The next morning, feeling so refreshed, Hellboy felt like the day was smiling on him.  After last night, Kat made him feel so much better after their intense healing in bed.  Something was telling him, maybe, he should prepare a way to ask Kat to marry him and soon.  The timing just seemed so right.  That morning, he kisses her awake, seeing her relaxing face turn into a big smile as she opens her eyes.  Looking at him with so much love, yet tiredness. 

"Good morning." He whispers softly. 

"Morning, Red." She smiles, her voice still husky with sleep. 

"How did you sleep?" He grins.

"Hmm, so good.  You?" She sighs.

"Amazing.  Like always since I've met you."

Kat chuckles, "Good." She shifts where she lies, getting more comfortable, "I know we got a lot to do today.  Travis is suppose to start the autopsy on Dust Bag." She scoffs. 

"Yeah.  Definitely don't wanna miss that." He says sarcastically.  "Unless they let me have the knife." He chuckles at her snort.  He leans down and gives her his morning kiss.  "Hmm."

Beep!

Hellboy grumbles at the annoying alert from the intercom that was near the door. He grunts as he turns to get out of bed and presses his fist against the answer button.

"Yeah?"

"Broom wants to see Kat. He's waiting for her in Library."

"Tell him she's busy." Hellboy says bitterly and turns to get back into bed. But he catches her disappointed face as she arches her brow. "Oh, come on! We're having a moment." He protests as she gets up out of bed and heads into the closet to change into her clothes. "Aw shit!" Hellboy thumps against the mattress, pouting as he slumps like a rag doll.

Dressed in jeans and a black long sleeve shirt, Kat walks down the hallway towards the library, but sees John walking her way while pushing the food cart. 

"Hey, John.  Good morning." She smiles.

"Hi, Kat." He gives her a nervous smile. 

She looks over what was on the cart, "Ooh, bacon." She grabs a few pieces.  "Try to save me some breakfast before Hellboy eats it all, please?  I have to see Uncle Travis in the library."

"Uh, I'll try." He chuckles. 

"Thanks." She says and walks away.

"Uh, Kat?" He calls her back. 

She turns around, "Yeah?"

"Um, would you...like to have coffee with me?  Uh, it's not a date or anything, I just...want to get to know you better and...maybe you can give me a few pointers about Hellboy.  I mean, Broom did hire me to be his 'buddy'." He scoffs and air quotes.  "You know him better, think you can give me advice?"

Kat laughs softly, "Hmmm, ok.  Can we do that this evening?"

John looks at her in surprise, he wasn't expecting her to say 'yes', "Uh, sure." He stutters and chuckles.

"Ok, I usually do this with new agents anyway.  It's sort a like a tradition.  Hellboy hates it." She laughs, "He gets crazy jealous sometimes." She smiles and turns to leave. 

John laughs nervously, "Good to know." He says then carries a worried look as he heads to their bedroom to feed Hellboy.  Struggling not to show any fear, but if Hellboy knew he was taking his girlfriend out for coffee...

His inner voice argues with him, 'You're gonna get demon-fucked, dude'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, while Kat was training and Hellboy was 'grounded' again, this time by Manning, Hellboy decided to think about what he could say to Kat before popping the question to her. He wasn't the romantic type of person. He has seen men be so emotional-touchy-feel with their girlfriends or wives. But, Hellboy...he wasn't into that stuff. He wasn't even sure if Kat was. After years of being partners and lovers, he knew so much about her, but that one part of her, he was clueless. 

In sea of crumbled papers, Hellboy lies in his bed, trying to figure out the right lines to declare his true love to Kat.  He wasn't that great at expressing himself. He turned to some poetry books that Abe had, but they weren't that much help.  He grumbles and balls up a paper, tossing it away.  A kitten jumps and tries to catch it, playing with it with the others. 

"'Dear, Kitten'..." "Nah!" He tosses the ball of paper into a brimming wastebasket.  He sighs, "'Dear, Katherine.  After so many years together, I have realized that I...'" Hellboy mutters, "I can't live without you? I ache for you.  Gah!" He mutters and balls up the paper.  "Ugh, come on, you can do this." He mumbles to himself. 

Soon, John comes in, pushing a cartload of chili, he frowns as he sees all the trash scattered on the floor and overflowing the trash cans, "Where do you...?"

Hellboy waves him off, interrupting him, "Shh! Just a second." He grumbles and tries again. 

