In a bedroom at St. Jude's Catholic Church in New Jersey, a young woman named Marie tosses and turns as several images flash in her dream. The images Marie sees are from World War II. She sees Nazi soldiers and scientists in the ruins of Trondham Abbey on a dark and stormy night in Scotland. Among the Nazis are two dangerous men: Karl Ruprect Kroenen, Hitler's head assassin and head of the Thule Occult Society, and Grigori Rasputin, a Russian mystic and Spiritual Advisor to Tsar Nicholas Romanov II. A machine stands in the middle of the remains. Several American soldiers and Professor Trevor Broom close in on the ruins before observing the Nazis.
The machine begins working as a portal to another dimension appears, intending to summon a dangerous and powerful being. The Americans then storm the ruins and attack the Nazis. During the attack, a grenade goes off near the machine, damaging it. Suddenly, Rasputin is absorbed into the portal before it closes. After the fighting ends, Professor Broom and the American Soldiers find a little half-demon baby with a red stone right hand. It was a happy moment before it changed to an apocalyptic image. Marie sees what appears to be the grown adult man version of the half-demon baby boy. The half-demon man has a crown of fire atop his head with fully grown horns. He stands in a decimated city with orange skies and dark clouds as the apocalypse has arrived, for he is the bringer.
Marie jolts up in a cold sweat as she awakens from her dream. The young woman looks out her window as the heavy rain from the storm hits it. She could sense something evil was out in the world and the reason for the visions. Marie had a strong feeling that she would be there when the shit finally hit the fan.
Marie looked at the time on her clock and saw no reason to return to sleep as she would have to get up in two hours. The woman got up and out of bed before going through her morning routine, which included the occasional four-mile run before returning to the church to shower, brush her teeth, and dress in a black KISS Detroit Rock City t-shirt, dark denim jeans, black combat boots, and a black leather jacket. Marie also wore jewelry, specifically a simple and elegant silver cross necklace around her neck. On her right wrist and ring finger, Marie had a rosary and Claddagh ring that belonged to her mother.
She pulled her hair up into a ponytail while standing before a mirror. When Marie finished her ponytail, she remained in front of the mirror, staring at the slit-shaped scar on her eyebrow. The scar served as a reminder of the car accident Marie was in as a child.
Marie's room had a bed, nightstand, lamp, two bookshelves filled with books, a full-body mirror, a desk, a giant corkboard covered in Polaroid pictures, vinyl records, Walkman, cassette tapes, an armoire, and a wooden chest at the foot of her bed. On Marie's nightstand are four framed pictures. One is of her father, late mother, and herself as a little girl. The second is of her father, stepmother, toddler half-sister, and herself as a teenager. The third is a headshot picture of her mother. And the last is a recent picture. Her father and stepmother have a few wrinkles, and their hair is a bit gray. Her sister is all grown and standing with her husband, young son, and daughter. But Marie appeared to look the same.
Marie leaves her room to pray with the nuns living at the church and Monsignor Thomas, the parish priest. Throughout the day, Marie does her usual routine by helping the sisters with their tasks, riding her motorcycle, and reading. Later that day, Marie has dinner with Monsignor Thomas, Reverend Mother, and the other nuns.
"Are you excited, Marie?" Sister Mary Patrick asked her, referring to Marie's new assignment.
"I am, Sister," She responded. "I am grateful for the opportunity the B.P.R.D. has given me to help the world by protecting the innocent and fighting the wicked."
"Marie, has Professor Broom given you any indication of your assignment?" Monsignor Thomas inquired.
"No, Monsignor," Marie replied. "Professor Broom only told me that given my unique skills, I am the only one who qualifies for the job."
"Well, I'm sure that whatever assignment our dear Professor Broom has for you, Marie, you will be excellent," Reverend Mother told her.
"Thank you, Reverend Mother."
Reverend Mother smiles at Marie before looking at her wristwatch, "Oh, dear. You better get going, or you will be late for your first day. Oh, and do remember your prayers. It is Halloween."
Marie glanced at the clock on the dining room wall and realized the Reverend Mother was right. Marie quickly said her goodbyes to the nuns and parish priest before leaving the room. The woman rushed into her bedroom to grab her motorcycle helmet and goggles., Marie ran out of her room toward her 1961 black Harley-Davidson FLH Duo GLide Panhead. The motorcycle is her baby. It is her pride and joy. After checking to see if everything she needed was in the saddlebags, Marie sat on the bike and put on her helmet and goggles before starting the classic Harley-Davidson and taking off to the B.P.R.D. Headquarters in Newark.
