[closed]

[wroughtiron]

Characters: An NPC (wroughtiron), Annabeth Chase (sophos), Hellboy (histruename), the Doctor (iwaspromisedtea) and Zatanna Zatara (backwordscompatible)
Date: November 25/28th.
Location: The Mainland.
Situation: These characters are tracked down by an NPC and given some information, as well as asked a few things in return. Individual scenarios are in the main body of the post itself.
Warnings/Rating: Shouldn't stray much above pg-13, but if it does I'll let you know.

Comments

[histruename]

[Well that catches his attention.]

Yeah, she did. Happen to know anything about it?

[wroughtiron]

[She slides the arrow back in its quiver across her back and pushes her hood back. Her hair is short and a little unkempt, her skin dark. Long years of desert life.]

Seems like the Emperor deemed her superfluous. That's mostly what happens to people who vanish.

[histruename]

[He'd thought of that. From the very moment he woke up to her gone the idea had gnawed at the back of his mind. But there's no way he's just gonna shrug his shoulders and write it off as the Emperor's doing. There's plenty of other things that could cause people to disappear. Plenty of other things he had to rule out. He wasn't gonna give up on finding Liz, not until he had proof. He refuses to leave any stone unturned. When he responds, his voice carries a bit of a defensive edge.]

Maybe. But I'm exploring my options.

[He fishes a cigarette out of his pocket and puts it between his lips.]

I'm gonna keep looking.

[He turns, deciding that maybe he really should head back to the island. Poll the network to see if anyone's seen any sign of her, or if there's been any other sudden disappearances on the mainland.]

[wroughtiron]

Or you could ask me nicely, Red. I may not look like much, but I can help.

[NO REALLY SHE CAN...]

[histruename]

["Red"? he mouths to himself, grimacing. Definitely not one of his favorite nicknames. But the girl's right. He could use the help, and she looks like she knows the desert. Contemplating this, he fishes a match out of his belt and strikes it against his stone hand, taking a long drag.]

I was going to head back to the island, see if anyone's heard something.

[He turns around to face her again, puffing smoke.]

But if you've got any ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

[His gaze turns stern, leaving no room for question.]

And the name's Hellboy.

[wroughtiron]

Eva. And get that damned thing out of my face or I'll do it for you.

[SHE BATS AT THE WAFTING SMOKE as if that will actually make a difference.]

Do you have anything of hers with you? Something she used or touched?

[histruename]

[Well, jeez. He really could've used that smoke, but he does have manners. He pitches the cigarette onto the sand with a flick and no small amount of irritation.]

Probably.

[He starts rummaging through the countless odds and ends in his belt. It has to be around here somewhere...

He would ask what the hell she needed it for, but he figures he'll find out soon enough.]

Most of this stuff took a dip in the ocean, if it matters.

[wroughtiron]

Doesn't matter the least.

[And she holds out a hand, impatient.]

[histruename]

[Sheesh, give him a second. He hasn't seen this thing in probably twenty years. But eventually he finds it--A golden St. Christoper medal on a chain, given to Liz when she was just a kid. She'd given it back to him years afterward before a particularly bad case. He places it in the girl's outstretched hand, the chain pooling around it.

St. Christopher. The patron saint of travelers. It's kind of ironic, now.]

Don't tell me you have some kind of magic bloodhound out here.

[It's a joke, but at this point, he just might be desperate enough to put some money on magic bloodhounds. He doesn't have the best feeling about this, but he figures he's running out of options.]

[wroughtiron]

You calling me a bitch, mate?

[She winks a little - it's a joke, calm down - and takes the chain. The way it coils against her palm... it feels warm, somehow. Almost alive. She closes her fingers over it.]

This woman.

[She tosses the chain lightly in her hand.]

Elizabeth. Something to do with... heat. Sunlight?

[... ah.]

No. Fire. She's definitely gone, but not permanently.

[histruename]

[Hellboy only stares at the joke, completely unamused because jeez. Luckily they're back to business before things get too awkward, and that's fine by him.

As the woman fiddles with the chain, and goes as far as mentioning Liz's name, he realizes what's going on here. Psychometry. Psychic ability through touch. He's seen it in action quite a few times in the past, and watches her with mild interest as she continues her reading.

Hellboy's worked with plenty of psychics over the years. Enough to know most of them aren't worth their weight in crap half the time. But every now and then you run into a real one, and they actually prove useful for a change. Either this girl has some serious information gathering skills, or she's the real deal.