John frowns and sets the food on the table, wondering what could be on Hellboy's mind.  He bends down and opens one of the balled up notes.  'Dear, Kat, how can I express my love to you? I want to ask you...'

"Hey, Myers, you're a talker. What's a good word...a solid word for 'need'?" Hellboy asks as a cat jumps on the bed and rubs against him.

Startled by his question, John puts the ball back where he found it, "'Need' is a good, solid word." He frowns, confused with the question. 

Hellboy snorts and waves him off, "Nah, sounds too 'needy'."

John sighs and shakes his head, "Start in, you got nachos coming." He says as he sets up his food on the table. 

Hellboy's stomach begins to growl, "Mmm, nachos.  Perfect.  The dinner will go great with this speech."

"Speech?" John frowns, curious about what Hellboy was doing with writing notes to Kat. 

"Tonight is gonna be a good night, Myers.  Know why?" Hellboy grins and rolls off the bed, getting to his feet as he stands in front of him.

"Uh, why?" John stutters.

"Between you and me..." Hellboy's grin never leaves his face, he leans in, "I'm gonna ask Kat to marry me." He whispers.

Choking on the air, John coughs in fits, shocked to hear this news, "Marry?!" He exclaims.

"SHHH! Shut the fuck up, Myers!" Hellboy whispers furiously.

"Uh, can, uh..." Myers stutters as he gestures at Hellboy.  "Can...is that..." He coudn't figure how to ask if it was possible for a demon to marry or if it was even legal.  How can he ask that without offending Hellboy?

"Wanna finish that question, Myers?" Hellboy takes a warning step towards him, glaring down at him with an angry look. 

John flinches and moves back, "Nothing,  never mind.  Uh, Congratulations." He stutters. 

Suddenly, the door opens and Kat comes inside, dressed in her tight gym clothes with a towel draped over her shoulders.  The cats rush to greet her warmly with soft mewing.  Kat gushes at their little faces. 

"Hey, babies." She coos.  "C'mere, Tiger." She picks up one and holds it against her chest, kissing its head softly. 

"Hey!" "Hey!" Hellboy and John both greet her awkwardly, but Kat didn't pay much attention.  "How was your training?" Hellboy asks. 

Kat lets go of the cat and brushes her hands, "Went great.  Jackie says I'm improving more." She sighs and stretches, rotating her arms, "What happened in here?" She scoffs as she sees all the balled up papers scattered around them. 

"Uhh, nothing." Hellboy says, using his tail to brush the papers away.  "Nothing, just...playing with the kittens." He chuckles meekly. 

Kat laughs and walks up to him, tiptoeing to kiss him, "You're weird.  You're lucky I love you." She moves away to head into the closet to change out her sports bra and into her regular bra with a t-shirt.

John struggles to look away, not trying to seem he was curious.  He jumps as Hellboy looks at him with a glare, "Don't even think about that, Myers." He growls. 

"What was that, Red?" Kat calls out. 

"Uh, nothing.  Um, hey, Babe.  Uh, Kat...I...there's...there's something I'd like you to...something I need you to hear." Hellboy says as he holds his latest note that he believes was perfect for the proposal. 

Kat walks out of the closet, still dressed in leggings, but she wore a black shirt and puts on her jacket, "Well, is it long?  I'm heading out." She says as she pushes her hair back.

Hellboy snaps up fast when she says that, "Out? Out out?" He asks, making sure he heard that right. 

Kat nods, "Mm-hmm. For a cup of coffee, but go ahead, read." She says, gesturing him to read the note in his hand. 

"Who are you going with? Jackie?" He asks. But she shakes her head, "You're going alone?" He asks, not really liking that. 

"Um, no. John is taking me." She folds her arms over her chest. 

Hellboy looks at her in disbelief, growing angry.  Kat scoffs at his face, "Now, Red...." She warns, but Hellboy was about to blow. 

"Him! Why him? Why not me?" He growls. 

"Red, calm!" She holds her hands up, "It's a tradition for new agents.  Remember?  And I'm with you, dumbass!" She's scoffs.  "After last night, it should have been pretty obvious. Not to mention, the fact we've been together for years." She whispers with a glare. 

Hellboy still wouldn't let it go.  Out of all agents, he wouldn't trust John even if he was a eunuch.  John brushes between them, carrying a huge bowl of chili.

"Hey, your chili's getting cold..." He sets it on the table.

Hellboy and Kat both carried angry glares at each other, for different reasons.  Hellboy turns around and sits back down.