Marie rode her motorcycle through the streets before eventually hitting traffic. The infamous traffic of New Jersey was slow in moving but quick in annoying Marie. The young woman repeatedly glances at her watch, knowing the traffic would make her late before deciding to take advantage of her mode of transportation. Maire weaved through the traffic effortlessly as her motorcycle fit between the mass of cars.
After an hour, Marie arrived at the Bureau of Paranormal Research Defense in Newark. But to the public, it was known as 'Squeaky Clean Waste Management Services.' Marie stopped her motorcycle at the gates before removing the goggles from her eyes, letting them rest atop her head. She turned to the intercom beside her and pressed a button.
Marie heard a crackle from the box before a voice came through the speaker, "What is it? What do you want?"
"Someone's chipper this morning," Marie muttered before speaking, "I'm Marie Darkh. Professor Broom asked me to come here."
A second later, the panel for the speaker popped out, wiring inside the concrete gate post, before an eyepiece came out.
"Look at the birdie, ma'am."
Marie leaned forward and placed her eye on the machine before a bright flash came from the mechanical scanner, temporarily blinding her. Marie pulled away from the machine and rubbed her eyeball as an LCD screen appeared, showing her retinal scan before a picture of herself.
The gates loudly clacked open, meaning she passed the security check. Marie put her goggles back over her eyes and rode her motorcycle onto the complex. After parking her bike, Marie entered the building.
Marie walked into a large room, and the only thing in it was a large circular desk with a man standing behind it a few feet away from her. Written on the desk is a Latin phrase Marie had come to know years ago: In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt. The flooring Marie stood on had a golden outline of a fist holding a sword within a circle in the middle of the room.
"Hello. I'm Marie..." Marie began introducing herself before the man at the desk interrupted her.
"You are late. That's what you are. Five minutes," The man said.
"Yes, I know. Traffic can be a bitch," Marie commented before saying, "I'm going to..."
"Section Fifty-One," The man interrupted her again. "I know. Watch your hands and elbows."
"I'm sorry, what?" Marie was confused by what the man said.
"Watch your hands and elbows," He repeated.
Suddenly, with no warning, the floor Marie stood on began to descend like an elevator. Another floor covered the hole once Marie was low enough. Marie looked around at the various underground rooms through the windows as the lift lowered. The moment the floor landed and locked, Marie stepped off it.
Marie then ventures to the grand golden oak doors before pushing them open. The woman enters a giant two-story library with thousands of books that she guessed cover every subject in the world as classical music plays. As a book lover, Marie knew this would be her favorite place. There is a golden statue of an angel atop a circular fireplace in the middle of the room. Across a statue of another angel, but this one is Archangel Michael slaying a demon, is a big in-wall tank filled with water on the right side of the room caught her attention. Four bookstands stood before the glass, which Marie thought to be odd.
Suddenly, Marie heard a man's voice through an intercom from the in-wall tank.
"Turn the pages, please, if you don't mind."
Marie walked toward the glass curiously. She looked around, hoping to find the voice's source in the water, when suddenly, a slim, blue, humanoid amphibious man glided through the water, up to the glass. He had large blue eyes, gills on the side of his neck, thin lips, and wore black swim trunks.
"Sweet baby Jesus!" Marie exclaimed as she jumped back.
"Please. The pages," The amphibious man spoke.
Marie looks at the books before the glass and says, "These? You're reading these?"
The blue creature nodded in response before a familiar voice came behind Marie.
"Four books at once, every day..." Marie turned around to see Professor Broom, an old man with white hair and a cane, "as long as I'm there to turn the pages. Hello, Marie."
"Hello, Professor," Marie smiled, which Broom returned as she walked toward him before hugging him. "It's good to see you again, Professor. Monsignor Thomas, Reverand Mother, and all the sisters at St. Jude's send their love."
