After almost an hour, the two reached lower Manhattan. Marie turned into an alley and parked her bike. After hopping off the bike, Marie pulled out a black military messenger bag covered in iron on rock n roll band logo patches from her saddle bag.
"Alright, we're a few blocks from this pizza place I know in Little Italy. It's called Giuseppe's Taste of Italy. You're gonna follow me on the rooftops while I walk there. Sound good?"
"Yep," Hellboy responded.
Marie watches as Hellboy approaches a fire escape in the alley before climbing the ladder and walking up the stairs to each platform. Eventually, Hellboy reached the rooftop.
Hellboy looked over the roof, and Marie gave him a thumbs up. As Marie walked on the sidewalk, Hellboy followed her by jumping from one rooftop to another. In between jumps, the half-demon man looked down to check on Marie, checking to see if she was safe. Even though Hellboy knew Marie could defend herself, he was still worried about her.
Soon, the two arrived at the pizza place that Marie mentioned. The pizzeria nearly took up the entire block. It had a red awning with the pizzeria's name in white letters. Beside it, was since 1910. Hellboy could see through the windows of the family-owned restaurant.
He saw the checkered red and white tablecloths, the black and white tile floors, the brick walls, and a mural of a big mustache chef cooking pizza with the Italian countryside behind him. The half-demon man could faintly hear Dean Martin's Everybody Loves Somebody.
After a few minutes of standing in line, Marie finally stood before the counter, ready to give her order to the elderly Italian woman behind the counter. The woman is Francesca De Bernardi, wife of Giuseppe De Bernardi III, the third-generation owner.
When Francesca looked up from her notepad, her eyes grew as a huge smile formed. A happy shriek escaped the elderly Italian woman's mouth before she rushed around the counter and tightly wrapped her arms around Marie, giving her a big hug.
Francesca began saying how much she missed Marie and that it had been forever since she had last seen her in Italian. But then the Italian woman pulled away from the hug and scolded Marie in English.
"You've had me worried sick," Francesca told her. "Me and Pino haven't seen you in years."
"It hasn't been years, Francesca. Only a couple weeks," Marie corrected. "I've been busy lately. I started a new job a couple days ago."
The anger on Francesca's face faded as she went back to dotting on Marie. The Italian began kissing Marie's face and said motherly words in Italian. Seconds later, Giuseppe appears behind the counter.
"Cheska! What's going on out here? What's with the screaming?" Giuseppe questioned.
The old Italian man then sees Marie, realizing she is why his wife shrieked earlier. Giuseppe smiles as he lets out a happy laugh.
"Oh, Maria! My darling bella bambina!" Giuseppe happily exclaimed.
The man reaches over the counter and grabs Marie's hand with both of his. He happily shakes Marie's hand before gently pulling her toward him. Giuseppe holds Marie's face and kisses each cheek before hugging the woman.
Marie had been coming to the pizzeria since she was a kid and worked there for a few years as a teenager. Giuseppe and Francesca see and treat Marie as one of their own.
Giuseppe pulls away from the hug but holds Marie's hands, "It is so good to see you, Maria. Just the other day I was telling Cheska that it's been so long since we've seen you. Now, what can we get you? The usual?"
"Yes, and two large pizzas," Marie replied. "One Margherita and the other just smothered in pepperoni. Oh, two litters of coke and fries. Please."
"Coming right up. That's a lot of food. You have a party or something?"
"Well, obviously, she's having a party, Pino. A little thing like her ain't gonna eat all that pizza by herself. You're gonna give the poor girl a complex," Francesca scolded her husband.
"I didn't say that. I just asked a question," Giuesppe told his wife.
"It's ok, Cheska. I'm having a night on the town with a couple friends," Marie said, trying to defuse the situation and avoid an Italian married couple fight.
"See. She's having a party."
Giuseppe quickly sticks his tongue out at his wife before returning to the kitchen to cook Marie's food.
"Vecchio bastardo," Francesca muttered. The woman turns to Marie, "Try to avoid getting married as long as possible. It will save you from years of having a pain in the ass."
"I'll take it under advisement," Marie said.
