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phasing_catSetting: Bump In The Night!Verse.
Timing: Between the two HB films.
Characters: Kitty Pryde, Liz Sherman, John Myers, Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Jack Harkness
Word Count: 1,163
Part 1: A Piece of Cake
The walls shook. Chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling as columns crumbled around them.
The demon was dead – Red had chased it all the way down here, beneath the ruins of an ancient mausoleum, and they had followed. Problem was, now none of them knew how far down they were, or exactly how to get back to the surface. To make matters worse, the creature’s death had sparked an apparent sympathetic reaction in its lair. The place was collapsing quicker than a booby-trapped tomb in an Indiana Jones movie.
“What do we do now?” Abe asked. Everyone looked at Red, who simply shrugged.
“Hey, I’m just the muscle. He’s supposed to be the brains,” he said, pointing at Jack.
Kitty saw her opportunity, the one she’d been waiting for since she’d first joined the team. She not only wanted to save her friends – she wanted to prove her worth. This was her moment to shine.
“Liz, look out!” Kitty grabbed Liz’s hand just as a large column crumbled next to her, the pieces falling through them both to shatter into pieces at their feet.
“Thanks, Kitty.”
Kitty nodded and smiled in response, then shrugged off her jacket and tossed it aside. It was chilly in New Orleans this time of year, even more so this deep underground. Her arms were now bare, she’d worn a simple black tank underneath the jacket to allow for maximum freedom of movement. For her plan to work, however, she needed to show as much skin as possible.
“I can get us all out, but you have to touch me, like I just did with Liz. Understand?” She looked around the group, trying to put on a face that would inspire confidence in her ability.
Red was the first to step up to her, putting his left hand on her shoulder. “You sure about this, Kid?”
She grinned. “Piece of cake.” Jack and Myers exchanged a look behind Kitty’s back, just as the ground shuddered again.
“Looks like Kitty’s our ticket outta here, folks. Gather round,” Jack announced loudly, calling everyone around the girl. She held out both hands, extending her arms. Liz grasped her left hand, Jack touching her arm near the wrist, idly running a finger over the engagement ring on Liz’s finger. They smiled at each other, and Kitty fought the urge to roll her eyes.
Abe and Myers stepped up to her right side, Myers hesitantly placing his hand in hers just as Abe gripped her upper arm. Kitty’s heart jumped, and she gave Abe a pointed look.
“Blue… keep it to yourself, okay?” She smirked to hide her sudden nervousness. She was about to attempt something far beyond anything she’d ever done before. Yet the only thing she could think about was how this was the first time John had ever touched her, skin to skin – and his hand was cold.
She phased them all just as Liz and Jack exchanged a smile that clearly read “it’s about time”. Red saw it too, and chuckled under his breath. “Maybe now they’ll stop making eyes at each other all the time.”
Kitty wasn’t sure what they were referring to, and she was too focused on the task at hand to think about it.
“Remember, you can’t breathe when you’re phased in something, so take a deep breath before we pass through the ceiling. And whatever you do, don’t let go of me. I’m going to move us as fast as I can, in case what’s above us is solid ground all the way to the surface. Everybody ready?”
Her little speech did not, in fact, make them feel ready. They trusted her, but aside from Red, none of them knew what being phased into something felt like. Jack was the only one not afraid of dying, for obvious reasons – but he was frightened for Liz. And what Kitty did next, none of them even knew she was even capable of.
As a group, the six of them slowly lifted off the ground. They all looked down, amazed – except Kitty. Her eyes were closed, a look of intense concentration on her face. They felt nothing, and she felt everything – the strain of changing each and every molecule of all of their bodies, plus those of the air underneath their feet. She took an audible deep breath and her companions followed suit just as their heads disappeared into the ceiling.
Once phased into solid mater, their speed increased. This was easier for Kitty, more familiar – until it came to Red’s stone hand. If she’d been breathing, she’d have let out a groan, and though underdressed for a winter’s night, beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. The atoms of his hand were denser than anything she’d phased before, and altering them was considerably more difficult. Everyone had their eyes closed except for Jack, his insatiable curiosity not allowing him the luxury of ignorance. Room after room flashed before his eyes, then a long period of solid dark before the night sky finally came into view.
Kitty exhaled and released Liz’s and Myers’s hands, and nearly everyone stumbled away from her, gasping for breath.
“Remind me never to do that again, ‘kay Kid?” Red shook his head as if trying to clear cobwebs from it.
Abe was feeling all of his extremities to ensure they were still attached. Jack followed Liz, putting an arm around her waist to support her as she regained her bearings. Only Myers stayed by Kitty’s side, looking at her with a mixture of awe and concern.
“You okay?” he asked.
She smiled weakly. “Like I said, piece of cake.” She took one stop forward – and her legs collapsed under her.
“Kitty!” He reached out and caught her before she hit the ground. “Jack!”
Jack and Liz ran to them, seeing in horror that Kitty lay listless in Myers’s arms. He dropped to his knees, lowering her into his lap, cradling her head in the crook of his arm.
“Kitty, can you hear me?” Liz knelt down, grabbing the unconscious girl’s wrist. “She’s got a pulse, but it’s slow.” She looked up at Jack with fear in her eyes.
Jack put a hand to his ear and barked orders more urgently than any of them had heard in a long time.
“This is Harkness, get that chopper to our location NOW! And put medical on alert, have them meet us at the closest hospital. I don’t care if we don’t have privileges there, just do it!”
Myers took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, then softly brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. Her eyes fluttered for the briefest of seconds, and she whispered one word before sinking back into unconsciousness, so softly only he heard it.
“John.”
She’d never called him by his first name before – and he wasn’t leaving her side until she said it again.
