A/N: A ves ordes, as I have been ordered, here is the next installment in the story. There is a section between the last chapter and this, as I have mentioned, on a separate website since Fanfic.net no longer hosts NC-17 fics. In order to maintain the rating, the missing chapter is at http://www.dollhousecreations.com/users/drucilla/lxg/ for reader consumption.
None of the characters within are mine. Any resemblance to any characters, living or dead, fictional or factual, is purely intentional. I own no copyrights or deeds to anyone. For a partial bibliography, I refer you again to the website. A works-cited will be available on Fanfic.net at the conclusion of the story.
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The room, Skinner thought, was very much like the room in which he had first met most of the members of the League. In fact, apart from the absence of the Freemason's logo on the doors and (probably) the titles of the books, it was identical. The people in the room, however, were more numerous and vastly different. They were both more and less unusual than they had been the last time he'd wandered through these stacks. And Skinner devoutly hoped that the circumstances were equally changed. He didn't want to deal with a pair of traitors within the League. Not now.
Nemo, Mina, and himself were the only hold-overs from the last time they had been in the room twinned to this one. Even Tom and Henry hadn't been there at first. Now they were surrounded by others… Mycroft Holmes, whom Allan had suspected of initially being M (and Skinner felt that familiar pang of regret as he thought of Allan, the man who Africa would not let die). Mina's friend Orlando, whom Mina had flatly stated would remain, and whom (it was rumored) was as extraordinary as any of them. Dorian… although no one particularly trusted him, everyone did agree that he might be useful in the upcoming assignments. If nothing else, Skinner had commented acerbically at an earlier, more private meeting, he would be useful for catching spare bullets. Tom and Huck, who had gained instant support from the League: Tom seven years ago, by virtue of his loyalty and prowess and ability to learn, and Huck on the recommendation of Tom.
There were others, too. When the League had been formalized despite the handicap of being formed out of M's treachery they had been placed under the auspices of Special Branch, ostensibly under the command of a man called Narraway. Tonight he had sent his own man to watch over the proceedings as he couldn't be here himself, one Inspector Thomas Pitt. Pitt, in turn, had brought his own lieutenant from a previous posting along, Mr. Samuel Tellman. Skinner noted with some amusement that both Tellman and Pitt looked distinctly uncomfortable in the presence of so may whose abilities they must have heard about. It couldn't have helped that they didn't see Skinner, who was entirely invisible at the moment.
The final newcomers to the meeting were the former police Inspector Abberline and a prisoner with a very disgruntled look an a not-quite-sane glint to his eye. Although the English-born League members were familiar with Inspector Abberline from the sensational case of two decades ago, they had no idea what the much younger prisoner was doing there. Mycroft had refused to say anything about either of them. Skinner had promised to investigate later.
"… and we have received reports from several major European cities about similar goings-on. After thorough inspection," Mycroft nodded to the two Americans, "we have concluded that the abductions in Paris, Berlin, Rouen, Seville, and others, as well as those in the United States, are not only similar but identical to the abductions here in Britain. There can be no question but that they are all being perpetrated by a wide-ranging organization, the most disturbing aspect of which is that it has crossed the Atlantic Ocean."
There was a low murmur around the other end of the table. Skinner frowned, having long been concerned about that particular fact himself.
"Special Branch, in collaboration with other agencies from all the affected countries, has put together a mobilization list of those we might recruit for this endeavor. Two of you, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Finn, have already been notified of your status, consider yourselves recruited.'
Pitt looked especially worried about that fact. Skinner noted the wedding band on his finger, wondered if there was something less innocent or if the man was merely worried about his family, what he would tell them and whether or not he would be in danger.
"For the next month, consider yourselves on assignment. For some of you, my friends, the mission will be to do the overseas recruiting. You will travel, courtesy of Nemo's spectacular inventions, to all of the affected countries and liaise with the appropriate agencies. You will deliver a special telegraph device through which we will all be able to contact each other, and you will co-ordinate efforts to prevent further abductions while we determine the most likely, most feasible means to rescue the children already in enemy hands."
"For the rest of us, we will remain here, establishing a laboratory, preparing a base of operations, and making the way for the children to have homes again, anticipating that we bring any back, of course." Everyone across the table winced at Mycroft's matter of fact statement that there might not be any surviving children.
"Adoption agencies in the United States are standing by," Huck said quietly, seeming to take the news the hardest. "It's generally felt that since we're the newest and biggest country involved, we have the most space to accommodate children. Lots of families starting out, and all that."
"What sorts of folks will we be recruiting?" Skinner asked. "I mean, have they all been checked out? Don't want a repeat of last time."
Dorian glared at Skinner, or at least in the direction from which Skinner's voice was emanating. The invisible man only laughed.
"Well, it's not like you're all that trustworthy, mate. Once bitten, twice shy, and all that."
"They will be given no opportunity to retain any secrets which they might collect while on board the Nautilus," Mycroft interjected, heading off what might have been a lengthy verbal battle as Dorian opened his mouth to retort. "And once here they will be installed in a laboratory controlled by us. Nothing will be left to chance this time, and all information will be checked and re-checked to be sure of its accuracy."
