The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The Cabbala.
"When you were young and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we're livin'
Makes you give in and cry, say live and let die
Live and let die, live and let die, live and let die
What does it matter to ya
When you've got a job to do, you gotta do it well
You gotta give the other fella hell. (…) – The Wings "Live and Let Die"
Warning: Violence, explicit language, possibly gore.
Timing: 2015, for particular timing of the characters original universes, see footnote of their respective chapters.
Rating: M, possibly MA.
Pairings: Wilhelmina and Allan (past). Wilhelmina and Orlando (friends with benefits).
Disclaimer: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen original comic books © Allan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Neverwhere (in character of Lady Door) © Neil Gaiman. Atomic Robo © Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegner. Stargate Atlantis (in character of Spike the Wraith) © MGM Studios. Hellboy (in character of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen) © Michael Mignola. Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge). The story © Czarna Archer.
Dracula (in character of Wilhelmina Murray) by Bram Stoker. Allan Quatermain by sir Henry Rider Haggard. Orlando (or his/hers alike) by Virgina Woolf.
Wouldn't it be Good.
"I got it bad, you don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy, you don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder, just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting, even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fiber
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
I don't want to be here no more (…)." – Nik Kershaw "Wouldn't it be Good"1).
oOo
New York. The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence.
They were being driven in black minivan, the widows were darkened so no one could peek inside but they saw everything outside. People rushed around then, the street lights changed, cars stopped while others drove away making room for more cars.
Robo wasn't all that impressed. He was built and brought up – or what counted for being brought up in his case – in Big Apple. Sure back then it wasn't that large or noisy. Later Tesladyne had its place in Empire State Building and only relatively recently it moved to its own island. This made Robo into true New Yorker: a "son" to an immigrant who found a new home in America. Even if the city wasn't his home anymore, it was still his city.
For Door anything from the 'Above' world was strange and alien, though perhaps not THAT alien, she was managing outstandingly well. New York should probably impress her but she was from London where thing were perhaps more British and European but just as loud and colourful. And people were people no matter where they lived.
Spike was watching at the city with fascination, awe and sharpness of a hunter. Despite the fact that he managed to travel a little before he was caught, he even reached Las Vegas, he wasn't free to roam for long enough to become immune to the sheer size of Lantean – or in this case Earthlings – cities or their actual population. It was indeed fascinating how humans could develop if left to their own devices and not culled. Never before he saw such a population – this one planet had more humans than entire Pegasus Galaxy! And he was perfectly aware that while one of the most populated, if not the most populated, Earth wasn't the only planet in this new Galaxy, a Galaxy far larger than his own. There were other populated planets. To him, a member of a race that even in its best times was always facing the menace of starvation, reaching a planet where one city held more people than couple of planets was comparable to allowing a child from starving society to enter a market with foods of all kinds: it was pure shock. He wasn't hungry, humans found a way shortly after they have returned to Pegasus and even though there were alliances that didn't agree to change their nutrition source, many Hives accepted such a solution not seeing better alternative especially that it opened new possibilities for them. Spike was slowly realising what his former commander understood for a while now: there was so much more in life than just constant hunger, there was literally entire new Galaxy of possibilities and perhaps at some point even more.
oOo
The Bureau was situated in a large building with some trees around but it screamed 'government' and it certainly was larger on the inside that it seemed on the outside. It had that typical urban look of something that was planned as art nouveau but then was finished as something entirely different that included concrete galore, plenty of steel and a lot of heavy, thick glass. It was heavy, square and built like a bunker. Buildings like that had to have solid foundations and that usually meant a lot of basement space. Basement space that could be used in multitude of top secret ways.
The car stopped in front of the main entry with proud sign stating complete and utter bullshit. They get out and led to the large, heavy double door that opened soundlessly and a smart looking agent led them to the lobby that looked like extremely spacious morgue. If morgues had stone floors polished until one could use it as a mirror. The same agent silently led them to an elevator. The elevator was mostly chrome and satin – also polished into high shine. Instead of travelling up they went down.
The room they were taken into looked nothing like a basement or dungeon. It looked like large library. All in dark wood and with soft, warm light. It smelled of floor polishing wax and old paper, and… Old Spice.
"I take that you are Miss Portico and these two… are your subordinates." They all turned to see a tall, balding man in glasses. He looked heavy but not with obesity, he was simply strongly built. In his younger times he was probably very athletic.
"I am Lady Door." Door corrected the man. "And these are, indeed, my subordinates."
"I am Director Manning." The man introduced himself. "You're here for one of our, not exactly prisoners."
