HellGirl – Magician of the new Millennium

Part 1

The newly proclaimed HellGirl lay in her bed, arms folded under her head as she stared directly up into the ceiling. She had fully recovered from her last incident just a few weeks ago but she was still monitored by a select few people to make sure she didn’t sneak out. May tossed and turned restlessly on her bed before stopping at a position where she was finally comfortable… If you could call it that. Her feet were propped up on her pillow, her hands rested on her stomach, and her head hanging from the side of her bed. Letting out a heavy sigh, she used her tail to curl around the remote and click the on button before staring at the screen. The news. Wonderful. The red demon stared at the television screen as an oriental news reporter came into view.

“Once again the thief who calls himself The Black Magician stroke again. Stealing an old context from the New York museum. As many may know, The Black Magician claims to be a sort of gentleman thief and only steals after alerting the police when he’s going to do so and will always return the object a few days after stealing it. No one knows who this strange man is, but the police force can never seen to catch him. As with all the other attempts by almost everybody. It seems The Black Magician will continue to plague New York City until someone can unmask this horrible, yet entertaining thief magician.” A picture of the thief then popped onto the screen and immediately caught May’s attention. It looked like a teenage boy around her age. Wearing a black cape, tuxedo, and top hat, the final touches like under the cape and the shirt under the tux were all a bright red. The most interesting thing about him though was his face. A skull mask covered the top of his face so that only his mouth and right eye showed. His short black hair was sort of over the front of his mask and the back was pulled into an extremely tiny ponytail.

May seemed to stare into the one blue eye that stood out from the rest of his disguise. I know I’ve seen him somewhere before… Her eyes narrowed as she continued to stare until the picture was taken off the air and the weather forecast started. “I think he was at Cate’s school…” She then regretted thinking such a thing. … Cate… The demon looked down, which was actually looking up since her head was still hanging from the side of her bed.

A cough came from the door followed by a soft knock. “May?”

“YEAAAAAH!” The red demon flailed until she fell clear off the bed, head first. “What, Hadly?” May glared ahead before rolling over and rubbing the top of her head with her red hand.

“Your dinner is here.” Hadly, May’s caretaker rolled in a steel cart with a bag on it. “I got you something special today.” The demon looked up at him and wondered how he could be as strong as he was… Emotionally, anyway. Even after all they had been through and he always had the three scars across his face to remind him of it, he was still all smiles every time he was around her.

“Really? What’d ya get me?” May sat up on the edge of her bed and peeked in the bag, letting out a gasp. “CHINESE!” The demon reached her hands in to pull out a Chinese box filled with rice before taking out a few other things. “Ah! Hadly, I love you.” Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck before placing a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you!” Hadly gave her a warm smile and some chopsticks before heading out so that May could enjoy her meal.

Once she had finished, the red teen laid back on her bed as she had been before and looked over to her sleeping cat, Zippy. “Your such a lazy kitty.” Patting him on the head, she rolled back over. Tomorrow, right after school, she would go to Cate’s school and wait until she saw that boy come out of the building to determine what she thought. The few times she had gone out in the daylight had been to watch Cate from afar as she walked home with her little group of friends. Human’s lives were so simple and free… And they didn’t even notice. None of them would really ever feel what she felt day in and day out. The longing to just walk along the streets without getting odd looks or someone screaming. But no… Humans were too judgmental and only saw what was on the outside. May’s eyes narrowed as she continued to think. Cate had been her only human friend outside of The B.P.R.D and she wasn’t able to protect her… HellGirl’s mood then switched from anger to sorrow as he eyes narrowed even further. But this time it was because of tears. Rolling to her side, she curled into a ball on top of her bed and started to cry. I couldn’t protect her…

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May awoke later the next day, her face and pillow smelling of salt from her tears the night before. Stands of her raven hair stuck to her face until the demon stood and combed out her hair and got in her bathrobe and slippers before walking from her room. Some of the suited men that worked there gave her strange looks, almost stopping to ask her what was wrong. But anybody who was anybody already knew. Ever since the day May awoke from the three days of rest after the long trip from Egypt, she had often cried herself to sleep over the loss of her friend. No one she knew could relate to her. No one. Not even her father who had practically already lost his wife. But the teen had felt that pain with him since she was loosing a mother. A mother and a best friend. No one she knew had to deal with both.

