than those in the picture with her. He smiled involuntarily at how proud he was of her for standing her feminist ground.

He went back to his search results and read several other articles on the death of Torie's parents. From what Hellboy could gather, the deaths, which happened almost three years ago, were still unsolved. Most of the articles said the same thing, just sometimes in more creative ways, but one article made reference to a stolen item from the home – an African totem. A picture of the doctors receiving the gift in appreciation from a village elder accompanied the article. Hellboy printed the picture, thinking he might be able to research the totem further and possibly figure out an angle that others might have missed. I'll have to get their file and take a look.

Clicking back to his search results, Hellboy clicked on another link. This time, it was the text of a commencement address Torie gave at a small, all-women's university that Hellboy had never heard of, located somewhere in the nearby New England area, where she received an honorary doctorate in Sociology. He was less interested in where the school was and more interested in Torie's speech. With a smile, he read the opening paragraph before deciding to print it out for later reading.

"On behalf of President Dr. Michael Frost, the Board of Curators, The University and all of you, I would like to take this moment to say – I hate public speaking. But who in their right minds would turn down the opportunity to give a commencement address to a large group of people, most of whom are without a job as of this date and are expecting me to come forth with words of wisdom and advice in order to help them achieve their goals? No pressure. No pressure at all. Only, they picked a person who hasn't held down a steady job in her whole entire life!"

Among the cluster of news articles related to the commencement address, Hellboy was able to ascertain that Torie received her Bachelor's degree in Gender Studies and her Master's in Women's Studies. Opting against getting her Doctorate for fear of appearing too pretentious to those she was helping, Torie nonetheless received three honorary Doctorates from American universities in the past five years.

Next in his search results were articles on her nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. While certainly not the youngest ever nominated, the articles were plentiful and in-depth, due mostly to her parents' high visibility. How many kids not only think to create a job-training program, but can actually pull it off? Skimming through the articles, Hellboy discovered that it wasn't so much a skills program that Torie created, but an institute that gave uniformity to a variety of products and channels of distribution to various worldwide cultures, thus empowering women to become self-sufficient.

Clicking back to his search results, his next find was an article on the symposium Torie had attended in Edinburgh with Kate. No mention of Torie in the article, although Kate was referenced more than once, but a picture of Torie was included in a sidebar. In the picture, a beaming Torie had her arm around the waist of a bespectacled handsome man captioned as "Dr. Erik Cherot." The article was about the role men were taking in the study of feminism.

Hellboy rubbed his chin, involuntarily pulling on his soul patch, as he regarded the picture of Torie and the man. He hated the feeling of jealousy rumbling in the pit of his stomach. They're just friends. He sighed. It didn't matter; he and Torie were just friends and to wish for anything more was just folly. Besides, it wasn't what Torie did for a living or studied that would keep them apart, it was what he did. No woman would want to be involved with a man who faced death as often as he did.

Actually, you should call a spade a spade. She won't end up with you because of how you look. Nothing more. Nothing less.

After a moment, I wonder if she slept with him.

He shook his head and clicked back to the search results. No point in wallowing in a pointless fairy tale. Torie was one of the dearest friends he could ask for and seemed uninterested in a relationship with anyone. She had told him that her friend Monica continuously tried to set Torie up with a variety of people – long distance – but there was no interest to date anyone at this point. Hellboy grimaced at the computer screen and clicked on another link. This time, it was an article Torie had written for Ms. magazine. Good, no boys allowed.

The article was about the epidemic of obesity and sexual repression of the American woman versus her European counterpart. He printed the article for later reading and went back to look for more article and essays Torie had written. Not a big reader, he nevertheless was interested in what impassioned Torie enough to put down in black and white, as well as the way she wrote. After printing out over ten commentaries, Hellboy stretched and stood up. Feeling antsy, he eyed his fitness equipment with contempt. Maybe he should go find Liz and see if she could help make his head straight. Kate said she would call his cell phone when she and Torie were done "bonding." Hellboy had wanted to smack Kate for making air quotation marks to emphasis her words.

Entering the corridor, Hellboy nodded at two agents who paused their conversation to acknowledge their superior. Usually, Hellboy would have chatted briefly, but he just strode past them, much to their confusion.

Reaching Liz's door, he knocked gently.

"It's open!"

Hellboy walked into Liz's apartment and instantly felt a sense of peace. Minimally decorated with muted colors, Liz had created an oasis of serenity in the bowels of the Bureau's headquarters. Liz was tucked up in an overstuffed chair, reading. She slipped a bookmark into the pages and set the book down on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her chest, Liz stood up and walked into her kitchen, opened her fridge and pulled out a beer for her friend. Extending the bottle to Hellboy, she asked, "What's up?"