"Begging your pardon, sir," Pitt interrupted, soft spoken and very correct of speech for a policeman. "Won't that take time?" The implication was that they would be dawdling, taking up valuable time that would be better served rescuing the unfortunates from what was undoubtedly a dire situation. It was an issue they were all dealing with, feeling to one degree or another as though they were dawdling, taking their time, lazing about while children suffered and died.
"It will indeed, Inspector. But it will take more time if we were to investigate every sewer, catacomb, and underground cavern inch by inch. With a little preparation we might eliminate the need for any such endeavor."
"Besides," Skinner couldn't resist putting in, grinning as he watched Tellman jump and stare about as though he might actually see the invisible speaker "These aren't exactly ordinary folks we'll be hunting."
Mina directed a quelling look at the man's voice. "Skinner is right, Inspector. Although I have exhausted all the tests and avenues of investigation available to me, there are many other scientists on Mr. Holmes' list with whom I must consult, and whom we hope to recruit into our investigation. These skin samples taken from what we believe to be the abductors are not human, not as we know the word anyway. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that they belonged to an ancestor of the species, except that neither do they resemble any known human ancestor."
Pitt shuddered. "You say it so casually, ma'am, but are you certain you will be able to discover any information that will be useful to the investigation?"
Mina bristled slightly as Dorian smirked, then calmed when she saw that the Inspector meant no offense by her sex. "Forewarned, as they say Inspector, is forearmed. We have resources that are not available to the general public, resources that can make us vastly more effective than any law enforcement agency, to a certain extent. But we are still only a small handful of people, and the more minds we have working at this problem, the faster we will be able to achieve a lasting and beneficial resolution."
Pitt nodded, not happy with the delay but apparently satisfied by the explanation.
"And what are the rest of us doing here?" Dorian asked, irony and bitterness dripping from his words like acid. "I can understand the presence of the police, but this young … psychotic…" Even Dorian, it seemed, was having troubles describing the angry man whose arm was gripped tight in Abberline's old, thorny hand.
"Older than you," the man sneered. Everyone stared at him for that; the League with a touch of humor, knowledgeable about Dorian's young appearance and old age, and the police with curiosity and bemusement, for the two appeared to be the same age. Henry tilted his head slightly, listening to a voice that only he could hear. Only Mycroft and Orlando, for some reason most likely known only to Mina, seemed unfazed.
"That's as may be, Mr. Kane, but you were offered a full pardon in exchange for your help and services in this matter, and you will be silent unless you are invited to speak." The man's words lashed the prisoner into mute hostility, glaring around the table with (or so it seemed) especial hatred for Mina. She ignored him completely.
"I can understand why some of these scientists are on the list," Skinner remarked, picking it up from where he had been reading it over Tellman's shoulder. Both policemen jumped again. Skinner dodged a flying elbow with a smirk. "Easy there, Thomas… But why do we need a botanist? Or, for that matter, an astronomer?"
"They are botanists and astronomers, Mr. Skinner, in the same way that I am an engineer." After seven long years of acquaintance Nemo was taking the invisible man's antics in stride, and even with a bit of humor. "And would you please cover yourself, for the sake of those here who are not used to your…"
"Shenanigans? Antics? Pranks?"
'Unique abilities."
Skinner smirked and reached over to the table where he'd left his clothing, dressing himself slowly and leisurely just to watch Tellman's eyes bug out even more. Tom rolled his eyes at the invisible figure, and as Skinner began to apply the white-face cream that gave visibility to his facial expressions he winked at the young American.
"What is to happen when we've got our collection of scientists, then?" Skinner continued, "And when we've told all the nice policemen what to do?"
Abberline rolled his eyes.
"With luck and the proper information, we will then have a better idea of what we are dealing with." Mycroft's tone was utterly placid, but then nothing had ever seemed to faze the man. "With the telegraphs in place and the available resources of our scientists we will be able to understand what we are up against and mobilize an appropriate team for each site within a matter of days. After the initial phase things will move much more quickly."
"I don't want to sound too obvious," Abberline interjected dryly. His voice was low and gravelly with age, overuse, and drink. "But don't you already have all the information sources you need right here in London? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have two survivors who could tell you everything you might want or need to know? In my business we used to call them witnesses."
"Corrected," Henry said with quiet annoyance before anyone could stop him. "They've been through enough, and we don't even know if they saw or heard anything that could help us. For that matter, they were only held in one city. These kidnappers are all across the continent of Europe and into the United States, possibly beyond. This has grown much bigger than either Marie or Percy should be asked to handle."
Abberline shook his head but didn't say anything else. Next to him the man Mycroft had called Kane sneered, and looked as though he would have made some sort of comment. Everyone glared at him, though, except Dorian, which seemed to keep him silent.
"In any case, their testimony will not be able to help us," Pitt pointed out. Definitely a family man, Skinner decided. He looked in control but still very pale at the thought of interrogating children; determined to do what it took to get the case done and over with, but still not relishing the kinds of questions he would have to ask or the kinds of answers he might receive. "Not in the long run, anyway. They… if I'm not mistaken… only know about one city. And from what I've heard here today this is happening all over the world. What they know will only be of very limited use, and I'm not in favor of causing undue suffering to young men and women."