"Not hungry." He suddenly lost his appetite.

Kat sighs, not wanting to argue, "Red, stop it.  Okay? Now, what was it that you wanted me to hear?"

Hellboy folds the paper in his hand, shaking his head as he waves it off, "It's nothing. Just a list...It's not finished..." He mutters. 

Kat walks to him and takes his face in her hands, running her fingers through his beard, "Red, don't be a baby." She couldn't help but smile at his annoyed look. "If you eat your dinner while I'm gone, we can talk when I get back, like go over that list, whatever it is...and then..." She leans in and whispers in his ear. 

Hellboy's eyes widen in shock and surprise with what she just promised him.  It was like the best and, yet, so dirty birthday/Christmas gift just for him.

"Really?" He pulls away to look at her, still in shock, "You promise?"

Biting her bottom lip, she gives him a wicked smile, "Mm-hmm." She leans down and kisses him. 

John walks in with nachos, stuttering in his step as he sees Hellboy and Kat kissing once again.  He sighs and looks away, awkwardly grimacing as Hellboy grips her ass. 

Kat giggles and lets go, "Only if you promise to eat.  So you'll have all the strength for later."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Babe." Hellboy grins, but glares at John. 

"I'll see you later, Red."  She says and moves towards the door.

John walks to him with a smile, brushing his hands off, "Anything else you need?" He asks

Hellboy downs a Red Bull, avoiding eye contact, "Not from you." He snaps.

Realizing that he was in trouble with Hellboy, John decides it was best to stay away from him for a while. 

"Well good n..."

"Good night." Hellboy says, fury in his voice.

John says nothing and turns to leave with Kay.  Hellboy glares at the door, crumbling the Red Bull can in his stone hand.  Growling lowly, he throws the can in fury and frustration.

"Uh, he seems pretty angry." John says nervously as they walk down the hallway.

Kat waves it off, "When is he not angry?" She laughs.  "Red is like that sometimes.  He doesn't like new people at first but then, before you know it, 10 years give or take, you two will be best buddies."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, Travis stood alone in the medical bay, gazing at the body before him. Under a plastic, transparent tarp and sheet, Kroenen's cold, naked body lies on a slab. Travis needed to document everything. With a tape recorder, he begins the autopsy.

"The subject: Karl Ruprecht Kroenen." He begins. "Born in Munich, 1897." Placing the tape recorder down, still set on record, he lifts the tarp to study Kroenen's arm that was covered with scars. "Suffered from a masochistic compulsion known as surgical addiction."

The visible areas of the body makes Travis grateful for the sheet covering the rest. He sets Kroenen's hand back under the tarp and moves to stand behind Kroenen's head, gazing at him from top to bottom. Kroenen's silver hand and harness lie on a table next to them.

"Both eyelids were surgically removed along with his upper and lower lips," He takes the tarp, lifting it in the air as it brushes all over the Kroenen's body, folding it over his chest to reveal Kroenen's grotesque face, "...making speech impossible. The blood in his veins dried up decades ago." He removes a key like crank from Kroenen's chest cavity where his heart use to be. It ticks softly in his hand, "Only dust remains." He turns around to exam the x-rays behind him. "Four pulverized vertebrae. A steel rod inserted into his pelvis held him up." Travis lets out a slow, shuddering breath. "What horrible will power could keep a thing like this alive?" He asks no one. He shakes his head at this...man...creature that laid on his table.

As he goes through Kroenen's person items, he finds the small pieces of paper Kroenen planted in his pouch. It was ripped into pieces, but as he puts two together, they formed a word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heading towards Hellboy's and Kat's room, under the gaze of high-security cameras, Agent Lime rolls the food cart down the corridor and into the domed intersection. He whistles a happy tune and opens the high security door. Once he walks inside, his jaw drops in shock. Across the room, Across the room, one of the walls has been completely demolished, revealing a service shaft and no sign of Hellboy. He rushes towards the shaft, drawing his gun, and sticks his head inside to scan it.

"Jesus!" He exclaims and rushes out of the room, racing through the hallway. "Hellboy escaped! I repeat, Hellboy has left the building!" He yells into his radio.

Meanwhile, across town, John was ordering the coffee as Kat waits a few feet away, watching several loving couples walk down the streets, displaying romantic affections towards each other. She watches this one couple who stood under a street light, the man take a leaf out from the girl's hair. Smiling so lovingly as he leans down and kisses her. Kat sighs softly, thinking about Hellboy. Sometimes, she sees what he was seeing. How he wants to be one of those men who can walk down the streets with her, just be himself without people pointing at him, calling him a monster. She was beginning to want the same thing.