"I'll be sure to visit them soon," Broom said as he stepped away to turn the pages of the four books, and Marie stood beside him. "Marie, I'd like to introduce you to Abraham Sapien. You will be working with him. He was discovered alive in a secret chamber of St. Trinian's Foundling Hospital, Washington." Broom tapped on a small piece of paper framed on the wall beside the glass with his cane. "His name was taken from this inscription stuck to the side of his tank."
"Icthyo Sapiens. April 14th, 1865," Marie read aloud. "That's the day Abraham Lincoln died."
"Hence, Abe Sapien," Broom said before he pulled down the bottom of a chute near the glass. He grabbed a pair of tongs. He uses the tongs to pick up two green eggs from a bowl with several of them on a nearby table. Broom individually places the two foul-smelling eggs into the chute.
"What is that?" Marie asked Broom as she gagged from the retched smell.
"Rotten eggs," He answered before closing the chute and sending the eggs into the tank. "A delicacy. Abe loves them. Abe, this is-"
A loud slap on the glass interrupted Broom as Abe slammed his hand against the tank.
"Doctor Marie Claudia Laveau Darkh, The Bronx, '62. You are a direct descendant of Vodou Priestess Marie Laveau on your mother's side. You hold several doctoral degrees in many fields. You also experienced a great loss in your childhood. And there is something primordial within you," Abe said.
The amphibious man looked at Marie sadly before grabbing one of the rotten eggs and snacking on it.
"How did he know all that stuff about me?" Marie questioned. There was an almost missable hint of sadness in her voice from Abe's mentioning loss.
"Abe possesses a unique frontal lobe," Broom explained. "Unique." That's a word you'll hear frequently around here."
"Why exactly am I here, Professor?" She further inquired. "And to be honest, your call was a bit cryptic. All you said was that my one-of-a-kind skills make me the perfect person for the job."
"As you entered the lobby, there was an inscription. Can you repeat it for me?"
"In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt," Marie spoke the inscription in Latin before translating it into English, "In the absence of light, darkness prevails."
"There are things that go bump in the night, Marie. Make no mistake about that. And we are the ones who bump back," Broom told her. "Come with me, Marie, and I'll show you to your assignment."
Professor Broom led Marie out of the library, and the two walked down a corridor. The corridor walls had glass cases filled with objects that Marie could feel the powerful energy radiate off of them. It reminded her when she visited Ed and Lorraine Warren at their home and saw their collection.
"In 1937, Hitler joins the Thule Society, a group of German aristocrats
obsessed with the occult. In 1938, he acquired the Spear of Longinus, which pierced the side of Christ," Broom gestures to the object kept behind the glass with his cane. "He who holds it becomes invincible. Hitler's power increases tenfold."
Marie ventures toward the glass case and touches it. She stares at the spear that had pierced the son of God at his crucifixion. Suddenly, Marie receives images of the day Jesus Christ was crucified. She closed her eyes at the painful memory before opening them. Marie noticed Broom was a few feet ahead of her, and she decided to leave the spear and catch up to him.
"In 1943, President Roosevelt decides to fight back," Broom continued. "The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense is born. In 1958, the Occult Wars finally come to an end..."
"When Adolf Hitler dies," Marie finished.
"It is good to know that you know your history," Broom smiled.
Broom and Marie walked further down the corridor until they were before a large stainless steel door that resembled a bank vault door. Marie could feel something behind the door. Something not quite human. Something she felt before. A man dressed in a suit stands in front of the door beside a cart with giant stainless steel bowls filled with food.
"Marie, this is Agent Clay. Take his lead. He'll make the introductions," Broom told Marie before handing her two Baby Ruth candy bars from his coat suit pocket. Marie stared at the candy bars in perplexity before she noticed Professor Broom walking away.
"Wait! You're not coming?" Marie questioned.
Professor Broom stops and turns to the woman before saying, "I've known you for a long time, Marie. I've seen you grow into a strong young woman. I told you during our phone call that no one but you is more qualified for the job. Make me proud."
Broom smiled at Marie before he turned and walked away.
"They're not speaking," Clay informed Marie. "Professor Broom had him grounded."
"Grounded? Who's grounded?" Marie questioned the agent.
Clay ignores her question as he takes a triangular-shaped object resembling a gun from his pocket before inserting it into the wall like a key and turning it. The locking mechanisms on the door release, and Clay turns the handle to finish unlocking it. A red flashing LED alarm came out of the wall beside the door.