"As though your opinion mattered," Kane sneered. "We are all aware of who will be making that decision…"
"You shut your mouth," Pitt's companion, Tellman, spoke up for the first time.
"Ah, the dog defends his master?"
Abberline shook the man by the arm. "Sebastian…" he growled in a warning tone, and the wild-eyed man subsided again. Pitt ignored him with magnificent ease. Everyone else was silent, uncomfortable with the associations that had been thrust upon them.
"You have two days in which to say your goodbyes," Mycroft continued when no one else said anything, "But no more. As Inspector Pitt has pointed out, time is of the essence. Mina, you will remain behind, as we agreed, and set up your laboratories for the arrival of the scientists. We will send whom we can to you via the exploration pod, but I cannot guarantee that you will have what you need to achieve results before the Nautilus returns."
"There are more exploration pods, should we require them," Nemo spoke up with more than a little pride in his voice. "If necessary, we will attempt to supply Mina with all the scientific knowledge she requires, and then some."
Mina nodded her thanks to the Captain.
"Well, now that that's all settled, can we get down to planning our itinerary so we can get off this rock and get started?" Skinner poked the maps that were rolled up on the table, anxious to change the subject.
"Don't mind Skinner," Mina said, finally unable to bear the discomfiture of the police inspectors any longer. "He's our…" she searched for a phrase. "Litmus test for those in the government's employ whom we must deal with. If they can tolerate him, they can certainly tolerate anything we might encounter in our travels."
Pitt and Tellman nodded, Pitt a little more slowly than his compatriot. Abberline just made a sort of snorting noise that said he had seen more than his share of unusual circumstances, and they settled themselves again in their seats. Nemo unrolled the maps over the table, bringing out the instruments of navigation and plotting a course, and everyone leaned forward to see what he was doing, comforted by the action of doing something at least.
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"I hadn't expected to see you here," the woman said quietly. In the doorway the man shifted from foot to foot, his usually self-satisfied and imperturbable demeanor fallen to reveal uncertainty, annoyance, and a child-like sense of the ground having been pulled out from under him.
"I hadn't expected to be here. I never expected to come back."
"But you did."
"I had to."
"Because I have your portrait."
"Yes."
Mina stared at Dorian for several minutes longer. The immortal wouldn't look at her, glanced at every corner of the room but the one in which she was standing, rubbing his hands up and down his arms as though he was cold.
"You were decaying before my eyes," she said after a bit. "I saw you die."
"Could you not bring that up, please?" he asked, irritably, but his shivers increased. "I don't particularly care to remember it any more than I absolutely have to. Once a night is more than enough."
"Sorry."
More silence.
"May I come in?"
"Of course."
Dorian stepped through the doorway but did not venture much further into the room. Although it was sparse, not much different from his own, and showed very few signs of Mina's short occupation, it still made Dorian uncomfortable somehow. He kept looking towards the walls as though his portrait would spring out of them, a tumor from a body, and reduce him to fine ash again. Mina resumed her unpacking, looking at him with something bordering on sympathy.
"It's on board the ship, Dorian. It's not going to bite you. And it's covered, in any case. I wrapped it when I first heard you had… returned."
"Ah." There was a brief pause. "Thank you."
There was a longer pause. Mina's hands slowed in their unpacking and finally froze altogether in the act of putting a blouse away in her wardrobe. "How did you escape?" she asked finally. "We didn't find that your portrait had escaped the flames until days afterwards, and there was no trace of your body."
Dorian shuddered again, moving around in atavistic, animalistic fear, a sense of being trapped by forces much larger and much more powerful than himself. He clearly didn't like the sensation. "It seems that as long as my portrait exists, I can't truly die. My awareness was trapped in that building for a very long time while my body knit itself back together. The process could not begin until the portrait was removed, so …" another shudder… "I made my way down to the nomad's village. They had repopulated the area when Moriarty left. They took me in, sheltered me until a trading vessel passed close enough that I could persuade them to take me to a civilized area."
Mina stared. It was a horrific thought, being trapped in a frozen wasteland as a pile of dust, being slowly reborn into the cold and the snow. Even with the knowledge of Dorian's betrayal, both times, she was finding it hard not to feel at least a modicum of pity for the man. "Then why did you come back to us?"
He took a deep breath, stared out the window that looked out onto the semi-prosperous street below. "I'm tired, Mina. I'm so very tired. If what it takes is my portraits destruction, then so be it. I've cheated death long enough, and I don't want to live like this anymore."
It would have been heartbreaking if it hadn't come from Dorian, who even now couldn't completely be rid of the slight ghost of a smirk around his lips. She had to ask. "And it has nothing to do with the hundreds of missing children, these monsters in the sewers?"
Dorian whirled on her. "Mina, what kind of a monster exactly do you take me for? Just what interest do you think I could possibly have in children? What, in all our associations together, makes you think I am capable of doing something like that?" He shuddered. "Besides… in the sewers? Mina, you know me better than that."
Well, it had been an idle thought at best. She chuckled with only the slightest humor in her voice. "True. You were never one to sacrifice your comforts."