"And one of those cookies, yeah. Do you have any donuts?" John asks.

"Sorry, Pal."

"How about a bear claw?"

"No, no."

Accepting just the coffee and cookies, John pays for everything and walks up to Kat and hands her a coffee and a little bag that carried cookies. She gives him a smile and accepts both as they walk down the street. Chatting and laughing. Unaware of a big red, jealous Hellboy scaling the roofs above as he follows them. He jumps from one roof to another and grunts as he rolls over the roof and moves to squat down, to hide. He peeks out and watches. Wishing he could hear them better.

"What are you two talking about? What's so fascinating?? So important?" Hellboy mutters.

Kat and Myers pause at a corner, waiting for the light. The shop lights begin to click off as they close up for the night.

"So, tell me more about Hellboy." John says, needing the information to get him on his good side, since right now, he knows he wasn't.

Kat chuckles, "Well, we met when Trevor Broom, Travis' late brother , brought me in." She scratches her brow, "I'm sure you read my file." She scoffs softly and laughs at his guilty look. "It's fine. I know the B.P.R.D aren't all about secrets when you're inside."

"How did you end up in the hospital in the first place?" He couldn't help but ask.

"I was 15. My latest foster home. I loved it there. Wonderful people and had siblings. But..." She stops and sighs heavily, "One night, I had a nightmare. A vision. My foster sister was drowning in a pool. We didn't have a pool but a friend of hers did. I fought with all my might to keep her away from that house. She called me a freak and started spreading horrible rumors about me through the school. One night, she snuck out of the house and went to her friend's to skinny dip with her boyfriend. She hit her head and drowned in that pool. Her boyfriend panicked when she hit her head and took off, leaving her there." She takes a sip of her coffee and sighs, "My, um, foster parents believed I caused their daughter's death. Calling me a murderer. So they took me to that place and when those doctors figured out what I could do, I became a lab rat for 10 years."

"Jesus." John whispers.

"Broom saved my life. I would have died years ago in that place if it wasn't for him. I owed him so much. Then I fell in love with his son." She chuckles.

"I have to admit, I admire him. He's a force of nature." John says.

"You mean he's pushy." Kat points out and laughs.

"No... He's determined. Unstoppable..." John shakes his head.

"Cocky." She corrects.

"Strong."

"A brute." She snorts. "He's all that. He has his flaws, but who doesn't." She sighs and smiles unconsciously, "Hellboy is not like others. He's not afraid to go for what he wants. Yet, he hates it with a passion when things get in his way. When I was his partner, before we became what we are now, he hated me!" She laughs at John's surprised look, "I'm serious. He did all he could to avoid me for months. But Broom was pushy as well. He saw something no one else could see between me and Hellboy. He was basically our matchmaker."

John frowns, "How come he hated you? I mean...you're....you're wonderful." He gives her a smile.

Kat laughs, "It's a little complicated. I mean, you've read his file...right?"

"Well, a lot was blacked out. I didn't read much." He shakes his head.

Kat sighs, "Well...about...hmmm, gotta be more than 14 years now, but before me...Hellboy was in love with another woman."

John spits up his coffee, "Excuse me?" He coughs and grabs a napkin to clean himself up.

"Her name was Elizabeth. Elizabeth Sherman. I never met her. She died about 12 years before he and I met. They were partners before. She was human, but she carried a Pyrokinesis power." She says.

John frowns, "What happened to her?" He asks.

Kat sighs, "I don't truly know.  But from what others have said, it was a mission gone wrong.  She...overused her power and set everything and everyone on fire...except for Hellboy.  He's fireproof.  He lost the woman he loved that night.  And, what others have told me, he was never the same after that.  Who could just go back to normal after losing someone you've loved more than anything?"

John sighs, feeling sympathy for Hellboy, going through so much loss like that.

"'No wonder he's an asshole', right?" Kat chuckles, as if she was reading his mind.  "I thought the same thing and I even went through the same old 'hate the new agent' routine he gives you."

John chuckles softly, "You know, my uncle used to say...'we like people for their qualities but love them for their defects'."

Kat gives him a small smile, "Smart man."

"He loves you now.  To be honest, I don't think I ever seen someone love a woman like he loves you." He says. 