A few minutes later, Marie got her order. Two pepperoni slices, a large Margherita pizza, a large pepperoni pizza, two fries, a sixteen-ounce Coca-Cola, and two Coca-Cola litters. She paid for the food and drink before thanking Francesca and Giuseppe.
Marie left the pizzeria, carrying the pizza boxes stacked atop each other with the fries atop the boxes and the two litters in her bag. The woman looks up at the surrounding rooftops, searching for Hellboy before finding him. Marie smiles as she holds up the pizza boxes for the half-demon man to see.
Hellboy follows as Marie returns to the alley where her bike is parked. During the trip, the half-demon man thought back to the Dean Martin song playing at the pizzeria before he started thinking about Marie singing Ray Charles' Georgia on My Mind. Hellboy felt like a teenager falling in love with a girl out of his league. He was the outcast tough guy, and Marie was the head cheerleader.
Hellboy stops and looks over the rooftop, watching Marie. He wanted to tell her how he felt. But the half-demon man knew the woman he loved deserved someone better. Someone normal.
"Why you gotta do this to me, Poppins?" Hellboy wondered. "Why did you have to make me fall for you?"
Eventually, Hellboy and Marie arrived at the alley. The half-demon man climbed the fire escape to help Marie carry the pizzas. He took the two big boxes while Marie handled the small box, fries, and sodas.
When Marie and Hellboy reached the rooftop, the former unpacked the pizzas, fries, and cokes. The two sat on the roof with their backs against the wooden water tower metal stand.
"Thanks for the food," Hellboy said with a mouthful of pepperoni pizza after a bite.
"You're welcome. Giuseppe's Taste of Italy makes the best pizza in all the five boroughs. Maybe the world. Pizza is the food of the gods," Marie told him before taking a bite of her pizza. After chewing and swallowing the "I've been going to Giuseppe's since I was a kid. I even worked there when I was a teenager."
"You're definitely right about the pizza, Poppins," The half-demon man agreed, again with a full mouth. "Best I've ever had."
"I'll be sure to let Giuseppe know. For our next outing, I can take you to the movies. A friend owns an old movie theater and he lets me watch movies after opening hours because of my condition. He says it's on the house but I give him twenty or thirty bucks for his troubles."
The two continue eating their pizza with minimal talking between bites and sips from their drinks. The woman and half-demon man enjoyed each other's company while they enjoyed their food.
Hellboy subtly stole a glance at Marie, unable to help himself from looking at her. He continued to try not to look at her but failed and cursed himself each time. Hellboy wanted to confess his feelings for her but forbids himself from uttering the words. The half-demon man felt like he was torturing himself. After five slices of pizza, Hellboy gathers the courage to tell Marie how he feels about her.
"Hey, Marie," Hellboy said, gaining the woman's attention. The moment he saw Marie's beautiful eyes, his courage disappeared. "I, uh, w-wanted to say that, um, I'm, well, I'm sorry about looking at your file."
"Apology accepted, Hellboy. Oh, and I'm sorry about kicking your ass."
"No, sweat. I kinda deserved it, according to Pop."
Marie took out her Polaroid camera from her bag before holding it up.
"Say cheese," Marie said.
Hellboy gave Marie a lopsided grin before she snapped a picture. The flash illuminated his red skin. Seconds later, the film came out. Marie took the film and watched the photo of Hellboy develop.
"Looks good," Marie said before handing the picture to Hellboy. "If this paranormal investigator thing doesn't work out, you could try modeling."
Hellboy lets out a chuckle in response while looking at his picture.
"My mama."
"What?"
"I sold my soul to save my mama," Marie clarified, looking at the ground. "I'm sure that since you've already read my file, you saw my mama died not long after her cancer disappeared. I sold my soul to a demon to cure my mama's cancer."
Hellboy was stunned that Marie confessed something so personal to him.
"My mama got diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Doctors said she had less than a year to live. Nothing we could do but make her remaining time on this earth comfortable. After almost three months of seeing my mama in pain and becoming weak, I prayed to anyone who would listen that night. Then he showed up in my room. Never told me his name. Said it wasn't important. He said he could cure my mama and asked if I would give anything. And I said yes. He gave me a contract. And I more or less signed it when I cut my thumb. After my blood dripped on the dotted line, he took the contract, said sweet dreams, and disappeared. When I woke up in the morning, I thought it was all a crazy dream. But when I saw my mama was back to her old self and healthy, I knew it was real."