"Damn right."
She put the blouse into her wardrobe and turned. "So what will you do now?"
Dorian shrugged. "I don't have much choice, do I? I've been conscripted into the League once again, and I'm being shipped off to all corners of the globe for god knows what reason. Mycroft's lost what few marbles he had."
Privately, Mina thought it was so they could dump him overboard and let him be immortal at the bottom of the ocean if he got too troublesome. She didn't say it, though. "Perhaps you can lend your experience to the interviews with the scientists."
"What, set a traitor to catch a traitor? Perhaps. I can't bring myself to care anymore. If it will get the man to return my portrait to me so I can crawl off into my hole and die quietly, I'll do it." He turned and started out, evidently seeing no point to continuing the conversation any further.
"Dorian…" Mina reached out her hand before she could stop herself, wanting to say something, anything. There was so much history between them, and very little of it good or pleasant, all of it memorable. She remembered him largely as the man who had broken her heart, treated her cavalierly and tossed her aside, then returned only to betray her a second time. And yet, oddly enough, she still wanted to speak with him, to share her experiences, to sit with him in a parlor with a drink by their sides and a fire in the hearth, talking of nothing of consequence. Orlando had said that it was because, with the prospect of living for a very long time, there were so few who still remembered the things that they did. She herself had forgotten more history than Mina and Dorian put together. Mina hoped that was the case, that it wasn't some misplaced remnant of affection come back to haunt her. Like Dorian.
He turned and stared at her with hollow eyes, the only part of his face that didn't still keep that trademark smugness and arrogance. Everything else about his posture and expression made her irate, made her want to smack the grin off of his face. His eyes haunted her, though, as horrified and exhausted as she had seen in every League member at one time or another. Eyes that had seen too much in one lifetime and were terrified at the prospect of seeing much more.
He turned and left. Mina sat heavily down on her bed, wondering how much trouble she was in if she had this much sympathy left over for a familiar foe.
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Marie stared out the window at the ship unconventionally docked in the makeshift harbor, and the men who loaded crate after crate aboard it. The Nautilus was almost fully prepared, and in two hours it would be leaving with nearly everyone she cared about in the world aboard, to go who knew where and deal with who knew what. It was a feeling that only grew more familiar with time, and yet she hadn't gotten used to it at all. She hoped she would never get used to it, that small feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach that she would never see her brother again, or Nemo, or Mina… or Skinner, not that the verb applied to him. She smiled a little, thinking of how the phrase 'see you soon,' had become their own little private joke.
But this time was different. This time Henry was going with them. And suddenly Marie was afraid again, that paralyzing, ground-shaking fear that gripped her every time she was left (as she saw it) alone, without protection or defense, without friends or allies.
"You'll be all right, Marie." The man in question stood behind her, in her doorway, quietly awaiting permission to come in. Despite the fact that it was really his home he always waited, diffident, outside her door to be invited in.
This time, out of all the times, she didn't. Her arms wrapped around her waist, hugging herself tightly. She didn't feel aware of the movement at all. "You're leaving with them." Her voice sounded distant to her. "You're leaving again. You said you'd never leave again."
"I have to." His voice was equally quiet, equally distant. "They need as many people as they can get, as many scientific minds, to gauge the usefulness of our recruits… to study this problem so we can find it, fix it… stop it."
"But why out there?" she cried, whirling around. The argument had been going on since late the previous night, and it hadn't been resolved yet. "Why do you have to go with them this time? Now, of all times, why does it have to be you? Don't we need you more than they do?" It was almost 'I need,' but she stopped herself barely in time.
"Because I can…" he fumbled for more words, better words, any way to explain it better than his current clumsy attempts. "Because I have the ability, and I can't sit idly by and let evil things happen because I was too afraid… or cared too much."
She stared at the floor. She stomped a tiny foot in distress. "I don't want you to go."
"I have to."
Silence. "Who will take care of us when you're gone?"
"Mycroft will, of course… and Thomas. And Mina, you have her."
Marie blinked at him. "Mina is staying behind?"
Henry nodded, looking a little forlorn and lost in the doorway as he was standing half-hidden behind the frame. Marie gestured him in, and either drew him into an embrace or collapsed into his arms. "It's not the same," she said quietly, somehow managing to give the impression of inconsolable grief without shedding a tear. "You've never left, not in years. You said you would always be here."
He hugged her tight, kissed her forehead, stroked her hair. Anything to make the parting easier, a little more bearable. "Sometimes life conspires against us. I will be back, Marie, you know that."
"I know. But that doesn't make it any better."
She sighed. They stood like that for some time, until the bells on the Nautilus began to toll and the horn sounded their imminent departure. Even then, Marie was extremely reluctant to let him go, and released him only with the promise of his safe return. Henry gave it willingly, and then nearly bolted out the door before his protective impulses could keep him in the room much longer.
"Well, he made it out of here faster than I thought."
If Skinner had been hoping for a startled or indignant reaction from her, he was disappointed. She turned towards him, smiling slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be on board the ship?"