Kat sighs and looks away, thinking about Hellboy again. 

"You love him, too." John says, reading it all over her face.

Kat smiles again, "More than anything." She sighs.  "It's not just the fact that we're both demons.  It's...how we see each other." She stops and faces John, "When you look at me, what do you see?  Hmm?"

That question caught John off guard, "I...what do you mean?" He stutters.

"If you didn't know me and saw me walking down the street, you would see a normal woman.  But if you saw me," She discreetly shines her eyes red, watching him flinch, "You would turn around and run, screaming your head off." She scoffs as her eyes return normal.  She continues to walk, "And if you saw Red...same thing.  You see what the world has cushioned you to see, the safe human world where monsters only exist in your childhood home, under the bed, in the closet.  In your nightmares.  But, he..." She sighs softly.  "I don't see that.  And he doesn't either.  I see...him...not Hellboy.  Not the demon.  But, him.  And he sees me.  Nothing else.  Understand?" She asks. 

In a way, he didn't understand.  But, another part of him did. 

They continue their stroll as Hellboy continues to follow them from above. Hellboy sat crouched in the shadows next to a chimney.  He rubs his chest as if felt so heavy.  Hearing Kat say that about him.  He lets out a shuddering sigh, his breath fogging around his mouth.  How he loves her so much.  What she said was true.  He didn't see the Demon Witch when he looks at her.  He sees...her. The woman who loves him for who he was. 

"Hardly a day goes by he's not in my mind. Even now, I feel he's here." She chuckles.  Hellboy slowly peeks from his hiding spot, watching them walk away.  He follows them again, never losing track of the two of them. Hellboy lands neatly on the adjacent roof. He looks down at Kat and John, watching him offer Kat cream and sugar for her coffee. 

Hellboy scoffs at his feeble attempts, "No cream and sugar, moron. She takes it black." He mutters. 

Kat shakes her head, politely declining everything from him as she happily sips her coffee and nibbles on a cookie.  Hellboy snorts at John's defeated look. 

"Told ya." He chuckles, trying to feel superior, but his smile fades when he watches John take off his coat and wraps it around Kat's shoulders.  He was hoping for her to decline that, but she accepted.  "She accepted his jacket.  She actually accepted his jacket?!"  He mutters angrily and grunts in fury, "Damn!"

"It's freezing, isn't it?" John chuckles as he places his coat over her shoulders. 

"Coffee's warming me up.  But thanks." Kat smiles, shivering softly.  "Usually, I'm used to the cold." She chuckles as they walk towards a small park near the train tracks.  "Won't you be cold, though?" She frowns.

John scoffs and waves it off, "Nah, it never bothered me before."

Kat snorts and looks away, not realizing John was shivering and rubbing his arms vigorously. He stops when she looks back at him, "So, another tough guy act.  Is that a thing for all men?" She scoffs. 

John laughs with her, realizing his jig was up, "Ok, yeah, it's cold. But you need it more than me." He gives her a charming smile.  "So...what do we do now?  Newark, New Jersey, entertainment capital of the world."

Kat scoffs, and rolls her eyes at him, "I'm just here for the coffee, John." She holds up her cup and moves towards a wet, dirty bench.  She looks around, making sure no one could see.  She uses her powers to clean off the bench.  Once it was dry and clean, she sits down.  John became alert and looks around, but sighs in relief when they were alone.  "You offered me a cup of coffee. I've got one, so just sit down. And ask all the questions you want about Hellboy and me." She sips her coffee and waits for him to sit next to her. 

John scoffs out a sigh and chuckles.  He was really liking her, perhaps even falling for her.  But she was off limits, he had to realize that.  Hellboy would rip him apart.  And he knew that Kat was in love with Hellboy, not him.  He sighs and sits next to her.

Hellboy leaps off a building that was near the park, but misses the roof and catches the parapet. 

"Aw, crap!" He grunts as he hangs on, letting out a string of curses as he hauls himself up.  "Shit! Fuck! God...Mother...!" He grunts as he finds himself next to a pigeon coop where a young boy is feeding the birds.

The boy looks at Hellboy with wide eyes, shocked to see him standing before him.  Hellboy looks at him awkwardly as he was crouched in his hiding spot.

"Hi." Hellboy mutters and climbs the roof.

"You're...you're Hellboy!"

"Shh!" Hellboy gently shushes him, "Quiet." He whispers, "I'm...on a mission." He quickly lies and turns to watch Kat and John.  He looks down at the boy, "Don't tell anyone, huh?"