If she's real, he might be able to get some more information out of this.]

Gone where? And what does that have to do with the Emperor?

[She said something about her deeming Liz superfluous before, but if she's not gone permanently, that doesn't make any sense.]

[wroughtiron]

Just gone. As in 'not here anymore'. Home, maybe. I can't be more precise than that, do I look like a miracle worker?

[Don't answer that.]

Sometimes it's that people aren't... necessary to what the Emperor wants of them. But sometimes they just slip through the cracks. See, everybody's anchored here. Sometimes trauma can... sever that anchor. She did something recently, didn't she? And she felt... guilty about it.

[She purses her lips, and drops the medal down to dangle at the end of its chain.]

Guessing that's what did it. You guys aren't really here. Not... in the traditional sense. I mean, you're standing here and you're talking to me, but it's still due to a psychic link between your world and this place. It's more mental than physical, even though the physicality's a part of it. Sort of.

[histruename]

Liz disappeared because she was guilty?

[He rubs at his forehead with his normal hand, just below the stumps of his horns. This's what he gets for trying to make sense of things. More psychic crap. Give him a monster to fight any day, but figuring out this kind of metaphysical stuff has never been his thing.]

Right.

[Now he just has to figure out what to do next. If her disappearance really is temporary, he shouldn't stop looking. And even if this psychic seems like the real thing, he knows better than to take her word as law.

But most of all, he knows he can't stop because that's just not what he does.]

[wroughtiron]

I'm not saying it's the answer, just an answer. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not. I don't have the corner market on 'sanity', you know.

[She holds out the necklace for him to take.]

[histruename]

Sure.

[He reaches out to take the pendant with his flesh-and-blood hand.]

Thanks for the help.

[It didn't really get him anywhere, but she tried.]

[wroughtiron]

[She cocks her head to one side.]

How would you feel about a little more?

[histruename]

[Hellboy was about ready to excuse himself and be on his way, but her offer throws him off guard a little. He furrows his brow, pocketing the charm into one of the pouches on his belt.]

I guess I'm not sure what you mean.

[wroughtiron]

Cagey sort, aren't you? Is that part and parcel of being all-- you-ish?

[She gestures at him to imply 'all of him'.]

[histruename]

Me? No... desert full of monsters in another dimension, what's there to worry about?

[Okay, so he's a little on edge. So what? With all the crap he's been through lately, he has every right to be. That and he just really hates psychics.]

You offered me more help, and if she's really gone, I guess there's not much more you can do.

[Going back to the Turtle and posting a notice on the network about her disappearance he's pretty sure he can handle on his own.]

[wroughtiron]

I can give you this.

[No word on when she thought to pull this little item out of her bag, but she holds it out to him now - it's an old, intricate star chart. The calligraphy and workmanship put into it seems almost surreal, each star is neatly labelled and upon closer inspection the damn things actually glow in an approximation of the luminosity of the real thing.]

You know. If you'd take it.

[histruename]

[He takes the map and studies it. Seems pretty innocuous despite the glowing. And old, beautifully crafted, though it doesn't really seem to impress him all that much. If anything he's just kind of confused.]

It's pretty nice, but I don't really see how that's supposed to help me.

[wroughtiron]

What can it hurt? Maybe it'll come in handy somewhere down the line, hm?

[Though by her smile, she's not about to tell him how.]

You'll get out of the desert by going thataway. If, you know. You're lost.

[histruename]

...Right.

[Oh, how he hates this kind of crap. But he'll take her word for it. God damn psychics.]

I think I'll be all right.

[wroughtiron]

Oh, I expect so. But if you get lost, give me a shout, hmm?

[She mimes a phone.]

I imagine you're easy to find, big fellow like you.

[histruename]

[All that earns her is a flat stare. He's pretty used to traveling like this, and he doesn't get lost all that easily. It's just weird she's so bent on helping him, giving him things, playing up the whole mysterious act. All it does is make him more and more leery of her. People like this always seem to lead him into trouble.

Okay. Maybe it's time to cut the crap.]

Listen, I appreciate the offer, but I don't know why you're so set on helping me. And what are you doing out here, anyway? Hunting can't be all that great.

[She has to be out here doing something more productive than sitting out in the desert handing people maps.

He's not even clear if she's one of them, a Foreigner. Before he'd been so determined about finding Liz to even care. But what she had implied earlier made it sound like she wasn't, and she doesn't look much like a kedan to him.]