"Yeah, though I take that Hellboy didn't like the idea." Robo decided to join the conversation.
"He was offended." The Director agreed. "The way only he can."
"O ho ho. Do I know that!" Robo seemed amused. "Not that I don't agree with him."
"You know him?" Manning asked.
"I met him." Robo confirmed. "Red getting offended is a sight to behold."
"What did your, not so much of a guest, say?" Door asked. She knew of Hellboy, though she knew him by different name, but she wasn't concerned with his opinion as it wasn't him who she was to hire.
"He asked who he was to work with if he agreed. I told him your name but he didn't recognise it." The Director replied. "He asked who was to be your direct superior. He recognised her name. That only made Hellboy angrier."
"Does that mean that we can take him now?" Door asked.
"He said that he is close to agreeing but he wants to meet you before he will make his final decision." Manning informed them. "I will take you to him if you still want to."
"Of course. He is the reason why we are here." Door nodded.
"Can we talk to HB first?" Robo asked.
"He left half an hour after he learned of your request." Manning admitted. "I can tell him you asked for him when he's back."
"That'll be great." Robo's optics looked as if he was smiling. "Tell him that after I'm done with this mission I invite him to Tesladyne."
"Why not. He hasn't been on leave for ages now." The Director shrugged. "Now, back to the business."
He led them to another room and then to a short corridor that looked cold and sterile. At the end of the corridor was a lift. The door opened and they entered.
"Before you will meet him. I must warn you in case he is unmasked." He started with his finger hovering over a button that would send them two levels down.
"We are aware that he is disfigured.2)" Door ensured the Director. "He suffered mild burns before the war, the scars were minimal but the surgery he underwent caused more damage than it did good resulting in him wearing a mask."
"That. And more. We found him in Norway, in an old, collapsed castle in the arctic area some years ago. The place bore signs of an explosion. He was there with one Leopold Kurtz, who is being held in separate facility. 'Till this day we do not know how these two survived the explosion and the two weeks in the ruins before they were discovered – and we only know it was two weeks because their calendar wasn't burned completely." Manning explained. "He never said what happened claiming that he is not sure but it had to be the machinery."
"I see." Door sighed. "I will speak with him."
"You've been warned." The man pushed the button and they sled down to the lowest level of the facility.
oOo
The room was clean and set in simple yet pleasant style. The furniture wasn't overly fancy but it looked both practical and comfortable. The prisoner was granted far more luxury than most people in his position. The room they were in wasn't like most typical cells. There was no bunk; instead there were doors that had to lead to the bed room.
And there, in the middle of the room, behind a simple, wooden table (it was an IKEA design without a doubt) sat one Karl Ruprecht Kroenen in his full, masked glory. The man was lean and it was obvious that he was also shorter than Spike but he looked absolutely fit and nothing like the old man he was. Or supposed to be.
"You have your guests." Manning said and left.
"Colonel Kroenen." Door approached the ex-Nazi.
"Please sit and Oberststurbmannführer if you insist on ranks3)." The man said in hoarse and not exactly lisping, more like hissing and throaty voice. "But I would prefer to be known more as Professor Doctor, or simply Doctor."
"Doctor then." Door sat down. "I am Lady Door of House Portico. I was told that you were close to agreeing to my offer."
"It depends." The Occultist leaned forward. "Is Herrin Murray really herself? Is she the former Frau Harker?"
"The very same." Door nodded. "She is currently the 'M' in spe4). She will take the chair as soon as the team will be assembled.
"I see. I understand that you have met her. Tell me, Herrin Portico; was Herr Quatermain there as well?"
"I was informed that Allan Quatermain died in 2009 during the Moonchild incident." Door informed the prisoner. "She was, however, accompanied by Orlando. Why do you ask?"
"Mmmm." The man's head fell lower as if he was dozing off but it snapped back up immediately. "The names are familiar to me… but this is a story for another time." He quickly ended the subject. "Tell me this instead: was I correct to assume that the group I am asked to join would be the famous 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'?"
"Yes." Door confirmed. "The assembling team should be known as 'Portico Group' just as Miss Murray's was 'Murray Group'."
"And why would Herrin Murray want an ex-Waffen SS officer?" He asked earnestly. "Searching for engineer perhaps?"
"No, we have Atomic Robo for that." Door denied. "We're more interested in your medical and occult experience."
"British Intelligence is assembling League of Extraordinary Gentlemen once again and they are considering former Nazi to join it as a medic and occultist." Kroenen recapitulated silently. "It sounds so ridiculous that it cannot be untrue."
"But?" Door asked sensing that the man failed to finish his thought.
