Night
A FBI sedan caravan slowly drove through a crowded street outside of the Machen Library, an imposing four-story structure, all pillars and pediments. There was complete and utter chaos near the entrance: policemen, TV reporters, police on horseback. Loud protests escaped from the reporters as a line of black sedan cars were waved through.
"The NYPD has yet to issue a statement." A blonde reporter stated outside of the museum. "We've got SWAT vans, paramedics, you name it... and now here's a-a- a garbage truck," she did a double take, "A large, garbage truck?"
Trailing behind the cars, was a garbage truck. On its side a mirrored sign that read: Squeaky Clean Inc. Waste Management Services. In the driver's seat was Stan, while Myers sat in the passenger's seat. The crowd parted for the garbage truck. Dozens of faces were reflected in the truck's mirrored logo. A policeman on horseback, rode past the mirrored sides of the truck.
~3~
Inside the Garbage truck
The policeman was visible as he rode by; the mirrors were see-through. The back of the truck was a fully-equipped crime lab, crammed with hi-tech gear and low-tech talismans. Abe had fit a respirator over his face. The respirator looked like a mechanized Elizabethan collar. The valves bubbled and hissed as he inhaled liquid through his mouth and out his gills. Hellboy looked out onto the crowd, while Nix did pull-ups from the bar by the glass.
"Look at them ugly suckers, Blue. One sheet of glass between them and us." Hellboy stated his voice tired.
"Story of my life." Abe replied.
"I break it, they see us, Happy Halloween. No more hiding." he said, nostalgia filled his voice. "Outside. I could be outside-"
"You mean, outside... with her." Nix stated stopping her movements, to sit next to Abe.
Hellboy strapped on a huge utility belt heavy with amulets, rosaries, horseshoes. From an ashtray he grabbed a handful of stogie stubs. He lit one, and put the rest in a pouch. "Don't get psychic with me." Hellboy argued back, causing Nix to flinch.
"Nothing psychic about it. You're easy." Abe said in Nix's defence, to which Hellboy bowed his head in slight guilt.
Looking up Hellboy unlocked a steel box, 'The Good Samaritan' stenciled on it's lid and extracted the meanest-looking, custom-built, double-barrel, blue-finished, handgun ever made. A veritable cannon. Nix sat beside Abe sharpening one of her blades, while Abe made finishing touches on his respirator.
"How am I ever gonna get a girl? I drive around in a garbage truck." Hellboy stated, frustration filled his voice.
"Liz left us, Red. Take the hint." Nix retorted under her breath. Her brother may have lost his love, but she lost a sister.
"We don't take hints." Hellboy replied, while he hefted his gun.
~3~
Outside of garbage truck
The garbage truck pulled into an interior courtyard and stopped. The BPRD teams spread through the area, expelled uniformed cops and secured the doors. Three agents: Quarry, Stone, and Moss, closed the gate, sealing off the area.
"All areas secured." Agent Stone stated. From a nearby roof, Agent Lime signaled all clear.
"Seal the doors. Red, Blue, and Vie are coming out." Clay warned into a handheld radio.
The truck stopped, and Clay pulled a lever. Myers watched as the dumpster loader hinged down like a drawbridge, revealing Hellboy, Abe, and Nix.
"Okay, let's synch up our locators." Clay stated as soon as the three supes were in sight. Abe, Clay, and Hellboy activated lights on their belts. Nix, however, activated a light on her necklace. They beeped and blinked, signaling that they were on. Hellboy and Nix started walking towards the building.
~3~
Inside Machen Library's main lobby
As BPRD agents cleared the area, Clay, Myers, Abe, Nix, and Hellboy marched through the main lobby, past various display cases.
"At nineteen hundred hours an alarm tripped. B&E. Robbery. Six guards dead-" Clay started reading from a report.
"Hold on- hold on- I thought we checked this place. Fakes, and reproductions," Hellboy interrupted.
"Apparently, not everything was fake." Broom answered standing at the base of the marble staircase.
"Father...?/Father!" Hellboy asked, while Nix exclaimed, surprised to see him and hid his cigar. Myers observed as the red Goliath sheepishly averted his gaze from that of the fragile old man, while Nix ran up, hugged him, and whispered something into his ear.
They approached an oversized set of brass doors. Abe removed a leather glove from his hand. He spread his webbed fingers on the door, closed his three eyelids, and concentrated. Two agents arrived with a rolling munitions case. Myers observed as Hellboy opened it and looked over a potpourri of bullets of all colors and shapes. Another two agents walked in rolling a waist-high chest. Nix sauntered over to it, when they stopped, and opened it, revealing a variety of different close combat weapons and a multitude of arrows for her bow.
As Nix began to pick out weapons from her chest, the professor continued the debriefing, "A 16th century statue was destroyed. Saint Dionysius the Areopagite."
"Who wards off demons." Nix remarked, as she finished choosing her weapons; a short, curved blade, her quiver (now filled with arrows) and bow, a belt full of throwing daggers, and a long blade with a handle in the middle.
