AN- Welcome dear readers, to what I shall describe as my version of the sequel to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, involving the arrival and attack by the Martians. The 'universe' is that of the film version, so it will be including Agent Sawyer and the film interpretations of the characters. I'm being so proper in my speech, heh; you can tell I've been getting right into the mood for writing.

My references will mainly be from The War of the Worlds novel by H.G Wells (a book I've come to love so much for its language and style) and of course, the second volume of the LXG graphic novels, which reminded how many hilarious lines Mr Hyde has. I don't own either of these books, the ideas or characters, or the film! (But you knew that…)

Anyhow, I hope you'll read along as I write, promising to update more often since my exams are over and I should hopefully have more free time after college. I hope you'll take the time to review and leave your comments with me, as I reply to all of them and they are massively appreciated, especially constructive criticism as it helps me develop into a much better writer.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy.

Wicked

''Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.'' – H.G Wells, 'The War of the Worlds'.

Woking
England
1900

In the early hours of Friday morning, few inhabitants of Woking witnessed the flash of colour and light that streaked across the sky. This emerald flare shot down towards the common, and was gone from sight as quickly as a shooting star, though in its stead was left a pale glowing trail that also vanished into the atmosphere.

It came to land in the sand pits on Horsell common, flinging grit, earth and sand across the common with great force. There was a great black scorch of land left where the heat of the cylinder's impact had burnt an entire field down to nothing but a dark patch. A column of heather was still aflame nearby, blackening slowly under the blaze, its normally sweet scent tainted with that of ash. Its vibrant blooms were reduced to a dull powder.

As dawn rose, word spread quickly throughout the place that a star had fallen in the night, and the news quickly reached London by Henderson, a journalist who worked for the papers in the city.

Nothing escapes the notice of the Government with eyes and ears all over the empire, especially not such strange headlines as that of the earliest edition of the evening paper in London:

'A MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM MARS'
'Remarkable Story From Woking'

Deep blue eyes roved over the words on the thin printed page, taking in the report slowly. There was little detail of anything when you actually read the newsprint and only a vague description of the vessel that had been mistaken for a meteorite until discovered in the pits. Dr Henry Jekyll looked out of the dirty window of the train carriage that contained him, speeding him out of London towards Horsell common- the area where the cylinder, as it had been described, had crashed. He folded the paper up and left it upon his lap. The ink had stained his hands lightly, and he took out a handkerchief to clean the black smudges on his pale fingertips.

''Good day for it'' Came a cockney voice, breaking the silence of the cab. Rodney Skinner commented on the light rain that had set in after a perfectly hot summer's day. Night was falling slowly over the city as they left it behind, entering a rural area. A clean patch appeared on the window, as though the glass had been wiped by an invisible hand. Skinner tutted and muttered something as he cleaned his hand on the small window curtain next to him.

''What's in the news, Jekyll,'' he asked the man opposite him, staring out of the window. He received no reply from the distracted doctor, and Skinner cleared his throat impatiently, ''Jekyll?''

The physician looked up at him in surprise.

''Sorry- I'm afraid I was miles away. There isn't much to learn about the landing from this report.'' He replied, handing the newspaper to his invisible co-worker. It hovered in Skinners grip and was an intriguing thing to watch as it seemingly unfolded itself. The carriage jolted forward with the movement of the train, causing the lights to flicker for a moment.

''I don't see why we're heading out to see this thing.'' Special Agent Thomas Sawyer remarked as he got himself resettled into his seat. He brushed his messy blonde hair out of his eyes with one hand and looked to the other League members. His answer came from the single female member of the team.

''Because our Mr 'M' believes it is a suspicious matter and might be some kind of military machinery. We simply have to examine the cylinder and determine its origin.''

''Didn't you hear,'' Skinner said with an air of amusement in his voice, ''it came from Mars- shot out of the sky and landed in the ground, set fire to a field nearby!''

Mina raised her eyes to the ceiling and folded her hands in her lap in a very ladylike way. She glanced at Nemo, who seemed to be deep in thought, his arms folded across his chest.

''Mars? Impossible. Who built the thing?'' The American asked, frowning at Skinner. The thief shrugged and continued reading. He tapped his finger on the door handle. ''I reckon there can't be any life on the planet- and it's pretty far away.'' He smiled at the understatement of his observation and looked out of the grimy window again. After a little while of silence, there was the sound of a newspaper being folded up.