The boy gives him a big grin and shakes his head, "Mm-mm."

"Attaboy." Hellboy sighs and watches John and Kat more. 

"So, you're following them?  Why?" The boy asks as he points at Kat and John. 

"Uh, they're spies.  I'm trying to stop them from destroying the world." He stutters.  "My world." He says softly.  "See that tiny little guy?" He points at John.

"Yeah?" The Boy asks. 

"He's trying to make the girl do things she's not supposed to.  He's a con-man." Hellboy scoffs.  "A player.  A girlfriend stealing piece of..." He stops himself as he looks back down at the boy.  "He's a bad guy.  Believe me, kid." He scoffs.

"What about her?" The boy asks.

Hellboy sighs, "She's, uh, she's my partner, to be honest.  I'm backup." He scoffs.  "She's trying to get information out of him. She wanted to go alone, but..." He gives the boy a crooked grin, "Friends don't leave friends hanging, right, kid?"

The boy nods and stands next to Hellboy as they watched John and Kat together.  The boy was bursting with excitement while Hellboy was filled with rage.  He grins as he imagines when he could do to John without anyone stopping him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Travis sighs heavily as he exams the damage to the wall. Shaking his head in disappointment, he turns to see Hellboy's locator belt hanging on the wall. 

"Should we send out some scouts, Sir?" Agent Lime asks.

Travis holds up a hand for him to stop.  Travis has officially had it with Hellboy.  It was absolutely useless.  He shakes his head in protest. 

"No. Enough. He will never change." He sighs heavily, "Always a child. Always."  He turns towards Agent Lime.  "I know where he's going.  Katherine and John are out for the night.  She has her locator on her.  Find her and you'll find him.  But...he'll come home when he's ready."

While Travis was away, in the medical bay, Kroenen still lies on the slab.  But, slowly, his chest starts to rise and fall.  He sits up and turns to get off the table.  He picks up his suit, mask, and chest key.  Once he redressed, he places his key back into his chest and winds himself up.  Kroenen's hideous cranium is visible for an instant before he zips up his mask. He takes the sharp Ragnarok knives and turns one over. It reflects a figure standing behind him: Grigory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Hellboy still on the boy's roof, pigeons coo softly around him.  The boy walks towards Hellboy, carrying two glasses of milk and a plate full of cookies.  With a huge grin, the boy sits next to Hellboy and places the cookies down in front of him.

"My Mom baked 'em." He says. 

But Hellboy was focused on Kat and John.  He scoffs as he watches Kat laugh at whatever John was telling her. He grimaces in disgust at the joke he just delivered, but Kat was laughing so hard at it. 

"She's laughing." He scoffs.

"Hmm?" The boy was confused.

"She's sitting on a park bench and she's laughing.  Ugh!" Hellboy reaches and snatches three cookies off the plate, "That's it.  I'm done." He scoffs. Thinking that this could be the end of him and Kat.  Call him dramatic, but he's scared to death each day with losing his kitten and some punk ass new agent fresh out of the academy comes and swoops in on his girl.  He just wanted to rip his head off and shove it up his...!

"She's laughing!" He exclaims in anger and munches on the cookies. 

"They don't look like spies." The boy points out, beginning to suspect something else was going on.  He may be 9, but he can tell the difference between spies and jealousy. 

Hellboy snorts and looks at the boy, "Are you kidding? Come on! Look at him, those shifty eyes, that phony grin." He scoffs and sees the last cookie, "You gonna eat that?" He asks. 

The boy shakes his head and lets Hellboy have the last cookie. 

Suddenly, John lets out a long yawn and lifts his arms up to stretch, but Hellboy could see right through him.  He slaps his forehead, groaning in disbelief.  This was so cringy to watch.

"Look, he's yawning.  He's bored." The boy points out.

Hellboy waves him off, "Oh, the yawning trick. That's so 1950's!" He scoffs. He pats the boy's chest, hearing him grunt, "Watch his arm." Hellboy gets up and scouts for pebbles.  "First, he wants my job, then he wants my girl." He mutters bitterly with the cookie still in his mouth.  He picks on that satisfied him and eyes John.  John slowly lowers his arm behind Kat, resting it on the park bench, but he slowly tries to make his way to her shoulder. 

"We all have a side that we try hide..." John says and almost reaches to grip her shoulder, but suddenly, a rock thumps hard against his head.  He groans in shock and winces as he covers his face where the rock struck him. "Hey! What the hell?" He exclaims and jumps to his feet, annoyed as he looks for the person who struck him.