Timing: Between the two HB films.
Characters: Kitty Pryde, Liz Sherman, John Myers, Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Jack Harkness
Word Count: 1,163
Part 1: A Piece of Cake
The walls shook. Chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling as columns crumbled around them.
The demon was dead – Red had chased it all the way down here, beneath the ruins of an ancient mausoleum, and they had followed. Problem was, now none of them knew how far down they were, or exactly how to get back to the surface. To make matters worse, the creature’s death had sparked an apparent sympathetic reaction in its lair. The place was collapsing quicker than a booby-trapped tomb in an Indiana Jones movie.
“What do we do now?” Abe asked. Everyone looked at Red, who simply shrugged.
“Hey, I’m just the muscle. He’s supposed to be the brains,” he said, pointing at Jack.
Kitty saw her opportunity, the one she’d been waiting for since she’d first joined the team. She not only wanted to save her friends – she wanted to prove her worth. This was her moment to shine.
“Liz, look out!” Kitty grabbed Liz’s hand just as a large column crumbled next to her, the pieces falling through them both to shatter into pieces at their feet.
“Thanks, Kitty.”
Kitty nodded and smiled in response, then shrugged off her jacket and tossed it aside. It was chilly in New Orleans this time of year, even more so this deep underground. Her arms were now bare, she’d worn a simple black tank underneath the jacket to allow for maximum freedom of movement. For her plan to work, however, she needed to show as much skin as possible.
“I can get us all out, but you have to touch me, like I just did with Liz. Understand?” She looked around the group, trying to put on a face that would inspire confidence in her ability.
Red was the first to step up to her, putting his left hand on her shoulder. “You sure about this, Kid?”
She grinned. “Piece of cake.” Jack and Myers exchanged a look behind Kitty’s back, just as the ground shuddered again.
“Looks like Kitty’s our ticket outta here, folks. Gather round,” Jack announced loudly, calling everyone around the girl. She held out both hands, extending her arms. Liz grasped her left hand, Jack touching her arm near the wrist, idly running a finger over the engagement ring on Liz’s finger. They smiled at each other, and Kitty fought the urge to roll her eyes.
Abe and Myers stepped up to her right side, Myers hesitantly placing his hand in hers just as Abe gripped her upper arm. Kitty’s heart jumped, and she gave Abe a pointed look.
“Blue… keep it to yourself, okay?” She smirked to hide her sudden nervousness. She was about to attempt something far beyond anything she’d ever done before. Yet the only thing she could think about was how this was the first time John had ever touched her, skin to skin – and his hand was cold.
She phased them all just as Liz and Jack exchanged a smile that clearly read “it’s about time”. Red saw it too, and chuckled under his breath. “Maybe now they’ll stop making eyes at each other all the time.”
Kitty wasn’t sure what they were referring to, and she was too focused on the task at hand to think about it.
“Remember, you can’t breathe when you’re phased in something, so take a deep breath before we pass through the ceiling. And whatever you do, don’t let go of me. I’m going to move us as fast as I can, in case what’s above us is solid ground all the way to the surface. Everybody ready?”
Her little speech did not, in fact, make them feel ready. They trusted her, but aside from Red, none of them knew what being phased into something felt like. Jack was the only one not afraid of dying, for obvious reasons – but he was frightened for Liz. And what Kitty did next, none of them even knew she was even capable of.
As a group, the six of them slowly lifted off the ground. They all looked down, amazed – except Kitty. Her eyes were closed, a look of intense concentration on her face. They felt nothing, and she felt everything – the strain of changing each and every molecule of all of their bodies, plus those of the air underneath their feet. She took an audible deep breath and her companions followed suit just as their heads disappeared into the ceiling.
Once phased into solid mater, their speed increased. This was easier for Kitty, more familiar – until it came to Red’s stone hand. If she’d been breathing, she’d have let out a groan, and though underdressed for a winter’s night, beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. The atoms of his hand were denser than anything she’d phased before, and altering them was considerably more difficult. Everyone had their eyes closed except for Jack, his insatiable curiosity not allowing him the luxury of ignorance. Room after room flashed before his eyes, then a long period of solid dark before the night sky finally came into view.
Kitty exhaled and released Liz’s and Myers’s hands, and nearly everyone stumbled away from her, gasping for breath.
“Remind me never to do that again, ‘kay Kid?” Red shook his head as if trying to clear cobwebs from it.
Abe was feeling all of his extremities to ensure they were still attached. Jack followed Liz, putting an arm around her waist to support her as she regained her bearings. Only Myers stayed by Kitty’s side, looking at her with a mixture of awe and concern.
“You okay?” he asked.
She smiled weakly. “Like I said, piece of cake.” She took one stop forward – and her legs collapsed under her.
“Kitty!” He reached out and caught her before she hit the ground. “Jack!”
Jack and Liz ran to them, seeing in horror that Kitty lay listless in Myers’s arms. He dropped to his knees, lowering her into his lap, cradling her head in the crook of his arm.
“Kitty, can you hear me?” Liz knelt down, grabbing the unconscious girl’s wrist. “She’s got a pulse, but it’s slow.” She looked up at Jack with fear in her eyes.
Jack put a hand to his ear and barked orders more urgently than any of them had heard in a long time.
“This is Harkness, get that chopper to our location NOW! And put medical on alert, have them meet us at the closest hospital. I don’t care if we don’t have privileges there, just do it!”
Myers took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, then softly brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. Her eyes fluttered for the briefest of seconds, and she whispered one word before sinking back into unconsciousness, so softly only he heard it.
“John.”
She’d never called him by his first name before – and he wasn’t leaving her side until she said it again.