Skinner chuckled. "Probably. Not that they ever notice when I come or go. I've a little time left, it always takes them a while to leave port even when the bells have been sounded." He brushed his fingertips over her cheek, a phantom whisper of a touch to her, somehow deeply meaningful to him. "Are you going to be all right?"
"No…" The tears welled in her eyes again, but still she managed to keep them from falling. "But I will survive. And you had better do the same." With that always strange unerring accuracy she clasped his hand, squeezing it gently. "I want to see you again, Rodney Skinner. I'm not yet tired of you enough to say goodbye."
They chuckled. "I'll have to work harder, then," he teased her gently, then blinked as she hugged him tight. One of these days, he thought to himself as he wrapped his arms gingerly around her, he was going to have to ask her how she managed to do that just by touching so little a thing as his fingertips. What sort of sensory organs were in her palms, that she could tell where he was through the slightest touch? It didn't matter, not now.
"I'll be back, darling. You know I will." He kissed her hair, and she sighed.
"I know."
"I'll always come back."
"I know…" she hugged him tighter. "I just feel… so useless. You always go off and do glorious things, good things. And I … I can't even get beyond my own front door."
Skinner frowned. "You're not useless, girl… who's been telling you such things?" He could imagine at least one person. "Has Dorian been at you?" Two. "Or Hyde…"
"No… no. Dorian's been a perfect gentleman… which is to say I don't see much of him at all." She shrugged ruefully. "Henry won't let me see much of either him or Edward. I don't think Henry would let me see either of them at all if he could help it, but there's not much helping it here, not all the time, not when there's so many other things to worry on."
"Marie…" he gripped her by the shoulders and held her at a little distance, wishing he could look her in the eyes and tell her with more than just his words. Except that he already had the uncomfortable feeling he could do just that. "You are not useless. You are not worthless, and it is perfectly understandable that you should be as afraid as you are. For Godsakes, Marie, you spent the first years of your life going through things none of us can imagine. And you survived. You can't get over that in a day, or a year, or even ten years. You're doing wonderfully, and you're a wonderful person, and don't let anyone… even Henry… tell you different." Had all that pap spouted from his mouth? He must be getting old.
Marie smiled, and touched his cheek. "You're sweet, but I wonder if you're right…"
"Of course I'm right. I'm always right. I am Rodney Skinner, Gentleman Thief and Invisible Man Extraordinaire!" He struck a grandiose voice, since poses were out of the question. It got the hoped-for laugh, and he smiled. "Don't worry so much, darling. We'll be back before you know it, and in the meantime you can be assured of your usefulness by taking care of this score of children Henry's decided to take care of, for reasons beyond the ken of us sane people."
Marie laughed. "He has a charitable heart, Rodney, and you do too, if only you'd admit it."
Skinner frowned slightly. "He also has an overdeveloped need for atonement, and you'd better watch that around him when he gets back. I think he's developing some sort of St. Francis complex."
She nodded. "I will. And you'll have to watch him for me, while you're away."
"Of course." He smirked. "What kind of invisible man do you think I am?"
"A kind and generous one." She kissed his cheek, then hugged him tightly again. "I wish you didn't have to go."
"I wish I didn't either, darling," he said quietly, very much aware of Nemo yelling for him on the ramps. "But I do. Before Nemo sends the bloodhounds after me." He kissed her on the forehead and grabbed his coat as he left, dropping his hat on her head. It fell down over her eyes, and he was gone before she'd pulled it up again. She pelted down the stairs and out the door, for once not thinking about the …
the outside…
she was outside…
fear took her
shook her
held her in place
she was outside
on the ground
that could burst open
any moment
and swallow her again
And then Percy was there, hugging her and whispering to her and leading her back to the house. Percy, her younger/older brother, taller than her by nearly a foot now and ganglier than ever. He held her tightly as they murmured in their secret language and cried to each other quietly, in their minds, where no one could hear. She didn't want him to go, she never wanted him to go, but it was what he wanted, the ship, the Nautilus, the voyage, the freedom. And she wasn't going to deny it to him.
"You bring them all back to me," she whispered.
"I will."
"You make sure He doesn't get hold of them.'
Percy nodded, grim. "I will."
They clung to each other. "What are we going to do?" she murmured as he carried her in and set her down on Henry's favorite chair in the library.
"We're going to help them…" Percy said, with more confidence than he felt, aware that she knew it too. "We're going to do what we have to, because they're doing everything they can. Even though they have no idea what they're up against." Pity laced through his tone, and fear.
"What do you think happened?" she asked, curling up as Percy tucked a blanket around her. "It wasn't this bad… there are so many more of them now. So many more…" she shuddered. Percy kissed her forehead.
"I don't know. But they'll find out. They'll stop it, if anyone can."
Marie nodded. "Be careful…" she whispered in her mind as he left. "They're still out there... and they haven't stopped listening."
I know… I love you, sister.
I love you too.
The comfort echoed in her mind long after the Nautilus had disappeared from the water. Marie wrapped her arms around her knees, shivering in the house that suddenly seemed so much emptier, thinking about the forces that were aligned against them. Wondering if they really were still listening, out there in the darkness.