The small demon child tugged on the handle to the bathroom only to find it locked. Surprised, she knocked. “Hello?”

“What?!” HellBoy’s voice rang out above the sound of water coming from the showerhead. Of all the times he chose to be clean it was when she wanted to take a shower.

May made a fist and pounded on the door. “You had to pick to get clean NOW, stinky?!” She could almost feel her father roll his eyes and glare at her.

“I’ll be out in a second!”

May waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, she went to pound on the door again. “Toda-“ Her red fist made contact with her father’s stomach. She looked up and gave him a huge, fake grin. “Howdy!”

HellBoy rolled his eyes and shook his head before grabbing one of May’s horns and moving her to the side in one quick motion. Slowly he lumbered to his room, raising his hand in a waving gesture back to his daughter. “Go morning, sleepy!”

The demon child glared at his large frame. “Horns are off limits when you wanna get rid of me, y’know!” It had been an unspoken rule ever since she was little and tried to play the bongos on her father’s horns. He didn’t scold her for not cutting her horns off and she didn’t mess with the two round circles on his forehead that he kept filed down. Her glare then turned to a smile as she went inside the bathroom. She couldn’t remember one time where he had yelled at her or actually hurt him with her jokes and the same went with her. It was probably because all they really had was each other and both of them were well… So danm alike in some ways.

HellGirl stripped and slid into the shower before turning on the hot water. Unlike most showers, there were more hot settings after the world hot. Since neither heat nor fire bothered either her or her father, they could never actually burn themselves. Thus, the bathroom was worse then a sauna when either of them stepped out. May snatched a bar of soap that was on one of the ledges in the bathtub and used it to wash down her horns before sticking it on top of the point. Doing the same with another bar of soap, she looked up to watch the soap bubbles drip down her long red horns onto her forehead.

Maybe she should file her horns down like her father. They were getting pretty lethal if you really thought about it. May stood in front of the fogged mirror and whipped the cloud away so she could see herself. After awhile of looking at her horns, face, and the like, she got dressed. Most of the shirts she wore now had The B.P.R.D’s logo on it in some place on the front. After her first mission over a month ago she had been made an official member to go on the missions with Abe and her father. Slinging her bathrobe over her shoulder, the red demon made her way out of the bathroom. A cloud of steam poured from the doorway the very second the door was opened. On her way back to her room, she spotted Hadly rounding a corner and ran to catch up with him. Like always, he was pushing a steel cart with food on it.

“Yo, Hadly!” May set in tow with him and he paused to look back at her before continuing to roll the cart to her room.

“Hey, May. Just get out of the shower?” He smirked, looking at the towel that sat on top of her head with her hair wrapped up in it like a turban.

“Yep! Had to wait a little while because stinky was taking up the bathroom.”

“I heard that!” May flinched and looked back to see her father passing the hallway both her and Hadly were walking down. She stuck out her tongue and waved to him, turning around only after he had waved back.

“What’s this? Lunch?” May looked over the pie looking thing on the tray.

“Yup. Sorry it’s a bit late. Had some… business to attend to.” Hadly looked away from her and his smile turned slyer. May’s grin broadened.

“You’ve gotta giiiirlfriend!”

Hadly’s left eye began to spasm, only proving her suspicions. “Ha! I knew it! Your so easy, Hadly.” Her caretaker let out a sigh before nodding reluctantly.

“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone or all the guys will start teasing me.” May blinked in confusion.

“Why? Because they can’t get one?” They both arrived at May’s room and she opened up the door so Hadly could wheel in the cart and park it next to her bed like usual.

“No, no… It’s just a guy thing I guess.”

May stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly. “I seeeeeee….”

“Anyway, chicken pot pie for lunch. It’s not much but as you know I was short on time.” He then reached below the cart and handed her a bag of Doritos. “Here, just in case that’s not enough you can snack on these.”

May smiled before picking at the potpie with her fork. “Thanks Hadly. I won’t tell anyone about your girlfriend.”

Hadly smiled and started to leave the room, only stopping to pat May on the head. “Thanks, Red princess.” He then left, cart in hand.