"But can you work with someone like me?" He asked this time there was a hint of smile in his voice even though Door knew he couldn't smile any more. Or rather that he was permanently smiling now.
"It depends if you can follow my orders." She replied honestly. His past was not her concern even though she knew history if the world Above, it was that whatever he was in the past was irrelevant in the face of what the future could hold.
"I find it acceptable." Kroenen admitted. "As long as you are a good commander, that is."
"I wasn't chosen simply because of my good looks." She replied. "Shall I inform Director Manning that you will be coming with us then?" She stood up.
"Please do. I have nothing better to do these days." Kroenen rose as well. He indeed was only slightly shorter than Spike. Then again, he was accepted into SS which meant that he had to be at least 175 centimetres tall5) and Kroenen was probably minimally taller than that.
"Follow us then." Door walked to the doors.
"I would appreciate if you could give me few moments to prepare and pack my humble movables." He requested. "I was granted a laptop in which I was allowed to download considerable collection of occult grimoirs and some medical magazines." He explained when he saw Door staring at him quizzically. "If I am to be useful occultist it would be beneficial if I had access to my books." He continued. "Also I would like to have a change of clothes, basic personal hygiene items and spare mask. It is not lot of baggage and it won't take long, I already have a portmanteau at ready."
"Of course." Door knocked on the door. "We shall wait outside."
The door opened and they left the comfortable prison. Director Manning stood outside waiting. The door closed behind them and the magnetic locks snapped in place. Kroenen was once again locked inside alone.
"How did it go?" Manning asked, curious.
Ever since they had Kroenen locked he was polite and cooperated enough to gain certain privileges but not more than he absolutely had to. Manning was wondering what Kroenen had to gain from cooperating with the British Intelligence?
"He accepted." Door announced. "He asked to be allowed to pack some of his belongings."
"He requested a suitcase for that when he learned that you would come." Manning nodded. "Like I said before, he was more or less into it all. That makes me curious, what he could gain from you?"
"He asked about Miss Murray, I suspect that he wants to learn something from her." Door furrowed her eyebrows. "He is an occultist and she dealt with a lot of strange things. My best guess is that as an occultist he craves for occult knowledge."
"He was working on ending the world during the World War II." Manning revealed.
"There was an occultist that went by the name of Olivier Haddo who desired to create a Moonchild to bring a new aeon of terror.7)" Door explained. "It ended some years ago in what some people know as 'the Moonchild Incident'. Perhaps as an occultist Doctor Kroenen wishes to learn what have occurred exactly?"
"That is possible." Manning agreed. "Then again, what kind of mission requires you to have an old fart like him?"
"He didn't smell old." Spike surprised everyone by speaking. He kept silent ever since they arrived to New York.
"Horsefeathers!" Atomic Robo protested. He was a scientist and all that occult nonsense was absurd to him. "He's older than I am!"
"He doesn't smell old." Spike insisted. "He smells like… almost a Wraith but human, no enzyme…"
"Technically Kroenen is over hundred years old and shouldn't be alive to end in that explosion in Norway, let alone survive for two weeks and heal as fast and well as he did." Manning shook his head. "And yet he's here in great shape and often going to the gym and practicing fencing."
"But how?" Robo was at loss now.
"I think they don't want him in heaven and hell's too scared that he'll take over." Manning smirked.
"That's almost the same thing I said to my friend just this morning." Robo admitted recalling Jenkins.
"Nothing that I can answer to that." Manning shrugged.
They were saved from awkward silence by resonant 'ping' at the Kroenen door's intercom. The man behind them was now ready to leave.
Manning entered the code at the touch pad and the doors unlocked. Behind them stood Karl Ruprecht Kroenen dressed in his body suit and mask as before but now hold the extended handle of a trolley case that sat at his side on its tiny wheels. It looked awkwardly modern next to a man in what could only be described as steam punk mask.
"I am now ready." Kroenen announced.
"He will need warmer clothes." Robo observed. "It's autumn outside."
"He will get his outside gear when we leave this part of the complex." Manning said and summoned the elevator.
oOo
They rode to the airport in the same black minivan and with the same driver as before. The difference was that now they had another passenger. Karl Kroenen had the amazing ability to look absolutely natural in modern looking clothes while at the same time wearing old-fashioned mask.
The atmosphere inside the van was also different than before. The silent reflection was replaced with unspoken curiosity and anticipation. Surprisingly the first one to break the silence was Kroenen.
"Now that I am included into this… gathering, I would greatly appreciate being introduced to my… co-gentlemen." He spoke calmly and politely. "So at least I know how to address them." He added.