Kat jumps as a pebble came flying out of nowhere, but as she looks around, she catches two figures ducking from a roof.  She sighs and squints her eyes in annoyance.  Clicking her tongue, she shakes her head in disappointment.

"Hellboy." She whispers. 

From the roof, Hellboy and the boy were snickering silently, hiding and chewing a cookie. The boy pats his back as he downs some milk. 

"Nice shot."

"Thanks." He mutters and looks for another one. "Watch him." He points at John. He managed to find more pebbles and begins to arm himself up.

"Where did the lady go?" The boy, suddenly, asks.

"What?" Hellboy frowns and crouches next the boy.

"The lady. She's gone." The boy frowns.

Hellboy looks and sees a confused John looking around as he holds two cups of coffee in his hand.

"Where the hell did she go?" Hellboy frowns.

From behind, gently gliding down to the rooftop, Katherine uses her powers to fly to the roof and finds Hellboy sneaking around and stalking her and John. Gently dropping on the ground silently, Kat crosses her arms over her chest and clears her throat.

Hellboy and the boy both freeze and slowly turn around in shock. There stood Kat, with a very, very angry look.

"You wanna explain?" She asks.

Hellboy points at the boy, "It was his idea."

The boy scoffs and smacks his arm, making Hellboy grunt and flinch. Hellboy gives her a guilty look, but tries to put on an innocent face. Kat was not buying it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Travi's office, he begins to study the two pieces of paper that he took from Kroenen.  Under a micro-scanner, the pieces are joined together and with computer enchantment, it fills out the missing areas.  The cyrillic letters become legible now for Travis to read.

"Sebastian Plackba...#16...Moscow." He frowns and moves towards a shelf, pulling out a few old photos he kept from Trevor's collection.

He finds one that had a photo of Grigory himself, dressed in a German unfiorm. He finds a book that carried another picture of Grigory dressed in an Orthodox priest's black cassock. He pulls out his old wooden box, pulls out a dusty book from it. His fingers scan the text, finding Rasputin's date of birth, date of death. He pauses at a particular line: 'His mausoleum is at SebastianPlackba #16'." He frowns and became confused, "Who on Earth wants us in Moscow?" He asks. "Rasputin's mausoleum of all places." He adds with a soft mutter.

Suddenly, Travis hears a tchk noise and turns in time to see Kroenen delicately descending a spiral staircase, blade in hand. In spite of all his experience, Travis was shaken, but he didn't show it. He never show any fear towards an enemy.

"I see the puppet. But..." Travis turns to scan the room, "Where is...the puppet master?" He asks.

Behind him, a dark voice speaks out.

"Very good, Professor Broom."

Travis turns and sees Grigory sitting in a chair behind him with a smirk. Suddenly, it became so clear. Of course....it was all his doing.

'It was you: The scraps of paper, Katherine's sudden conscious visions, it was all you..." He says.

With a brief nod, Grigory smirks at Travis, "Bread crumbs on the trail. Like in a fable. They both distract him and guide him exactly where I need him."

"Moscow."

"His destiny." Grigory rises from his seat and slowly approaches Travis. Travis stiffens as he draws near him, "And the last clue will be left by the late Professor Broom." He stands next to Travis, "Your bother raised the child, nurtured him, but you raised the demon. So, in return, I will permit you a brief, brief glimpse of the future." He touches Travis' forehead, lightly.

Travis jerks a little, his eyes shutting tightly as a flash of a nightmarish tableau is presented before him. The ruins of New York, charred, smoldering. Human remains litter the landscape. Monstrous shapes lumber in the distance... an army of apocalyptic beasts outlined against the blood-red sky. Dominating the horror is a mountain of festering skeletons and skulls. At the top, Hellboy sat crouched, transformed into Agnun un Rama. His horns are in full bloom, his eyes and mouth stream unearthly fire.

"He will open the portal and bring about the end of the world." Rasputin tsks. "If only your brother had him destroyed 60 years ago, non of this would have come to pass. But then...how could he have known? How could anyone have known? Your God chooses to remain silent. Mine lives within me."

Slowly, Travis snaps out of the vision, opening his eyes to find himself back in his office, feeling Rasputin's hand brushing against his hair. It sickened him. But seeing that vision of Hellboy, he needed to warn them. Travis looks at this...man before him. His eyes widening a little as he watches Rasputin's neck and shoulders begin heaving and twitching, as if a monster lived under that human skin of his.

