Author Note: I have Sethoz's blessings with this story, so if it seems at all familiar, remember that! Argh, so many stories on the go… I blame Sethoz, we should all. Blame. Sethoz.
There is immediate action on our screens, no calm introduction to the chaos; we are simply hurled in headfirst as an explosion tears apart a factory of Zeppelins. There is a flash of white, blinding.
A tank tears through the Bang of England, ramming through walls, soldiers and barriers, before it blasts open a vault. The blinding flash once again.
Gunmen open fire in a library, raining down bullets on a collection of individuals we immediately recognise as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The blinding flash, brighter, faster.
Sawyer and Quatermain run through Paris, chasing Mr. Hyde as he bellows from the rooftops.
Flash!
The toppling of Venice, buildings crumbling, people screaming and panic everywhere. A car tears past, and we recognise the Nemomobile in all its glory. There is one man in the driver's seat; Tom Sawyer.
Flash!
The flare shoots skyward.
Flash!
The car careens into an abandoned theatre… and all goes black.
The flash blinds us again, and we see Tom Sawyer, alive, standing from the ground, looking dazed, but unharmed, save for a light cut near his left brow. He grips his Winchester in his left hand… and seems to remember something. He turns to leave…
… where history branches into two possibilities.
We see a rush of images, and all are recognisable as scenes from the latter half of the first movie – Tom returning to the League, Skinner sending the Morse code, the arrival in Mongolia, Dorian and M in the latter's stateroom, atmosphere heavy… the flash is present once more, more intense, like fire in the eyes.
The memories that we know can be taken from us… erased… changed.
We switch back to Tom standing in that same spot, turning… and suddenly, he is struck across the face, and downed. We see a glimpse of his attacker.
Dante.
M's lieutenant advances on the stunned agent, and then the scene fades away as atmospheric and ominous music lingers.
We hear a masculine, agonised cry, and fade in quickly on a scene that we seem to rush past – perhaps it is too unbearable to watch, as we catch sight of someone literally hanging from chains by their wrists, M standing gloatingly before them with a steaming, glowing spike. He cocks his head, glancing at the captive that we can only see from behind.
M: Had enough yet, brat?
We rise up the form of the dangling, restrained captive, seeing bruises and wounds, and then a hanging head of loosely curled blonde hair. The head lifts slightly, and confirms our suspicions.
It is Tom. Glaring, he forces out a gasped response.
Tom: Go to hell…
M: –smugly– I'll see you there…
Flash.
When one of their own is taken at their most desperate hour… when the world is depending on them…
We see images of the League, repairing the Nautilus, tending to wounded crew, and generally trying to go on, almost as if they were not thinking of the captured Tom Sawyer in the hands of their enemy.
Tom fights viciously against his chains, one side of his face completely coated in his own blood, from what had been a simple cut near the brow, now a gash right back across his temple. He is tugging, and we see blood begin to trickle very slightly over one manacle… he seems unfazed, and gives a terrified, crazed and determined yell that slowly descends into a wail of despair, and he slumps, defeated, even as a form can be seen lurking. A cocky smile forms on their flawless face, and the pommel of a cane flashes in the light.
Dorian Gray. Beside him is another man, short hair, dark eyes, and madness in every fibre. Dante, M's lieutenant.
Mina Harker holds something in her hands, and we look down at them to see it is Tom's Winchester rifle. Allan Quatermain is standing opposite her, feigning resolve.
Fast paced music, in the same style as our beginning theme, tears along with the scenes then, as they flash.
Tom is running, bloodied and panicked, and he actually gives a yell as something appears in front of him. He cowers, seemingly on instinct.
M laughs maniacally, twirling something in his hand ,that we soon recognise as his favoured stiletto. It glints in the light.
Dorian reaches a hand forward toward the chained Tom Sawyer, and touches it curiously to the top of the head. Tom reacts badly, and gives a mad jerk and a cry.
A vague form presses through the smoke of M's fortress, and we guess this to be Skinner. It hesitates for a moment, and then presses on.
Quatermain aims his rifle, and fires off a shot.
Hyde roars, and swings his mighty arms.
They must decide which is more important.
Tom is huddled in a corner, and an unknown figure approaches. Green eyes peer out from a curtain of matted hair for a moment.
M and Quatermain face off, the former looking triumphant, the latter furious.
Nemo slashes out with his ornate sword, cutting down M's men.
We see a figure lying on their side, their shirt torn and bloody, thoroughly a mess, breathing shallow. A quick glance around, and he is in a cell, and we hear the rattle of chains from his wrists and ankles. The blonde hair tells us who it is…
Tom lashes out with his feet, swinging up right off the ground, gripping his chains with a growl, and slamming someone back with the force of an anvil.
M pulls a silver colt pistol from a tray, and cocks back the hammer, aiming at someone off screen with blazing intent in his blue eyes.
Richard Roxburgh.
Quatermain wields his bowie knife with determination and grim intent, advancing on someone we assume to be M.
Mina Harker stands beautifully poised in a room, her curled hair falling gracefully around her features, clad entirely in a fighting ensemble of leather and black.
She is facing Dorian Gray, we see as the camera revolves, who places down a bowler hat with a slightly bewildered smile.
Hyde starts his agonising transformation into Jekyll. We speed up the process.
Skinner is running through the factory with an urgency most unbecoming a thief. He is panting, sounding desperate.
Nemo stands atop the Nautilus, clad in white turban and insulating coat, binoculars in his hands.
Dante cackles wickedly, slipping on a vicious device we recognise as a knuckle duster.
In a mad cacophony, we rush backwards in reverse through these scenes, but are left with a close up on Tom Sawyer's eyes. In the reflection, we see M advancing wickedly, and as Tom closes his eyes, the screen fades to black with the last haunting notes of the music.
COMING JULY 5th…
Blackout.