"Smuggled into this country by an overzealous curator. The statue, however, was hollow-"
"Reliquary-" Hellboy began, still looking through his ammunition.
"A prison. The Vatican deemed its contents dangerous enough to include it on the List of Avignon. Of which we hold a copy." The professor finished.
Hellboy selected a clip full of bullets and a speed loader. "Would'ya look at these babies? Made 'em myself." -Smack- "Holy water, silver shavings, white oak: the works." Hellboy boasted, while Nix mumbled "I made them," under her breath, having smacked him on the back of the head.
"Talk to me, Abe. What do we got?" Nix asked, as she strapped the blade to her waist, her bow slung over her shoulder.
Abe answered, as he pulled his hand away, "Behind this door. A dark entity- Evil, ancient and hungry." Abe quickly started to scan a few leather-bound volumes of ancient magic.
"The usual," Nix remarked, closing her weapons chest.
"Oh, well. Lemme go in and say 'hi'". As Hellboy opened the big doors, a flickering, amber glow illuminated him. He stepped inside, and unbeknownst to him, Nix silently followed him in. Blue emergency lamps were on and the exhibits were destroyed; piles of debris scattered the floor. Hellboy and Nix walked past a fallen display case. They moved around cautiously. A couple of large carvings and statues startled him. On the floor: boots, half chewed. Bitten belts and shreds of uniforms and hats. Nix gagged at the smell.
"Blue, it stinks in here. Like finely aged roadkill." Hellboy whispered into his radio.
"Here, Here." Nix agreed, slightly startling Red, as he hadn't heard her follow him in.
Hellboy was about to question his sister, when the sickening sound of snapping bones and chewing reached their ears. Hellboy and Nix reacted to the sound, and raised their eyes. A huge, pale creature hung from the ceiling, as it chewed slowly.
"Sammael. So it has begun." Nix whispered, unheard by Hellboy, as she looked at the creature. Said creature was equipped with powerful arms, a head full of tentacles, and two well-muscled hind legs. Most of its face was hidden, but its jaws were shiny with blood.
"Hey. Stinky. Kitchen's closed." Hellboy began, darting his eyes to see Nix standing next to him, before he continued, "whatcha havin'?"
"Looks like... six guards, raw? Plus belts and boots? You're gonna need some heavy fiber to move that out-" Nix answered, making a face of disgust.
"Red, Vie, I found something-" Abe said over the radio.
~3~
Machen Library's Main Corridor
Abe found a small, medieval engraving of Sammael in one of his many books, before he began speaking,"there's not much here: the entity's name is Sammael, the desolate one, son of Nergal-"
~3~
Inside the Exhibition Hall
Sammael released himself from the ceiling, and landed on the floor. Part of it's neck was exposed revealing white, slimy skin, which cracked like old marble and was criss-crossed with blue veins.
"Hold it-" Hellboy began, "Hey, Sammy, whaddayasay we work this out? Peacefully. I'm not a great shot, but-" he paused to raise his gun, "The Samaritan here, uses really big bullets, so whaddayasay to us working this out?"
Nix shook her head at his bad attempt to negotiate, while Sammael stood and turned around. A loud cracking sound sounded around the room, as Sammael's waist twisted him around. Sammael screeched and leaped away from them.
Hellboy shot, despite Nix's warning, the high-caliber ammo ripped a few columns apart, and finally caught Sammael. The bullet went through it, destroyed a statue and a large window behind him. The monster squealed and went down. With a rattling cough, it grew still.
"That's all for you, Sammy. See nothing to worry about, Vie." Hellboy boasted hefting his gun over his shoulder.
Abe's voice sounded over their earpieces, "Red, Vie... you need to hear the rest of the information," Hellboy turned away for a moment, and put his gun away, like a gunslinger.
"Nah. He's taken care of." He replied, looking annoyed at Abe, while Nix threatened to hit him.
Abe continued into their earpieces anyway, "No, listen to this: Sammael, the desolate one, lord of the shadows, son of Nergal...hound of resurrection..."
Hellboy paused, "See? I don't like that..."
"I told you, and I quote, 'wait until you have all the information, before you go gallivanting into something!' Didn't I tell him that, Abe." Nix ranted, as she looked away from the prone form of Sammael.
Abe, choosing to ignore Nix's rant, asked "... Hound of resurrection?" Hellboy looked back at the corpse, as he noticed that it was gone. Abe continued, "harbinger of pestilence, seed of destruction..."
Hellboy rolled his eyes, "Skip to the end, willya? How do I kill it?"
Abe replied nonchalantly, "It doesn't say..."
"Red-" Nix was interrupted as, Sammael appeared, out of nowhere, reared his arm back, forcing Nix through a window. Then he swung his arm forward, hit Hellboy, who crashed into the brass doors.
A/N: I would just like to say, Please review it would make my heart soar, and my updating much quicker! You don't have to if you really don't want too OR if you have nothing nice/ helpful to say. :)
Thank you for reading! :)