None of the characters within are mine. Any resemblance to any characters, living or dead, fictional or factual, is purely intentional. I own no copyrights or deeds to anyone. For a partial bibliography, I refer you again to the website. A works-cited will be available on Fanfic.net at the conclusion of the story.
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The room, Skinner thought, was very much like the room in which he had first met most of the members of the League. In fact, apart from the absence of the Freemason's logo on the doors and (probably) the titles of the books, it was identical. The people in the room, however, were more numerous and vastly different. They were both more and less unusual than they had been the last time he'd wandered through these stacks. And Skinner devoutly hoped that the circumstances were equally changed. He didn't want to deal with a pair of traitors within the League. Not now.
Nemo, Mina, and himself were the only hold-overs from the last time they had been in the room twinned to this one. Even Tom and Henry hadn't been there at first. Now they were surrounded by others… Mycroft Holmes, whom Allan had suspected of initially being M (and Skinner felt that familiar pang of regret as he thought of Allan, the man who Africa would not let die). Mina's friend Orlando, whom Mina had flatly stated would remain, and whom (it was rumored) was as extraordinary as any of them. Dorian… although no one particularly trusted him, everyone did agree that he might be useful in the upcoming assignments. If nothing else, Skinner had commented acerbically at an earlier, more private meeting, he would be useful for catching spare bullets. Tom and Huck, who had gained instant support from the League: Tom seven years ago, by virtue of his loyalty and prowess and ability to learn, and Huck on the recommendation of Tom.
There were others, too. When the League had been formalized despite the handicap of being formed out of M's treachery they had been placed under the auspices of Special Branch, ostensibly under the command of a man called Narraway. Tonight he had sent his own man to watch over the proceedings as he couldn't be here himself, one Inspector Thomas Pitt. Pitt, in turn, had brought his own lieutenant from a previous posting along, Mr. Samuel Tellman. Skinner noted with some amusement that both Tellman and Pitt looked distinctly uncomfortable in the presence of so may whose abilities they must have heard about. It couldn't have helped that they didn't see Skinner, who was entirely invisible at the moment.
The final newcomers to the meeting were the former police Inspector Abberline and a prisoner with a very disgruntled look an a not-quite-sane glint to his eye. Although the English-born League members were familiar with Inspector Abberline from the sensational case of two decades ago, they had no idea what the much younger prisoner was doing there. Mycroft had refused to say anything about either of them. Skinner had promised to investigate later.
"… and we have received reports from several major European cities about similar goings-on. After thorough inspection," Mycroft nodded to the two Americans, "we have concluded that the abductions in Paris, Berlin, Rouen, Seville, and others, as well as those in the United States, are not only similar but identical to the abductions here in Britain. There can be no question but that they are all being perpetrated by a wide-ranging organization, the most disturbing aspect of which is that it has crossed the Atlantic Ocean."
There was a low murmur around the other end of the table. Skinner frowned, having long been concerned about that particular fact himself.
"Special Branch, in collaboration with other agencies from all the affected countries, has put together a mobilization list of those we might recruit for this endeavor. Two of you, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Finn, have already been notified of your status, consider yourselves recruited.'
Pitt looked especially worried about that fact. Skinner noted the wedding band on his finger, wondered if there was something less innocent or if the man was merely worried about his family, what he would tell them and whether or not he would be in danger.
"For the next month, consider yourselves on assignment. For some of you, my friends, the mission will be to do the overseas recruiting. You will travel, courtesy of Nemo's spectacular inventions, to all of the affected countries and liaise with the appropriate agencies. You will deliver a special telegraph device through which we will all be able to contact each other, and you will co-ordinate efforts to prevent further abductions while we determine the most likely, most feasible means to rescue the children already in enemy hands."
"For the rest of us, we will remain here, establishing a laboratory, preparing a base of operations, and making the way for the children to have homes again, anticipating that we bring any back, of course." Everyone across the table winced at Mycroft's matter of fact statement that there might not be any surviving children.
"Adoption agencies in the United States are standing by," Huck said quietly, seeming to take the news the hardest. "It's generally felt that since we're the newest and biggest country involved, we have the most space to accommodate children. Lots of families starting out, and all that."
"What sorts of folks will we be recruiting?" Skinner asked. "I mean, have they all been checked out? Don't want a repeat of last time."
Dorian glared at Skinner, or at least in the direction from which Skinner's voice was emanating. The invisible man only laughed.
"Well, it's not like you're all that trustworthy, mate. Once bitten, twice shy, and all that."
"They will be given no opportunity to retain any secrets which they might collect while on board the Nautilus," Mycroft interjected, heading off what might have been a lengthy verbal battle as Dorian opened his mouth to retort. "And once here they will be installed in a laboratory controlled by us. Nothing will be left to chance this time, and all information will be checked and re-checked to be sure of its accuracy."
"Begging your pardon, sir," Pitt interrupted, soft spoken and very correct of speech for a policeman. "Won't that take time?" The implication was that they would be dawdling, taking up valuable time that would be better served rescuing the unfortunates from what was undoubtedly a dire situation. It was an issue they were all dealing with, feeling to one degree or another as though they were dawdling, taking their time, lazing about while children suffered and died.