Hellboy took the beer without comment and plopped himself down on her oversized couch. He took a long pull on his beer, then slid his bulk lower on the sofa so that his head was resting on the low back and his rear was halfway on the seat. Liz was patient as she waited for an answer, making tea to fill the silence.

He sighed in frustration before answering. "Torie and Kate already knew each other."

Liz grabbed her mug of hot tea and crossed the room, sitting down next to her friend. She looked into his golden eyes, filled with confusion and pain, and her fingertips gently touched his furrowed brow. "And that's bad, how?"

Hellboy broke away from Liz's touch by leaning forward and setting his empty bottle on her coffee table. He knew it was going to sound dumb when he explained, but he only hoped that Liz would make clear, in finite detail, as to why he was bent out of shape over nothing.

"Torie was one of the speakers at a convention Kate was at a couple years back," he said quietly.

Liz digested Hellboy's statement and carefully formulated her response. When Hellboy was moody, it was best to tread lightly, lest you incur his wrath. "That is surprising, I have to admit, given that she works at a woman's shelter. What did she speak about? And… where is she? She didn't leave already, did she?"

Hellboy wanted a cigar something fierce, but knew better than to light up in Liz's apartment. Instead, he stood and began pacing, his tail swishing in an angry rhythm. "Naw, she and Kate are in Father's library, pouring over some of his books. And… she spoke on the creation of the first woman in different cultures."

Liz grabbed a cushion and set it on her lap, her mug of hot tea resting on top. She could see that Hellboy was very agitated and was beginning to see that it wasn't Torie and Kate knowing each other that upset him, but something much deeper. The only thing she could do is let Hellboy work out the problem on his own, while acting as a soundboard for his ideas.

"Red, is that what's stuck in your craw? The fact that she lectured at a conference Kate also spoke at?" Liz acted all wide-eyed confusion, knowing that Hellboy would descend upon the question and obsess over every little detail before coming to peace with it, as he always did when upset over something beyond his control.

Hellboy stopped mid-stride in his pacing and looked daggers at Liz. "Yes, that's exactly why I'm upset. I don't want to be, but I just help but worry that Torie is keeping things from me because… because of the way I look."

Ah, the hated red skin, the despised horn stumps, the loathed tail. Liz pursed her lips and looked at her friend in sympathy. And frustration. There was nothing that she could say or do to make him accept his outside appearance any more than he already did – any more than she already had – but Liz hated the idea that his friendship with this Torie woman would end because of an innocent omission of a speech that was given a handful of years back.

"HB, then she wouldn't be your friend. Friends don't treat people like that. So she didn't tell you about stuff she did before meeting you. Maybe she's starting a new chapter in her life. Maybe she just was waiting for the right time to tell you. Maybe she didn't think it was any of your business. Knowing you, you looked her up on the Internet and got some more answers. What is it that she actually does, when not working at a women's shelter?"

Slightly irritated that Liz was able to peg him so easily, Hellboy paused before answering. "From what I just gathered, Torie has championed for women's rights all of her life. Her parent's were doctors who traveled the globe, helping the poor and then lectured at universities, colleges and wherever else to raise awareness and money for the people they helped. Torie started speaking out against those who beat women back into submission, I'm guessing both figuratively as well as literally, in poorer countries where women don't have as many rights as men. Now, her message has spread to all aspects of women being restricted because of their gender."

Liz set her mug on the coffee table next to Hellboy's empty beer bottle and tucked the cushion behind her as she scooted forward and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Sounds pretty heavy. Think that maybe Torie didn't tell you because it's been awhile since she had someone to hang out with rather than have to always be 'on?' Seems like Torie might have dropped out, so to speak, in order to get some perspective and get out of the fishbowl."

His shoulders rose and fell as he expelled a huge sigh. "I guess so," he admitted.

Hellboy leaned into his friend's hug. He was glad that he searched out Liz. Although he knew that a talk was going to be had with Torie, he felt much better.

"So, HB, I have a question. You like her, don't you? And I mean as in more than a friend."

Hellboy had just gotten up to grab another beer when Liz's question struck him. But instead of getting upset all over again, he just continued to the fridge, grabbed his beer and leaned against the counter, twisting off the bottle cap. After taking a few long swallows, he answered quietly, "Am I that transparent?"

Liz hugged her cushion to her chest again, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, then slowly nodded her head in affirmation. As she saw it, Torie wanted to do right by the world, but eventually felt that she was more of a figurehead, a puppet of others, which is something Liz felt often in her job. A job she, herself, had left numerous times, for a variety of reasons, but always came back to because of the good she was doing. Liz now almost felt jealous for missing out on the lunch meeting, despite having committed to teaching a class to some of the new recruits. Well, it wasn't too late to meet Torie.

"You say that Kate and Torie are in Professor Broom's library? C'mon, I wanna go meet her. Make sure she's worthy of your affections."