Faith Discovers why the hunting is scarce in New York City

Disclaimer: I don't own any of characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Authors Note: This is a crossover with Hellboy the movie. A single viewing of the movie and a little internet research is all of my exposure to Hellboy so please forgive if I'm not up to snuff on the comic story line, but I'll at least try to resemble the movie characters. This could develop into a longer story, but right now, I only have a couple of chapters thought out, more of a foundation to the crossover.

Bump In The Night
By OldScout

Faith crouched on the ledge in the old subway tunnel and surveyed the lair. Water dripped from old pipes, steam rose around debris on the floor and the distinct smell of decay permeated everything. The whole scene was lit by bare bulbs somebody had spliced into passing power lines, the remains of subway tunnel lighting, smoldering burn barrels and other assorted light sources trickeled in from nearby chambers. The tunnel shook as a train rumbled through somewhere overhead.

It only took a month in the Big Apple for Faith to find her way here; she supposed that was some sort of record. She had been looking for the gang of vampires for a week and had finally tracked them into these tunnels. She'd been on her way out clubbing when she finally got her break and saw the group of vamps disappear into a broken maintenance grate. Thankfully even though she was one her way out on the town, she stilled dressed sensibly Slayer chic with black leather pants, thin brown lace top and long black cloth duster. The duster was always a good choice since it helped to hide the multitude of weapons she carried even when just going out dancing.

Stilling clutching the stake she'd dusted a couple of look outs with, Faith opened a small lighted compact and checked her face. "Damn," she thought, "I've got dirt on my cheek." She brushed the smudge away with her thumb then re-applied her dark red lipstick. "Can't let the vamps see me all messed up before I dust them." She smiled at the thought. She loved being vain in these hell holes, it gave her life meaning.

Someone was coming, she heard the sound of foot steps and low murmurs before anybody else would have. A single figure walked carefully down the middle of the tunnel. The man moved forward with the slow deliberate routine of somebody checking every corner for threats before moving on. She watched as he swung his hand gun from section to section waiting for an attack. He wore a long black trench coat over a dark suit, white shirt and black tie. He had a short tight hair cut and was clean shaven; Faith guessed he was in his mid to late twenties. As he walked, he kept talking into a small microphone that hung from a receiver in his left ear.

"Red can you hear me? Come on guys where'd you go?" The agent stopped not too far from Faith perched on her ledge above. Something else moved.

"Okay, who's out there?" He said. "Show yourselves." He swung around, aiming at the figures as they emerged from the shadows; Vampires in their game faces.

"What have we here?" A female asked. "Dinner, all gift wrapped and presented nice and pretty."

"Hey Red, somebody," He said into his mike again. "I could really use some backup."

"I think your friends took a left when you took a right." Another creature said.

As the little confrontation was taking place Faith dropped silently from the ledge into the shadows below. Whatever this guy was doing down here, he was way out of his league now.

With the vampires surrounding him, Agent Meyers was about to start shooting, he knew he wouldn't kill them, but perhaps he could slow them down enough to make a retreat and maybe attract the rest of the squad. Then a female said something.

"You know, you guys invite a girl over to party and all you want to do is stand around and talk. What kind of lame ass dance club is this?"

Standing behind the vampires in front of agent Meyers was an attractive young woman with long wavy brown hair. She was wearing a long back duster over what appeared to be leather pants and some kind of lacey top. She was slightly dirty but definitely not a vagrant the clothes were expensive and new.

"This is a private party." One of the vampires said as they started to move around her. "But you're welcome to join us for dessert."

Meyers and the woman made eye contact. Her eyes changed from indignant party girl to predator. "Down."

Agent John Meyers didn't have a lot of field time but he had enough to instinctively drop to the ground on that command. Something flew by making an audible thunk almost exactly where he'd been standing. He looked up in time to see one of the creatures had come up behind him. It now had a wooden stake in its chest and just enough time to look surprised before collapsing into dust.