"It will indeed, Inspector. But it will take more time if we were to investigate every sewer, catacomb, and underground cavern inch by inch. With a little preparation we might eliminate the need for any such endeavor."
"Besides," Skinner couldn't resist putting in, grinning as he watched Tellman jump and stare about as though he might actually see the invisible speaker "These aren't exactly ordinary folks we'll be hunting."
Mina directed a quelling look at the man's voice. "Skinner is right, Inspector. Although I have exhausted all the tests and avenues of investigation available to me, there are many other scientists on Mr. Holmes' list with whom I must consult, and whom we hope to recruit into our investigation. These skin samples taken from what we believe to be the abductors are not human, not as we know the word anyway. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that they belonged to an ancestor of the species, except that neither do they resemble any known human ancestor."
Pitt shuddered. "You say it so casually, ma'am, but are you certain you will be able to discover any information that will be useful to the investigation?"
Mina bristled slightly as Dorian smirked, then calmed when she saw that the Inspector meant no offense by her sex. "Forewarned, as they say Inspector, is forearmed. We have resources that are not available to the general public, resources that can make us vastly more effective than any law enforcement agency, to a certain extent. But we are still only a small handful of people, and the more minds we have working at this problem, the faster we will be able to achieve a lasting and beneficial resolution."
Pitt nodded, not happy with the delay but apparently satisfied by the explanation.
"And what are the rest of us doing here?" Dorian asked, irony and bitterness dripping from his words like acid. "I can understand the presence of the police, but this young … psychotic…" Even Dorian, it seemed, was having troubles describing the angry man whose arm was gripped tight in Abberline's old, thorny hand.
"Older than you," the man sneered. Everyone stared at him for that; the League with a touch of humor, knowledgeable about Dorian's young appearance and old age, and the police with curiosity and bemusement, for the two appeared to be the same age. Henry tilted his head slightly, listening to a voice that only he could hear. Only Mycroft and Orlando, for some reason most likely known only to Mina, seemed unfazed.
"That's as may be, Mr. Kane, but you were offered a full pardon in exchange for your help and services in this matter, and you will be silent unless you are invited to speak." The man's words lashed the prisoner into mute hostility, glaring around the table with (or so it seemed) especial hatred for Mina. She ignored him completely.
"I can understand why some of these scientists are on the list," Skinner remarked, picking it up from where he had been reading it over Tellman's shoulder. Both policemen jumped again. Skinner dodged a flying elbow with a smirk. "Easy there, Thomas… But why do we need a botanist? Or, for that matter, an astronomer?"
"They are botanists and astronomers, Mr. Skinner, in the same way that I am an engineer." After seven long years of acquaintance Nemo was taking the invisible man's antics in stride, and even with a bit of humor. "And would you please cover yourself, for the sake of those here who are not used to your…"
"Shenanigans? Antics? Pranks?"
'Unique abilities."
Skinner smirked and reached over to the table where he'd left his clothing, dressing himself slowly and leisurely just to watch Tellman's eyes bug out even more. Tom rolled his eyes at the invisible figure, and as Skinner began to apply the white-face cream that gave visibility to his facial expressions he winked at the young American.
"What is to happen when we've got our collection of scientists, then?" Skinner continued, "And when we've told all the nice policemen what to do?"
Abberline rolled his eyes.
"With luck and the proper information, we will then have a better idea of what we are dealing with." Mycroft's tone was utterly placid, but then nothing had ever seemed to faze the man. "With the telegraphs in place and the available resources of our scientists we will be able to understand what we are up against and mobilize an appropriate team for each site within a matter of days. After the initial phase things will move much more quickly."
"I don't want to sound too obvious," Abberline interjected dryly. His voice was low and gravelly with age, overuse, and drink. "But don't you already have all the information sources you need right here in London? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have two survivors who could tell you everything you might want or need to know? In my business we used to call them witnesses."
"Corrected," Henry said with quiet annoyance before anyone could stop him. "They've been through enough, and we don't even know if they saw or heard anything that could help us. For that matter, they were only held in one city. These kidnappers are all across the continent of Europe and into the United States, possibly beyond. This has grown much bigger than either Marie or Percy should be asked to handle."
Abberline shook his head but didn't say anything else. Next to him the man Mycroft had called Kane sneered, and looked as though he would have made some sort of comment. Everyone glared at him, though, except Dorian, which seemed to keep him silent.
"In any case, their testimony will not be able to help us," Pitt pointed out. Definitely a family man, Skinner decided. He looked in control but still very pale at the thought of interrogating children; determined to do what it took to get the case done and over with, but still not relishing the kinds of questions he would have to ask or the kinds of answers he might receive. "Not in the long run, anyway. They… if I'm not mistaken… only know about one city. And from what I've heard here today this is happening all over the world. What they know will only be of very limited use, and I'm not in favor of causing undue suffering to young men and women."
"As though your opinion mattered," Kane sneered. "We are all aware of who will be making that decision…"
"You shut your mouth," Pitt's companion, Tellman, spoke up for the first time.
"Ah, the dog defends his master?"
