AN: I was bored. Therefore, I decided to update. The great reviews are certainly encouraging.

Zhai'helleva, friends. Enjoy.

Chapter Thirteen: Carnival of Fear

Venice, Italy

The Control room of the Nautilus

Night

The League crowded into the submarine's control room, ready to begin their work as Ishmael drawled off orders in Hindi. As his crew guided the magnificent vessel, Captain Nemo peered through the periscope. Through its eyepiece, he caught glimpses of far-off revelers, celebratory torches, feasts, and flowers, all a part of Venice's grand Carnival. "The Carnival is quite the affair," he commented.

"I love a party," Gray put in. "Perhaps we should all join in. After all, Nemo's already wearing his own costume."

"I tend to avoid large gatherings and all that noise," the captain replied dryly.

Daria shifted impatiently as the Nautilus edged forward, the stone walls closing in on either side. She was more than ready to be about her work. She needed to get out into open air- she felt as trapped by the vessel's armored hull and the water around it as she did by the walls outside that were closing in like a trap. And claustrophobia wasn't the only thing that drove here impatience to get out- neither she nor Jekyll had spoken to one another since the disastrous, impromptu get-together of the afternoon. The doctor's unease at being forced into close proximity with her was not lost on the Tau'ka.

"We can go no farther," Ishmael suddenly announced in English, before the Nautilus could get stuck in the narrow confines.

"All ahead stop!" Nemo ordered.

"Reverse engines!" the first mate barked.

Slowly, the great ship ground to a halt just beneath a graceful bridge bedecked in vines and bunting.

Crewmen poured out of the ship, securing it in place as the League members disembarked. Daria was more impatient then ever- the upcoming hunt called to her, and she was more than ready to go.

Nemo was giving orders to a group of men dressed up in diving suits. "Break into squads and sweep the city."

"One flare per five-man team," Ishmael added.

"Look for any hint of the Fantom," Quatermain put in. "Signal at the first hint of suspicious activity."

"But this is a vast city of masks and mystery," Mina protested.

"Then you will be very much in your element." the hunter replied, signaling that she and the others should hurry along.

"What about Skinner?" Sawyer asked in a whisper, glancing behind him. No one had been able to locate the invisible man since Quatermain had dramatically chased him out of his quarters two days ago. Now that they were in Venice and ready to get started, Skinner had vanished without a trace.

Most of the group, including Sawyer, seemed convinced that the thief had intended to cause trouble the entire time. Daria, however, disagreed, but kept her disagreement to herself. If asked to point out the person most likely to cause trouble for the mission, she would have pointed her finger elsewhere.

"I bet he's working for the Fantom," Sawyer said.

"Just be alert for his treachery, young man," Gray replied with a distasteful curl of his lip. Daria narrowed her eyes at him as he continued. "We all will. He's still hereabouts, somewhere, probably spying on us all. No telling what sort of mischief he still has in mind."

"It's not Skinner I'm worried about," Daria murmured under her breath as the immortal turned away from her.

The discussion was interrupted by a sudden blaze of light and sound that filled the sky, sounds that were like cannons booming into the night. The racket echoed off of water, stone, and metal alike, rattling windowpanes and flowerpots as yet another brilliant flash.

Nemo's crewmen looked around and grabbed for their weapons. Most of the League members were horrified, but Sawyer and Daria just laughed.

"Aw, shucks," the American said with a grin. "It's just fireworks, the finale of the Carnival."

"Now, that's what I call a party," Daria added, feeling a little better.

It was true- under the roar and bang of the fireworks, they could distantly hear the revelers cheering.

"I feared the worst!" Mina said. "I thought we were too late, that the Fantom had already-"

"Don't worry, Ma'am," Sawyer reassured her. "We still have a chance."

The next explosion, Sawyer found, showed him just how tasty words for dinner were.

With a ripping crash, and incredible eruption rocked the ground. The League reeled, most of them staggering and clinging to one another for support. Mina maintained her balance with her characteristic feral grace, but Jekyll fell to his knees with the shock wave, clutching at the solid ground. Daria shifted her form to that of the bronze gryfalcon, talons digging into the road. Instinctively, she mantled, sheltering both Nemo and the cowering Jekyll beneath the expanse of her black-tipped wings. Two of Nemo's crewmen were thrown into the dark water of the canal.

Under the cover of Daria's wing, Jekyll covered his head. Inside him, even Edward Hyde was intimidated.