First LXG fic. I'm sure this is a fairly forgotten topic to write about, but I still love it, and if you're still there, leave some love! This is just something that I'm working on as a stress relief from college and work and life. Haha, well I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and Lautrec is an actual artist, but he's been dead for quite a while and he was also made into characters in several movies, so I hope its okay if I use him a little bit. I'm trying to stay accurate with his history and do the man some justice. Look up his work, it's fantastic! --FindaHappyPlace!
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"You would think that with The League not being actually started by her majesty, that she would not take such and interest in us." Mina spoke at the table of the Nautilus. It had been several months since they had buried Allan Quatermain and left to explore all of the world's continents. Yet, a telegraph by Her Majesty had brought them all back to the world at hand, and in the grip of the English Government.
"She wants us tah replace Allan, and she's given us a desired replacement tah boot!" seethed Skinner. He still was not given his promised antidote. That had undoubtedly been a fabrication by Moriarty himself. Jekyll was given his amnesty, and that was about all of the promises fulfilled to the League.
"Yes, and it's a Frenchman, as well. You would believe that a more suitable option would be from someone with political and social ties to Britain." Jekyll said, adding in his political opinion.
"Well," Interjected Sawyer, eyes blazing. "We'll only know if we go and find out who it is."
"Does anyone disagree with Sawyer?" Nemo asked. He was greeted with silence, "So, that settles it. Our next place of port is Paris."
---
Paris---
Dancers and Prostitutes littered the streets. Jekyll led the way, his face slightly marred with disgust. "Hyde is quite familiar with this area," He mumbled to Nemo. "It is the red light district of Paris, Montmartre. Why would we need to recruit someone from the most risqué area in Paris? We are but a good five blocks away from the Moulin Rouge," he added, pointing to some prints hanging all over the streets windows. Sawyer was entranced by the sights, he was even approached by several women, all of them beginning to emerge from the alleyways as the sun set and dipped behind the horizon. The women soon began to wear brighter colors and less fabrics on their torsos. Skinner leered and hooted to the women as he trailed in the back of the group. Mina followed between Nemo, Jekyll, and Sawyer. She was silent as she also observed her surroundings.
"I dunno, mate. As you've noticed, I'm quite the extraordinary bloke me-self! I think I'm liking this place more and more by the minute!" Skinner joked as another batch of ladies fanned and waved at the group of them.
"That'll be enough Skinner. I believe we have reached our destination." Nemo announced. The stood in front of an old, tall townhouse with three stairs leading to the door. Jekyll stepped back so that someone else could knock at the door. Sawyer shrugged and grasped the door knocker. After a couple resolute knocks, a woman answered the door.
She was meek in stature. She was average height, but stooped a little, her hands and smock were coated in a thick layer of what looked like paint. Her brown hair was wrapped tightly in a bun and her thick brow had a black smudge across it. She gave them a questioning look, but said nothing. Sawyer spoke up first.
"We are here for a Lautrec. He is expecting us." She gave a quick nod, and in English with only a slight glimmer of a French accent in her voice, beckoned them to follow. She led them into a small, but well furnished sitting room.
"Right through this door way. Make yourselves comfortable, Monsieur Lautrec will join you shortly," and with a small nod she walked out of the room and disappeared down another hallway. Jekyll found a spot on a long sofa and sat on the edge of it, his back not resting against the sofa. Mina joined him on the sofa, and Skinner took the other end, draping one arm coyly behind Mina. Sawyer found a high back chair and plopped down lazily in it. Nemo stayed on his feet, browsing through the books and trinkets. His hand were clasped firmly behind him as he paced slowly.
Their reason for coming did not keep them waiting for very long, but his appearance was not what they expected; he was not even five feet tall. He seemed all proportionate except for very short, child-like legs, that looked increasingly short by the height of his top hat and the woman that had met them at the door. She towered over him, his top hat barely meeting with the top of her shoulder.