May nibbled on her potpie until she caught a glance at the clock. “Oh crap! It’s already 2:30!” Scrambling, she put on her beanie, scarf, gloves, and boots and started towards the vent just outside her room she constantly used before pausing to grab some Doritos and shove them into her mouth. In a red blur the demon child was already up the vent before anyone could see her. May crawled out of the last vent and tried to use her hand to shield the blinding sun from her eyes. She really, really hated going out in the daytime. It made her feel so… Vulnerable. Shuddering, she slipped between the gates and headed onto the rooftops.

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The red teen slid to a stop once she reached the school roof and peeked over the edge. She had made it just in time. A loud bell rang out and tons of students poured out of the two large doors in the front of the high school. May scanned every male student until she found the one she had been looking for. Of course she had no idea what his name was but he just HAD to be The Black Magician. The same hair, the same eyes, everything. The demon wondered why humans were so blind to the obvious.

Then something unexpected happened. The boy turned around and stared directly in May’s direction. Panicking, she abruptly dove downward until she was in hiding. How had he known she was there? That was that. He had to be The Black Magician. HellGirl smirked from her laying position on the warm concrete underneath her. She’d follow him home. Wait… What was she thinking? Follow him home? In no means did she want to stalk the kid… Then again he was a thief. May continuously weighed everything before deciding she’d follow him… Just for the helluvit. That was all.

After what seemed like ages, the boy finally went to an apartment building and didn’t come out. May breathed a sigh of relief before leaping over onto the building’s roof and sat down. Hopefully no one would come up and spot her. May closed her eyes to rest. It had been a long while she snuck out and did so much strenuous activity. It wasn’t long until she accidentally fell asleep leaned up against the edge of the building.

“Y’know, you shouldn’t fall asleep on other people’s roves.” The voice startled May as she leapt up into a crouch. The boy she had been following was standing next to her and looking out over the street in front of the apartment building he lived in. The demon child started to shake in fear. What if he had taken pictures of her while she slept and would turn them in to the Newspaper? Wearily, she stood and took a step back.

“You didn’t take pictures of me did you? Or film?” The question seemed out of place in their conversation but it had to be asked for her own safety.

“Of course not. Why would I talk pictures of you?” The boy didn’t bother to look at her from his position. May took it as an insult. Pictures of her? Why because she was a freak? Wait, she couldn’t let that get to her. No pictures was good.

“That’s surprising. Most would jump at the chance to unmask HellGirl for the freak she really is.” She paused, thinking. “Or The Black Magician.” The boy didn’t even flinch. May took a step closer. And closer. Until she was right behind him. “I know you’re the Black Magician. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Humans are so stupid.” The demon took a step back. Both of them stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, May gathered all her courage and broke the silence. “What’s your name?”

It took the boy while to answer. “Yasashiku.”

May blinked. “Sounds Japanese.”

“I was born in Japan. I just exchanged here not too long ago.” Yasashiku kept his eyes on the street ahead as he spoke.

“You speak English well.”

“I learned it in Japan. And my parents would always come over here on business trips so I had to.” Another long silence ensued and it was starting to get late. “Your names not HellGirl is it?”

May walked over to the edge of the building and looked down into the ally below. “I was never here, got it?” She then crouched, ready to leap onto the next building. “And my names May.” Springing up, she began to roof hop until she was safe inside The B.P.R.D’s boarders. She let out a loud sigh as she crawled through the vents. After getting out like usual, she flopped back on her bed and closed her eyes. Maybe he’s not all bad… For once, she didn’t cry herself to sleep.

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“The Werewolves Claw?” May looked up at Hadly from the laptop in front of her. “What’s so special about it? Just looks like a sculpture of a werewolf claw.” Her and Hadly sat in the library at a large oak table with a laptop in front of them, the caretaker standing behind her.

“Well… That’s the thing. It’s an actual werewolf claw. It’s being shipped over from England to be put in the museum. We just have to keep it in mind because all who get even the slightest scratch by the claws turn into a werewolf.”

The demon child paused before looking up at the young man. “Are you serious? Sounds like some sort of story to keep little kids from touching it or something.”

“Yes, I’m serious.” Hadly let out a sigh. “You of all people should be able to believe this sort of thing.”

“Eh, that’s true.” May stared at the computer screen, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her red palm. “All we have to do is protect it… Shouldn’t be that hard…”