"I suppose I should have done that when we met." Door admitted. "This is Atomic Robo Tesla, who is our science expert and my second in command." She gestured at Robo.
"The name sounds familiar." Kroenen admitted. "I assume that you are the same Herr Tesla who continued to harass Baron von Helsingard?"
"The one and only." Robo narrowed his optics at Kroenen. He wasn't too hot about Nazis, he had enough of them back at war, but he held special place on his hate list for those associated with Helsingard. "And it's Doctor Tesla, actually."
"And this is Spike." Door decided to intervene before the conversation went out of hand. "A Wraith pilot."
"I am not sure if I recognise his… ethnical origin." Kroenen admitted. Ever since he saw the strange man he was curious of who and what he was.
"Wraith are not from Earth." Door explained. "He is an extra-terrestrial." She avoided saying 'alien', it seemed rude to her. "Their race is a kind of, ummm, space vampires."
"That's fascinating, what is his role in this assembly?" Karl asked.
"He is not sure himself." Spike hissed annoyed that he was spoken about as if he wasn't present.
"Wraith have many abilities that can come in handy." Door smiled mysteriously. "Let us say that, in great generalisation, Spike is the adventurer of the team."
"Good to know." Spike murmured loud enough to be heard and focused on the world outside of the van.
"How did you meet Helsingard?" Robo asked not allowing the subject to drop. He ignored Door's glare. He wanted to know just how much Kroenen was connected to Helsingard.
"Heinrich von Helsingard was my professor when I was studying medicine." Kroenen answered the question. "To shorten the long story of our pain filled acquaintanceship, he and his designs were competing with the Ragna Rok project which ended with us being professional rivals and personal enemies."
"How?"
"He has stolen results of my early experiments with mechanical implants and cloning. Only he was using unwilling subjects, both human and Vril8)"
"Brutes!" Robo exclaimed. He remembered Ludwig9) well.
"I believe that's what he called them." Kroenen nodded.
TBC
OK. Since while LoEG fic, the LoEG is in itself a crossover, so do not worry if you won't be familiar with any of the characters, if the need will arise it will be explain and if you will have any additional questions or something won't be clear, you can also contact me and ask and I will answer you to the best of my abilities.
Spoiler alert: this paragraph contains spoilers.
Professor Doctor Karl Ruprecht Kroenen – post Hellboy: Wake the Devil, the B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth not happening (but Rasputin does interfere with the explosion) because:
a) I don't like the change in drawing style, it changed way too much (I enjoyed Mignola's art better for anything related to Hellboy, it is much more ominous and thus fits better the overall climate of the entire story);
b) I have to put Karl into B.P.R.D. custody somehow and this was perfect opportunity (this also means that I cut in before Hellboy resigns and goes to Hell – I liked the older comics in the series better).
1) I associate this song forever with Karl, probably because I listened to it shortly after (meaning few minutes) I watched the first Hellboy film (though I heard it in the Placebo cover version back then) and the line "the cold is biting" was just so perfect for the scene when they enter the sanctuary where they resurrect Rasputin. Of course this Kroenen is mostly the comic version though I borrowed some of his movie features to make him more usable in this story.
2) In the comic books it is not stated why exactly hides his face behind the mask but it is implied that some sort of accident left him disfigured. In the film he suffers from mysophobia (germophobia) and extreme body dismorphic disorder (he surgically scarred himself, removed his own eyelids, lips and nails).
I stick to the comic biography but who said that the disfigurement that young Karl suffered didn't left him scarred just as in the movie? And as in my explanation for his time line, he suffered some more after the explosion in the castle.
3) That's the rank he is given in his film biography (I have not noticed any visible rank marks in the comics despite that he is wearing military uniform), it is SS equivalent of Lieutenant Colonel. The comic biography gives him titles of Professor Doctor. He is a doctor by training, a surgeon to be exact, but also an occultist and engineer.
4) In Spe – being someone 'in spe' means to be elected or nominated; soon to take the seat, title or position.
5) That's 5'74" tall; it was the minimal height that Waffen SS members had to have in order to be accepted because that was the height of Heinrich Himmler.
6) Hellboy: Seed of Destruction.
7) The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century.
8) Vril are mentioned by Helsingard in Atomic Robo: Fighting Scientists of Tesladyne, vol1. And there is one in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, 1969 (performing sex show). IMHO it connects well: survivors from the utopia that von Helsingard destroyed, and possibly few of his escaped prisoners, fled to London to seek haven (that was fate of many during WWII).
9) Ludwig is a BIG Brute from Atomic Robo: Dogs of War, vol. 4.