Hellboy could tell Marie was having a hard time telling him this story. She is telling him about a difficult moment from her past. Something that she rarely shared with anyone.
"When we went to the doctors, they were amazed and confused about what happened to her cancer. The only thing I could say was that it was a miracle. That my mama must've had a guardian angel watching over her. For the first time in months, my family didn't have a big dark cloud looming over us. We were happy. But that happiness didn't last long. A week later, coming home from dinner at my mama's favorite restaurant after celebrating her health, we got into a car accident. A drunk driver. My daddy and I got scrapes, bruises, and whatever. But, uh, my mama, she died on the way to the hospital."
Marie's eyes began to water. She wiped away the barely formed tears with her jacket's sleeve. The tears weren't just brought on by sadness but deep-rooted anger that has festered for decades.
"While I was in the hospital, crying my eyes out, the son of a bitch showed up and said he was sorry for my loss. I yelled at him. He didn't keep his promise. But he said he did. My mama's cancer was cured. He didn't say anything about letting her live. The bastard told me that he owns my soul. Said that I'll do his bidding when I'm grown up before giving his condolences and leaving. I screamed at the top of my lungs with every ounce of rage I had in me. I got screwed over, plain and simple. It wasn't until years later that I learned more. The bastard who I sold my soul to is a lord of Hell. He'd been trying for years to get someone to sell their soul so Zarathos would be bound to them. He would have them under his thumb. He wasn't successful until me."
"What was the difference between you and the others?" Hellboy inquired, letting his curiosity get the better of him.
"Innocence," Marie replied. "Every person before me was a scum of the Earth sinner. They sold their souls because they were desperate and didn't want to be in the furnace. But as you can see, it didn't take. I think it's like an organ transplant. The donor and recipient have to be a match. Zarathos didn't like the idea of being bound to a sinner. So, seconds after selling their souls, the sinners burned from the inside. Burned their souls. But the bastard still got their souls, so it wasn't a total loss for him."
Hellboy was silent. Marie had told him something that changed the course of her entire life. Something that caused her to get into this line of work. The half-demon man began thinking that if Marie had never made the deal, she would have had a normal life, and their paths never would have crossed.
"Does your-?" Hellboy began before Marie interrupted him.
"My family knows. The incident made a blip on the B.P.R.D.'s radar. Broom took charge because he knew what he was looking at. He was the only one working on the case. Eventually, Broom came to my family's house and spoke to us. He asked questions. I told my daddy everything, from the night I sold my soul to when I killed Tin-Tin. I expected him to be angry at or scared of me. Maybe both. But he wasn't. My daddy didn't look at or treat me like I was a monster or something. He didn't blame me for my mama's death because he knew I was trying to help her. My family knows what I am, and they still love me. It's like you and Professor Broom. My daddy even said something my mama used to say. She would say we like people for their qualities, but we love them for their defects. My parents used to say to each other, 'I love you, warts and all.."
Hellboy remained silent. He thought it was funny how his feelings and perception of Marie had changed since they first met. In the beginning, Hellboy wanted nothing to do with Marie. But now he couldn't picture his life without her.
Marie looks at Hellboy, causing the half-demon man to be filled with an urge to hold her in his arms and kiss her. Marie looked at Hellboy's golden eyes and felt a pull. The two unknowingly and slowly move closer.
Suddenly, Marie gasps as she is filled with a sense of dread. The woman rushes to the roof's edge and sees Broom standing on the ground, looking up at her. Broom smiles at Marie before disappearing. Except it was not her friend but his spirit. Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is dead.
Marie turns to Hellboy and says, "We need to head back to the B.P.R.D. now."
"What? Why? What's going on?" Hellboy asked as he stood up.
"Something bad happened!" Marie exclaimed.
Without further questions, Hellboy followed Marie down the fire escape. The two hopped on the motorcycle before riding to the B.P.R.D. at a high speed.