"Well!" he announced exuberantly, "If it isn't The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!" his personality was much more loud and impacting that his appearance. "I've been expecting you. Though, by your surprised looks, it seems like you were not expecting me!" He grinned at their questioning looks.
"Excuse me, but I don't mean any sorta disrespect, Mr. Lautrec, but what is it you are capable of doing that makes the Queen of England think that you are extraordinary?" Sawyer asked, straitening in his seat.
"Oh! It not me that she wants! I'm just simple printmaker! What she wants is what I have to offer." he told them, his eyebrows rising to punctuate his mysterious comment. He sat down in another high back chair, and the brown headed woman stood beside him.
"And what exactly is it you offer, Monsieur Lautrec?" Nemo asked still standing in the back of the room. Lautrec gave a smile.
"Why, her of course!" he gestured to the woman beside her, "And a pair of old family heirlooms."
"No! Allan would rollover in his grave if he knew his replacement was a woman!" Sawyer interjected loudly. The woman looked at him, slightly insulted, but she stayed slightly.
"Now, I do not believe you have given my dear Odette a chance to prove herself. She will be quite an admirable asset if I do say so myself, oh, and I do believe that the choice is not solely yours."
"He's not wrong. And it would be nice to have another lass along. Sorry Mina, but you're a right ole stiff sometimes!" Skinner added jokingly.
"None taken, Skinner." Mina added dryly, "But I am curious as to why her majesty is so interested in her and your "heirlooms" that you are so proud of." Jekyll nodded in agreement, still not speaking but watching the exchange in interest. The girl did look exceedingly ordinary. She was not unattractive, but plain, and she seemed very submissive standing by the Frenchman's side. Though, Jekyll added, he really didn't have much room to criticize her on that fact.
"I think a demonstration is in order then!" Toulouse turned to Odette and she nodded and disappeared down the hallway again. "Now, if you Extraordinary Gentlemen will follow me!" he said as he wiggled his way from his chair, his legs being to short to reach the floor. He lead them down the hallway that Odette just walked down. The walked through an art studio, prints hanging by clothes lines waiting to dry, canisters of thick, pasty inks littered table tops and large blocks of woods and their shavings were stacked upon several other tables. They walked hurriedly through the studio, barely having time to look upon the prints depicting the nightlife of France. Sawyer noticed that the had seen similar pasted on the walls of Paris as they walked down the streets. He had been trying to notice things other than the women, after all.
Lautrec motioned them through a door at the other end of the studio and after a downward trip down stairs, the reached a long narrow room with no windows, only a long table and a chandieler at one end of the rooms. A lone door was at the other side of the room. They stood there for a moment before Odette stepped through the door another minute later. Her plain grey dress and ink smeared smock was replaced with, much to everyone's surprise, with a pair of loose fitting men's trousers that were tucked into a pair of heelless leather boots. She had a loose blouse made of white gauzy material, tucked into her trousers and held steady by a thick leather belt. Her sleeves had been pushed up to the middle of her forearms and clasped around both wrist and the ankles of both feet were thick golden gauntlets with a large green stone set into each of them.
"This is why the Queen of England wants what I have to offer." he said.
"She doesn't look all that threatening!" Skinner said arms crossed. "In the words of dear ole' Allan "I'm waiting to be impressed."
"Just wait. Odette, on my cue, do as I instruct." Odette nodded, and bent at the knees, arching her back up straight, her stooped, submissive look ebbing slowly away.
"My family were a couple of rich aristocrats who lost a lot of their monies, but you see, this was one thing that passed on to my family. As you see, I am unable to use them to their full extent, but she can."
"Yes, but what do they do?" Jekyll asked.
"They store kinetic energy that she creates, and then allows her to release it at her will. Don't know why, I'm an artist, not a scientist. Just show them Odette!" she nodded and struck the two stones together on her outer wrists as though she was striking a match. Green light emanated from all four stones and she swung her arm down and threw forth a kick, and then with a loud shout green energy burst from the stones
in her left wrist and collided with the table, destroying a good portion of it.