''How do we know where the contraption came from when we see it? I highly doubt it will be marked as 'Property of the French military' or what ever such place created it.'' Jekyll said, wiping the window again. Sawyer smirked at the comment but continued to stare out of the other window.

''We'll see now.'' The Indian captain said quietly as the train came to a stop.

They all climbed out of the carriage and waited while Mina was given directions to the sandpits. They continued on foot, heading down a small country lane. It was eerily quiet as they walked. Thin trails of smoke could be seen rising in the distance, trailing high up into the atmosphere. Approaching the pits, they were passed by a panicked man who ran straight down the lane without a word to them. Sawyer looked back, his broad brimmed hat covering his eyes as he watched him run.

''Rather ominous sign wasn't it?'' Skinner commented as they approached the pits. He stopped abruptly as the others stood still in front. He looked out past them and saw a wide area of blackened earth surrounding the pit. The immediate area was completely destroyed, as though a great fire had swept across it in a matter of minutes. On closer examination, the League found that there was a much darker and more horrible reality to the burnt ground.

''Good Lord…th- there are people everywhere…my God…this is atrocious…'' Henry Jekyll struggled to speak as he observed the carnage around him. People burnt and disfigured by fire beyond any kind of recognition, were now almost a part of the land themselves.

''What…what could have happened here?'' Mina asked, her azure eyes astonished with the sight she beheld. The doctor was unable to reply, distracted. Sawyer moved slowly towards the edge of the sand pit and saw the cylinder. It was open, and seemed to be in two halves, one part shaped like an enormous screw that had been removed. Staring down into the pit, he noticed a small ridge around the edge like glass- as though the sand had been hit by something incredibly hot to fuse it into changing. Then he noticed two creatures near the cylinder unlike anything he had ever seen in his life.

''Um, I think you should come and look at this….now I may be a humble country boy…but I'm pretty sure that ain't a common creature round here…''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen stood on the edge of the vast pit together, staring down upon the grey slug like beings that sat below them. They each had a set of long, thick tentacles that waved around in the air as though they were struggling to hold them up. The moon was out in full and shone a pale light down upon them, showing their bodies to be like a great mass of wet leather- glistening.

Frozen in a horrified fascination of these ugly creatures and their activities, the League was still and silent. Great disc like eyes passed upon them there on the ridge and one of the creatures let out a dull cry to its companion. Its jaws consisted of a triangular, fleshy beak that opened to reveal a dark gap of a mouth.

''No Agent Sawyer…these are not creatures of England…I doubt they are even of this world…''

Nemo finally answered the American gravely, observing the technology of the sluggish extra terrestrials. There came a humming noise and a pole was erected into the air, reaching higher than the remaining trees behind them. A disc rotated on top of this pole, the source of the humming. It began to glow as though the metal was being heated. There rose three green puffs of smoke.

''GET DOWN.''

Just as the warning escaped Sawyers lips, the trees behind them exploded into flames, and a line of fire spread towards them. Ducked down they ran for cover, dashing out into the lane where the fire followed. Finally they stopped, panting for breath after their escape. The arm of Skinner's coat was thrown in the direction of the pit, suggesting he was pointing at it.

''What the bloody hell was that!?'' He yelled, demanding an explanation as though his companions should know about the subject. Nemo seemed to have been thinking this already and stared back towards the blaze. It bathed the road in an orange glow, extending their shadows to long, dark figures across the dirt path.

''It appears to be some kind of heat ray…it is not visible to the naked eye.'' The Indian shared his thoughts. There was only the sound of the crackling fire and the ragged breathing of the League to be heard for a moment. They only noticed that the humming had still been going on when it stopped, and the quiet was abrupt on their ears. There followed banging and the sounds of construction.

''Well…it seems we have some news to tell M after all.'' Mina remarked, a hand against her chest as her breathing was first to regulate. The group made their way along the lane towards the inn that Mycroft Holmes had arranged for them to occupy- 'The Bleak House.' The owners had not wasted any time in leaving. A message was left for them from their benefactor…

NEWS HAS REACHED US OF POD AND OCCUPANTS. STAY AND GUARD THE PERIMETER. ARMY WILL ARRIVE WITHIN THE HOUR. M.

To Be Continued…