"Okay. You saw the fish guy, right?" Clay asked Marie.
"Oh, yeah," She nodded. "It was kinda freaky. It was like doing edibles or taking acid and going to the aquarium."
"Yeah. Right," Clay gives Marie a look before he opens the door and says, "Well, come on in. Meet the rest of the family."
Clay pushes the food-filled cart into the solid concrete, windowless room, and Marie follows behind him. The woman looks around the room, and it resembles a teenage boy's bedroom, meaning it is messy. The room had samurai suits, weapons, dozens of cats wandering around, TV sets from different eras stacked atop each other showing old cartoons, a bed made from the back of an old pickup truck, and a large circular table in the middle of the room. Several cats run throughout the room, and some rub themselves against Marie's legs.
"He gets fed six times a day. He's got a thing for cats. You'll be his nanny, his keeper, his best friend. He never goes out unsupervised," Clay informed Marie.
"Who?" Marie asked, beginning to feel a little pissed off that the assignment only she could do was being Mary fucking Poppins.
The man hands her a comic book with a figure on it that she had seen a few times during her childhood comic book reading days. It was Hellboy. At first, Marie thought Clay was crazy, but she realized he was telling the truth when she heard a deep voice.
"I hate those comic books. They never get the eyes right."
Marie looked up from the comic book and at the man standing barely in the shadows, smoking a cigar and doing bicep curls with a giant dumbbell. Hellboy's skin is deep red, and his dark black hair is in a top knot bun. He had a few crisscross scars scattered across his chest and left arm. On his right arm, there were these almost swirl-looking designs. He wore black shorts with a hole in the back for his tail. Maire quickly noticed Hellboy's shaved horns and large, stone right hand. As she looked at Hellboy, Maire couldn't help but think back to the half-demon man she saw in her dreams.
"Hellboy?" Marie said as she looked at Clay.
"Yeah. Sixty years old by our count. But he doesn't age like we do. Think reverse dog years. He's barely out of his twenties," Clay told Marie.
"What's with the hair, Clay?" Hellboy asked. "Finally got them implants, huh?"
Clay lightly chuckles before he fiddles with his hair, "lt'll fill in."
"Who's the babe?" The half-demon man asked.
"Agent Darkh is your new liaison," He informed Hellboy. "She will replace me while I'm back in the field."
Hellboy drops the heavy dumbbell, making a loud clang, "I don't want her. What, you get tired of me, Clay?"
"The candy. Give him the candy," Clay whispered to Marie.
"I have these for you," Marie holds up the two Baby Ruth Candy Bars before setting them on the table.
"Father's back?" Hellboy asked Clay, and the agent responded with a nod. The half-demon then asks, "He still angry?"
It only took Maire a second to realize that Hellboy was the adopted son Professor Broom had mentioned to her a few times.
"Well, you did break out."
"I wanted some fresh air. Nobody's business."
"It is," Clay said. "You got yourself on TV again."
"Darkh, huh? You got a first name, Darkh?" Hellboy asked Marie.
"Marie," She responded.
"Try not to stare. He hates it when people stare," Clay told her in a whisper.
"Stare at what?" Marie asked.
"His horns. He files them to fit in."
Hellboy steps out of the shadows and stands before Marie, taking one of the candy bars off the table. Despite not looking directly at her, Marie could see Hellboy's deep-set golden eyes, which she found beautiful. But then her eyes trailed up to his shaved horns.
Hellboy feels Marie's eyes on him. He looks at her and asks, "Whatcha looking at, Mary?"
"It's Marie. Like Marie Laveau," Marie corrected before making a smart-ass remark as she looked at his shaved horns, "Nice rack."
Hellboy stared at Mary and was impressed by her response. There were not a lot of new agents who would talk to him like that after the first meeting.
A loud red flashing alarm erupts and repeats the words, "Warning. Code red. Warning. Code red. Warning. Code red."
"Hey, hey, hey. They're playing our song. Come on, sweetheart, let's go fight some monsters," Hellboy said to Maire, lightly hitting her shoulder with his left hand.
The three then left the room to get ready and face whatever on Halloween night. The first day on the job was not what Marie was expecting. She did not expect her assignment to be watching over a half-demon man who is chronologically sixty but looks and acts like a man in his twenties. Marie was going to have a word with Broom about her job.