"Extraordinary." both Mina and Nemo chimed in.
"We'll take her," Sawyer announced, forgetting his previous dismissal of her. Odette spoke for the first time since entering the room as she walked past all of them, her expression reverting back to her stooped countenance.
"Like you had any other option." and she gave a curt nod to her French employer and through the door and back into the studio.
"Isn't she fantastic!' Lautrec cooed.
When they walked back through the door way Odette was taking down posters and stacking them together into neat piles. They watched for a moment as she moved from unclipping posters to closing and storing canisters of inks onto shelves.
"When do you want her?" Toulouse asked as she organized the inks.
"I believe we should return to the ship soon. How long until she is prepared to leave?" Nemo asked.
"I am packed already. If I have help, I can be moved out within ze hour."
----
True to her word, with a little help and coordination from Nemo's crew, Odette had been moved into quarters just outside of Jekyll and Sawyer's own rooms. It was nightfall before Lautrec gave his exuberant goodbyes and wished the League luck.
"Odette, my dear! Maybe you'll finally meet that man you've been so patiently holding out for!" he called out, letting a blush blossom across her face and for Skinner to give a snicker. He waved good bye to them at the docks and then turned and hobbled away to the first open nightclub he could find. Odette shook her head and walked up into the Nautilus.
"Dinner will be served soon, if you would like to accompany us," Nemo asked Odette as they walked side by side. The rest of the League had dispersed themselves to ready for dinner. Odette was back in her plain grey dress, smock folded and packed away. Ink still stained her sleeves, but her face and fingers had been washed clean.
"Oui Captain, zat would be lovely, but I still will need an escort. I believe I would be hopelessly lost in this magnificent work of art of yours." she said adjusting the bag on her shoulder, that most likely carried her gauntlets, something she would not have let just anyone carry up to her room.
"Well, I am certain that Dr. Jekyll would be more that happy to escort you to the dinning hall tonight, I shall see if he would be willing to do so." They reached her quarters and she opened the door and before stepping inside she turned to Captain Nemo.
"Thank you. I know that I'm not exactly welcome, and I know I'm zimple a replacement that you didn't want to have to make, but I do appreciate your courteousness at any rate," she said softly as she removed the bag from her shoulder. Nemo just nodded curtly and headed off to tend to his Lady.
---
Odette occupied much of her time unpacking and make herself familiar with her new quarters. It had no window, which didn't bother her too much, she didn't have one at her old room in Lautrec's studio house. He didn't even live there, he had his own estate on the other end of Paris, but he let her stay there to keep the place clean, habitable, and she did a lot of the grunt work in his print making that he didn't feel up to doing.
She worried about her employer, he drank too much and imbibed in such activities that were not healthy. She was certain that without her to clean up and look after him, that his artwork and his personal life would both suffer. It was selfish, she knew, to think that she was that much needed, but after working for him for almost five years, it was easy to believe that she would at least be somewhat missed. She knew she would miss the life that she had in France. Unconventional as it was, she did enjoy it.
After successful unpacking most of her clothes and placing her gauntlets atop a vanity, she dressed in a less casual dress of soft green linen and waited for her escort. It was with a sharp rap on the door that she stood up from her spot on bed and straightened out her skirts and wondered for a fleeting second if she should have worn her hair down.
Upon opening the door she found not only the pale and nervous Dr. Jekyll, but the self assured American. Nodding at them both, she stepped out of her room shut the door behind her. Sawyer offered his arm and she politely accepted it as Dr. Jekyll gave her a smile and then a sudden, pained expression.
"Is everything alright, Doctor?" she asked. He gave a polite nod and led the way quickly and every so often would give a violent twitch of the head as they almost struggled to keep up. Odette gave a fleeting glance of worry toward Sawyer, but he just shrugged her off silently.
"Maybe if you had more guts you cowardly worm, then you would be the one escorting her down the hall! You bileless cretin!"