London Calling.
"(…) London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls (…)"– The Clash "London Calling".
Warnings: Crime and everything that comes with it.
Timing: 2016, a year after "The Cabbala"
Rating: M.
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen original comic books © Allan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Neverwhere © Neil Gaiman. Atomic Robo © Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegner. Stargate Atlantis © MGM Studios. Hellboy (in character of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen) © Michael Mignola. Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge). The story © Archer Black.
Dracula (in character of Wilhelmina Murray) by Bram Stoker. Allan Quatermain by sir Henry Rider Haggard. Orlando (or his/hers alike) by Virgina Woolf.
The name of the Enemy, p2.
?
The underground tunnel, near the site of the attack.
The walk back to where they have met the brother of the victim was fast and they could see Door waiting for them. The young woman was looking around, clearly not enjoying her surroundings, while awaiting something – most probably them. Her anxiousness wasn't surprising, the place didn't seem welcoming a one bit, but there could be another reason for her to be upset. Perhaps something that happened during her meeting with other Lords? Or maybe something else entirely?
She noticed them immediately as they came closer and her entire stance relaxed visibly. She still wasn't too happy though. At least if the look on her face was anything to come by. The worried look on her transformed into one of anger. At who she was angry wasn't clear, but someone would get an ear full without a doubt.
"My Lady Door." De Carabas bowed to her. "I trust that your meeting with the Lords was… fruitful."
"It was not." She sighed. She knew what the man was doing. She appreciated it but she wasn't in the mood for that. "Half of them didn't even show and it ended fast. Richard told me you were somewhere here."
"Yes. There was another attack." Robo confirmed, not even pretending to care about all the manners that The Marquis showed.
"So I have heard. I don't know what Richard was thinking by letting you go alone." She shook her head. "You're not familiar with the Below."
"He gave us instructions." Robo explained, defending the man.
"For an Upworlder it is difficult to navigate Below even with instructions." She said with emphasis. "Richard already forgotten how confused he was at first, and he did have it easy, he had help at almost all times."
"Regardless, they have made it." De Carabas waved his hand in dismissal. He didn't want to dwell on the subject. They have more important issues to address.
"And you should come for them instead of sending a rat." She pierced him with her green eyes that now, in the darkness of the tunnel seemed to be almost black.
"I couldn't risk leaving the victim alone, unattended." He explained, suddenly serious.
"Was she in a danger?" Door glared at him.
"Not as such. But I did not want her to be left with only her family and the doctor until she was interrogated. She wasn't very talkative but her family would try to drag it out if her, which would only make things more difficult." The Marquis explained. "Who knows what would they told her, suggesting things for her to say. Her testimony had to remain unaltered by her family's interference."
"I see." Door nodded.
She understood what the man was telling her. Her family would only try to help without a doubt, but them talking to her and asking her questions would only cloud the poor girl's memory. And family's badgering would definitely include questions that suggested answers. They would try to help but they would only cause more damage.
"Is the victim safe now?" She asked again.
"Yes. She is under her family's care." Robo nodded. "We have the clothes she was wearing during the attack, and her testimony."
"Let's head back then." Door decided. "We're talk about this back home; this is hardly a place to discuss this."
Door and Marquis led them through a different path they have taken when they arrived. It was shorter, that's for sure, and it led them to the surface without walking through the Underground station. They have resurfaced through a manhole and then took a short walk to the nearest door. After that it was just a short step though the passage that Door opened using the door.
?
Richard was waiting for them in Door's study. He looked slightly nervous. Perhaps he expected Door to be angry at him for letting her team to go out alone, but he said nothing.
"So, did the girl say anything important?" Door started without any ado. She looked tired and disappointed.
"She did give us description of the attacker." Robo admitted. "And like I said, we have her clothes."
Door blinked. Description? That was more than she could ever wish for! But her excitement evaporated instantly – it didn't matter mush when other lords didn't want to listen, nor did they care about the case anymore. It mattered even less if they couldn't catch the killer.
For all the noble heads of Below the killer was important as long as there was danger of riots. But there was no unrest of any kind connected to the killing spree – people knew that there was special group working on it and that was enough for guilds to feel safe enough to press on reinstalling Floating Market according to schedule. And now, in the eyes of lords and ladies, the killer was nothing more than another nuance that plagues ordinary folk and has nothing to do with them.
Door was now beginning to understand why her father was so obsessed about changes in the political system of Below. She had the best example in the case she was facing – Below divided into baronies and fiefdoms; was indolent to the point of impotency. The system didn't enforce any responsibility on the rulers, it only gave them privileges.
"Are you with us?"
It was Spike's multi-layered voice that pulled her out of her musings.
"Sorry." She shook her head returning to reality. "I was thinking what this could mean for our progress. You were saying?"
"Kroenen says that he has a suspect." Robo repeated what he apparently said when she was zoning out.
"So suddenly?" She was surprised. A second time today.
"Yes. Although it is not exact identity." Kroenen nodded. "The description that the victim gave us is not exactly precise. But it does bear certain similarities to an individual that was reported to attack women in XIXth century in England."