The young woman leaned aside as one of the vampires lunged at her bringing another stake to meet it in the chest as well. She used the momentum to spin around, allowing her long black coat to swirl out around her. As she faced back into the crowd again she had a cross bow in one hand and a short sword in the other. The closest vampire received a straight legged kick square to the chest sending it flying twenty feet and impaling on a broken pipe protruding from the wall.

"That's impossible." Meyers muttered as he watched the woman walk further into the midst of the group. Two steps and she fired the cross bow at another vampire. Before the small wooden bolt struck its intended, the weapon had clattered to the ground and she was swinger her sword at another creature. An arm dropped to the ground but the before its owner could scream she had reversed her swing and taking its head. The head bounced once before it and the body turned to dust, leaving the severed arm behind.

In minutes the fight was over, the young woman had waded into the surprised vampires before they could coordinate an attack. She moved so fast he often saw only blurs of motion. Soon it was over and Meyers was standing back up. The girl walked back to him, kicking her crossbow up into her hands as she approached. "You shouldn't be playing down here all by yourself." She purred like she was saying something really sexy to him. As she spoke, she reloaded her bow and with glance over her shoulder finished off the vampire still impaled on the pipe.

"Who are you?" Meyers was finally able to ask.

"I'm Faith," She replied. She was now standing directly in front of him. "Apparently I'm your guardian angel."

Before Meyers could respond, she leaned up and pulled him into a long passionate kiss.

After finally pulling away she smiled. "Not bad for a skinny white guy." She looked down the tunnel he'd come out. "I think your friends have finally caught up."

Meyers looked down the tunnel to see a light moving toward him then back to Faith. She was gone.

Faith sat back on the ledge watching the new agents arrive. Four men dressed the same as the first were accompanied by someone or something else. The one leading up the middle was at least a head and shoulders taller than the rest and seemed twice as wide. His size wasn't the only thing that made him stand out, instead of the black trench coat and suit the others were wearing; he had a long, brown leather duster that had seen better days a long time ago. But it wasn't his size or his attire that really made him stand out, nor was it his strange under the chin beard and goatee, it was the fact that he was red, had a spiked tail and what appeared to be horn stubs protruding from his forehead. He was probably the one referred to as "Red".

"Well Agent Meyers, what did you get yourself into this time?" One of the other agents asked.

The big guy, Red, walked around kicking at the piles of vampire dust ending with nudging the arm with his foot. He dug the stub of an old cigar from his pocket, clenched it in the corner of his mouth and lit it with a match struck on his rock covered right arm. After taking a couple of puffs he said "Vampires."

"You fought vampires?" One of the agents asked. "What happened?"

Meyers looked sheepish. "Actually, I just sort of ducked out of the way while this girl, ah I mean young woman fought them."

"What some homeless street person thought they were invading her turf or something?"

"Maybe it was someone who lost somebody to vampires, if she knows how to fight and kill vampires, a civilian might be able to take out one or two." Another agent suggested.

"Actually, she took out six or eight." Meyers said. "She was anything but normal and from the weapons she had, she came looking for a fight."

"Damn." Red muttered.

"What?" Meyers turned to the demon.

"Now I've gotten competition when I'm looking for something to pound."

"Sirs," one of the agents who had been talking on his radio interjected. "Base said they will pick us up at the Times Square exit in half an hour. We'd better get going."

The team turned and headed back down the alley. Last to leave was the demon. He stood at the exit for a moment a looked right back at Faith. She wondered if he could really see her, then he was gone, clomping down the passage after his companions.

Faith looked at her watch. Half an hour to Times Square, if she was where she thought, she could make it above ground in fifteen minutes. She ran down her ledge and jumped back up to the next level the way she'd come down. Faith wanted to find out more about these people. She didn't think they were part of the Initiative. From everything she'd been told, those people would not be patrolling the tunnels of New York City with a large, armed, horned, red skinned demon.

To be continued......