"In the frozen waters of the Malaya Nevka, in the darkness of the void. Every time I died and crossed over, a little more...of the master...came back with me." He gestures at his skin. "He disclosed to me the child's true name. Would you like to know it??" Rasputin asks.

Travis turns and faces Rasputin, gaining courage to face this monster...to face death himself, "I know what to call him. Nothing you can say or do will change that." He silently laughs at Rasputin's disappointed face, but he didn't care. He spits on that face in mind. He turns towards the book, and places his rosary over it.

"I am ready." He states.

Rasputin places his hand over Travis' and the rosary, "Good. It'll be quick." He promises and moves away for Kroenen to settle behind him. "Now, I'll add two crumbs more for him." Kroenen swirls his knife around and places the blade on the back of Travis' neck. "Grief...and revenge."

With a sharp thrust, the blade goes in and out of Travis' body and he slowly falls to the floor. With very little time, before he crosses over, he prays to anyone who was listening to watch over Hellboy for him and protect him from the evil that lies inside him to remain asleep for the rest of his life. To never wake up ever again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pigeons flutter on the rooftop as Hellboy sits next to the boy as Kat paces back and forth in front of them. Muttering bitterly as she glares at Hellboy.

"You couldn't let me have just a little one-on-one with the new recruit, could you? No, you had to be the big whinny little baby who is acting like a toy was taken from him. For god's sake, Hellboy, what do you have against John?" Kat demands.

"That!" He points at her, "That, right there!" He scrambles to get to his feet and stands in front her. "Why are you calling him by his name? His name is Myers. Not John. Myers." He states.

Kat frowns at him, "What? Hellboy, why are you so intimidated by a guy like him? I call every agent by their first name, what is so different about John?" She scoffs.

"Everything! Nothing!" He stutters and mumbles as he turns away, but Kat runs and gets in front of him.

"Oh, no, you don't! You're gonna tell me right now what you have against someone like John." She shoves him back, but she grunts in surprise when he uses his hand to push her away. "You're not getting away from me, Hellboy." She uses her powers to wrap vines around his body.

Hellboy grunts as he stands stiff, but falls backwards with a loud grunt. He groans as he lies trap on the ground. Kat sighs and straddles his body, sitting on his chest.

"Wow, that was so cool!" The boy exclaims as he watches them.

"Hellboy, what's going on?" She asks gently.

Hellboy sighs and rolls his eyes, "Nothing."

Kat scoffs, "You're sitting on a roof, with a child, eating milk and cookies while watching John and I have coffee and talk. This isn't nothing." She eyes him, "You can tell me anything. What is it?"

"He's taking my job! That's what." He finally snaps. "First, he takes my job and now, he's..." He scoffs.

"Dude, just tell her how you feel!" The boy exclaims. "My mom says..." Hellboy cuts him off.

"It's not that easy, okay? Plus, you're nine. You're not old enough to give me advice." Hellboy snorts at the boy.

"But he seems smart enough to know more than you." Kat gives him a fake smile, ignoring his growl. She sighs and reaches to stroke his beard, "Red, admit it...you're jealous of him. You shouldn't be. He's not trying to take anything from you. He's not taking your job and he's not going to take me." She watches Hellboy snaps his eyes to hers, "That's what it is, isn't it? It's me. If you can't trust John, can you trust me?"

"Babe, you know I trust you with my life." Hellboy scoffs.

"Then do it. Trust me with this. Please." She sighs, growing tired of Hellboy's attitude.

Hellboy looks away, sighing soflty. He can't help it when it comes to his anger and his jealousy. He loves her too damn much and he'll kill anyone who will try to take her away from him.

"Who are those guys?" The boy asks.

Kat and Hellboy both look at the boy in curiosity. Kat gets off Hellboy and releases him from her powers. They walk towards the end of the roof and sees two of the black B.P.R.D. Sedan cars rounds the corner. Agent Lime bounds out of one of the vehicles, grabbing John talking rapidly.

Hellboy frowns, "Something's wrong." He moves back and jumps from the roof as Kat uses her powers to glide down to the ground.

Together, they rush towards the Sedans, frowning with concern. It didn't take long for the agents to notice their presence.

"What's going on?" Kat asks.

John turns towards them both with a look of dread. He uttered the words Hellboy never wanted to hear, especially now during this time.

"It's Travis."