"You mean Jack the Ripper?" Robo turned in disbelief to the German. "Are you serious? Isn't that a bit old?"
"No. Not Jack the Ripper. He only attacked women in London in 1888." Kroenen corrected. "I mean Spring Heeled Jack1). He worked throughout the XIX century and his attacks were all around England."
"What gives you the idea?" Atomic Robo narrowed his optics in his version of a frown. He never heard of someone called 'Spring Heeled Jack'.
"The claws and the fact that the victim mentioned him breathing blue fire." Kroenen replied seriously.
Spike almost jumped and gave Slenderman a look of surprise.
"Slender says that he agrees that there is some resemblance." The Wraith spoke. "Though he thinks that it may not be the original Spring Heeled Jack but rather an emulator or someone who has similar abilities."
"Well... This is not something I have expected when I got involved for the first time..." She admitted. "But this sounds... familiar. You see Spring Heeled Jack... He was from Below, and like me he had some faerie blood in him. But he lost his mind. He made himself a costume and left to spread some panic in the Above for a while." She explained. "Then he left the Great Britain and disappeared without a trace."
"Could it be him?" Spike asked.
"It could, faerie-kin lives are long." She nodded. "Or it could be a descent of his, if he ever had children."
"But what does he want to accomplish with murdering people and taking their organs or their old stuff?" Robo questioned.
"Your guess is just as good as mine. But if Doctor Kroenen is right, then these missing items are connected to the faerie and that leads us to Oberon's Kingdom." Door said not liking where it all led a one bit.
Robo didn't reply. He would be more than sceptical about the whole faerie story if not for the fact that he recalled the Vampire Dimension. All it took was to replace the immortal, blood guzzling monstrosities with elves and leprechauns.
"What about missing organs? How those are connected?" Spike asked.
"If they were of faerie descent, then it just may." Door didn't hesitate. "Many people Below have at least some faerie blood in them."
"How do you tell a faerie from a not-faerie?" Atomic Robo inquired. So far he didn't notice glamorous people with pointy ears or suspicious, overdressed dwarves.
"We usually just know. Families keep track of their history. Though sometimes people just have certain traits." Door gestured to her face. "Peculiar pigmentation, anatomical anomalies. Easily noticeable."
"Your facial markings?" Spike pointed at her right eye.
"No, that is a family tattoo. But I know a Blacksmith with spots and pointy teeth. I suspect that not all his teeth are naturally pointy though." She explained. "In the past the most common trait in faerie was six fingers and toes, but today it is very rare."
"I've noticed that the girl and her entire family had six fingers." Robo said with surprise. He thought that it was simply some disfiguration2) caused by genetic disorders that ran in the family. These things weren't unheard of, he knew of entire family that had hiperichtiosis3) living in Burma, so a family with polydactyly was possible too. In theory.
"Then there you have it." Door nodded in his direction.
Slenderman reached and pointed at ta picture showing the library, bringing the discussion back on the subject.
"He thinks a more throughout search would be in order." Spike relied Slenderman's message.
"If we could find more detailed information maybe we could deduce what he is trying to accomplish." Door agreed.
"Yes, but your library is vast enough to pose a problem for one or even two people to search it in short time and I fear that time is of essence." Kroenen reminded. "Even with Slenderman's help the search may take a while."
"That is true." Door nodded.
"I'm not sure if I can help." Robo lifted his hands defensively. He didn't believe in any of that magic nonsense. "This is not my field of expertise."
Spike wanted to join Atomic Robo's misgivings about his ability to aid but Kroenen spoken before he could.
"You don't have to know much. We're looking for detailed description. These books are written or translated to old English so aside from it being slightly weird you should have no problems understanding it. All you have to do is to leaf through a book and find the right section, then scan it for the items we're looking for. If we're lucky there will be drawings too."
"This doesn't sound too complicated." Spike admitted.
"Let us start then." Door walked to one of the pictures and motioned for the rest to join her.
TBC.
1) Spring Heeled Jack named so due to his enormously long and high jumps. The first reported attack took place in 1837. Last reported sighting took place in 1904. He was seen all over the Great Britain, including Scotland. He was described to make an impression of a gentleman, but at closer look he had diabolical face, red glowing eyes, clawed hands and wearing black cloak. Some reports claim that under the black cloak he wore a helmet and white, tight fitting oilskin-like bodysuit. He was also tall and lean, and possibly spoke English. Some reports mentioned that he was capable of breathing white or blue flames.
2) Polydactyl – additional fingers and/or toes. It is an anomaly. It's a real thing. The additional fingers or toes are either juts soft tissue or have bone inside but without joints. They are rarely fully functional.
In this case, faerie have fully functional ulnar polydactyly (it means the additional finger is behind the small finger).
It is noteworthy that the most early tetrapods, the ones that just evolved from fish, had naturally more than 5 fingers and toes, the number was up to eight and went through seven and six, until at some point it reached the common five, but in amphibians it went one step further leaving them with four toes in front feet and five in hind feet.
Biology – such a crazy thing!
3) It's the one where people have hair growing all over their bodies. Even on their eyelids.