She had the most amazing red hair I've ever seen. Every time she moved even a little, gold and blonde highlights appeared. And she moved a lot, constantly twitching her head around to see everything in her environment. I walked into the office, followed by Liz and Myers, and her intense gaze flicked from me, to the FBI Agent, to Liz, where her eyes lingered.

She rose as we approached. Myers smiled winningly, ever the sucker for anything with boobs and a decent face. "Hi, welcome to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. I'm Agent John Myers, this is Agent Liz Sherman, and this is Hellboy."

The woman shook hands with Myers and Liz, but hesitated when I put out my stone hand. Understandable. It's fairly intimidating. I raised my eyebrows. "I'll be careful." She smiled and placed her hand in mine. Her palm was hot. I wondered if the others had noticed.

"My name's Nina Khalidah. Thank you all so much for sparing me a few moments." She had a slight accent that I couldn't place (which should have struck me as odd – I've been all over the world, you'd think I could recognize an accent), but she spoke English like a native.

We sat down, and Myers shuffled through some papers on the desk. "Um, your letter. . . I know I've got it somewhere. . . ." He finally produced it. "You wrote and said you needed some assistance. What kind?"

Nina rolled her shoulders and fidgeted. "It's difficult to explain. I need the help of Miss. . . excuse me – Agent Sherman."

Liz looked taken aback and glanced at me. I shrugged slightly. "What can I do for you, Miss Kha – Kalid?"

"Khalida." Nina smiled. "Just call me Nina. I understand you're a pyrokinetic, Agent Sherman."

"Uh, yeah, yes," said Liz.

"I need fire. Living fire."

There was a moment of silence. Then Liz said, "Um, why?"

Nina sighed and rolled her shoulders again. "As said, it's difficult to explain, but I'll try. Are you familiar with the legend of the phoenix?"

"A bird of fire," I said, "that builds itself a pyre every thousand years, burns itself, and is reborn from the ashes." A creature used as a metaphor for any number of things, including my own life at times.

"Right. That's me."

Another awkward silence. Finally Myers said, "Excuse me?"

Nina rolled her shoulders – a nervous habit that was beginning to make my back ache in sympathy. "I'm the phoenix."

"Aren't you a bird?" I asked bluntly.

"Well, normally, yes. That's why I'm here." Nina sighed. "A few hundred years ago, a sorcerer managed to capture me, with the thought of gaining immortality." I nodded. That tallied with the myths. "Well, when it proved. . . difficult. . . to kill me, he forced me into this form." She gestured at herself.

"I think I see why you need fire," said Liz hesitantly.

Nina closed her eyes and nodded. "I feel old, and I'm not used to it. This shape, this body, brings mortality with it, and while I can't die, I can feel time passing." She opened her eyes again, staring into the middle distance. "Like constantly falling forward, never able to catch yourself." There was hurt in her eyes as she looked back at Liz. "Can you. . . will. . . ."

Liz nodded, evidently touched. "Of course. When?"

"Now?" Nina asked.

"Where?" Interrupted Myers. "I mean, if you need to build a pyre and everything. . . I don't know if we have anyplace fireproof."

"The roof," I said. "D'you really need a pyre?"

Nina shook her head. "I've made arrangements."

Liz stood. "Then rooftop ho."

As we walked up the stairs towards the roof, Myers led the way and managed to strike up a conversation with Nina. I drew Liz back as we followed them. "You sure about this?"

She smiled and slipped an arm around my waist. God, I never get tired of that. "I'm sure. She's in pain, she needs help."

"Yeah, but you realize you're going to have to set her on fire."

"I guess." She nuzzled her head against me. "I'll be fine, HB. As long as you're there."

"Always." I kissed her.

We reached the roof and walked out onto the cold concrete. There was a wind blowing from the north. Luckily, there are some conveniently placed ducts and walls on the street side of the building, so no one was likely to see us. Nina positioned herself in a clear space and looked at Liz. She held out her hands.

Liz joined her and placed her hands on Nina's shoulders. She closed her eyes and opened them again, a little embarrassed. "Um, I'll need some help getting up enough fire."

"What should I do?" Nina asked, cocking her head on one side.

Liz shrugged. "Surprise me, shock me." Blue flames started to lick out of her hands.

Without hesitation, Nina took Liz's face in her hands, whispered something, and kissed her on the lips.

It worked. Flame shot up from Liz's body. As it touched Nina, it became red, then yellow. It engulfed her body, and she removed her lips from Liz's. She said, "Thank you," and held her arms out. Her hair was streaming around her, rising on the heat of the fire.

There was WHOOMPH, like the sound of gasoline catching on fire, and Nina dissolved. A shape arose in the flames – a bird, swanlike, with a tail a peacock would kill for. The firebird rose into the sky and disappeared in the glare of the sun.

We all stood for a few seconds, gazing after her – it – whatever. I took a few steps over to Liz and put my left arm around her shoulders, tipping her chin with my right hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She kissed me. "That was amazing."

"Do I need to go beat up that phoenix for kissing my girlfriend?"

"No," she said laughing. Myers rolled his eyes and headed back towards the staircase, lost in thought. Liz turned to follow him, but I grabbed her arm.

"Hey Liz? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What did she say to you?"

Liz looked up again, towards the sun. "She said, 'You are so beautiful.'"

"She was right."

We walked towards the stairs, and I thought of one last question.

"Hey Liz?"

"Yeah?"

"She a better kisser than me?"

I guess I deserved the punch she gave me.

A/N: I really like phoenixes. To stem off any questions (and keep in mind this is only my interpretation of the phoenix myth) – in normal circumstances, this phoenix would have lit its pyre of aromatic wood and oils using its own body heat. But in a human body, there's a limit to how hot you can be. Nina needed living fire, fire from someone's person. Nina Khalida means Fire Eternal.