Abberline shook the man by the arm. "Sebastian…" he growled in a warning tone, and the wild-eyed man subsided again. Pitt ignored him with magnificent ease. Everyone else was silent, uncomfortable with the associations that had been thrust upon them.
"You have two days in which to say your goodbyes," Mycroft continued when no one else said anything, "But no more. As Inspector Pitt has pointed out, time is of the essence. Mina, you will remain behind, as we agreed, and set up your laboratories for the arrival of the scientists. We will send whom we can to you via the exploration pod, but I cannot guarantee that you will have what you need to achieve results before the Nautilus returns."
"There are more exploration pods, should we require them," Nemo spoke up with more than a little pride in his voice. "If necessary, we will attempt to supply Mina with all the scientific knowledge she requires, and then some."
Mina nodded her thanks to the Captain.
"Well, now that that's all settled, can we get down to planning our itinerary so we can get off this rock and get started?" Skinner poked the maps that were rolled up on the table, anxious to change the subject.
"Don't mind Skinner," Mina said, finally unable to bear the discomfiture of the police inspectors any longer. "He's our…" she searched for a phrase. "Litmus test for those in the government's employ whom we must deal with. If they can tolerate him, they can certainly tolerate anything we might encounter in our travels."
Pitt and Tellman nodded, Pitt a little more slowly than his compatriot. Abberline just made a sort of snorting noise that said he had seen more than his share of unusual circumstances, and they settled themselves again in their seats. Nemo unrolled the maps over the table, bringing out the instruments of navigation and plotting a course, and everyone leaned forward to see what he was doing, comforted by the action of doing something at least.
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"I hadn't expected to see you here," the woman said quietly. In the doorway the man shifted from foot to foot, his usually self-satisfied and imperturbable demeanor fallen to reveal uncertainty, annoyance, and a child-like sense of the ground having been pulled out from under him.
"I hadn't expected to be here. I never expected to come back."
"But you did."
"I had to."
"Because I have your portrait."
"Yes."
Mina stared at Dorian for several minutes longer. The immortal wouldn't look at her, glanced at every corner of the room but the one in which she was standing, rubbing his hands up and down his arms as though he was cold.
"You were decaying before my eyes," she said after a bit. "I saw you die."
"Could you not bring that up, please?" he asked, irritably, but his shivers increased. "I don't particularly care to remember it any more than I absolutely have to. Once a night is more than enough."
"Sorry."
More silence.
"May I come in?"
"Of course."
Dorian stepped through the doorway but did not venture much further into the room. Although it was sparse, not much different from his own, and showed very few signs of Mina's short occupation, it still made Dorian uncomfortable somehow. He kept looking towards the walls as though his portrait would spring out of them, a tumor from a body, and reduce him to fine ash again. Mina resumed her unpacking, looking at him with something bordering on sympathy.
"It's on board the ship, Dorian. It's not going to bite you. And it's covered, in any case. I wrapped it when I first heard you had… returned."
"Ah." There was a brief pause. "Thank you."
There was a longer pause. Mina's hands slowed in their unpacking and finally froze altogether in the act of putting a blouse away in her wardrobe. "How did you escape?" she asked finally. "We didn't find that your portrait had escaped the flames until days afterwards, and there was no trace of your body."
Dorian shuddered again, moving around in atavistic, animalistic fear, a sense of being trapped by forces much larger and much more powerful than himself. He clearly didn't like the sensation. "It seems that as long as my portrait exists, I can't truly die. My awareness was trapped in that building for a very long time while my body knit itself back together. The process could not begin until the portrait was removed, so …" another shudder… "I made my way down to the nomad's village. They had repopulated the area when Moriarty left. They took me in, sheltered me until a trading vessel passed close enough that I could persuade them to take me to a civilized area."
Mina stared. It was a horrific thought, being trapped in a frozen wasteland as a pile of dust, being slowly reborn into the cold and the snow. Even with the knowledge of Dorian's betrayal, both times, she was finding it hard not to feel at least a modicum of pity for the man. "Then why did you come back to us?"
He took a deep breath, stared out the window that looked out onto the semi-prosperous street below. "I'm tired, Mina. I'm so very tired. If what it takes is my portraits destruction, then so be it. I've cheated death long enough, and I don't want to live like this anymore."
It would have been heartbreaking if it hadn't come from Dorian, who even now couldn't completely be rid of the slight ghost of a smirk around his lips. She had to ask. "And it has nothing to do with the hundreds of missing children, these monsters in the sewers?"
Dorian whirled on her. "Mina, what kind of a monster exactly do you take me for? Just what interest do you think I could possibly have in children? What, in all our associations together, makes you think I am capable of doing something like that?" He shuddered. "Besides… in the sewers? Mina, you know me better than that."
Well, it had been an idle thought at best. She chuckled with only the slightest humor in her voice. "True. You were never one to sacrifice your comforts."
"Damn right."
She put the blouse into her wardrobe and turned. "So what will you do now?"
Dorian shrugged. "I don't have much choice, do I? I've been conscripted into the League once again, and I'm being shipped off to all corners of the globe for god knows what reason. Mycroft's lost what few marbles he had."
Privately, Mina thought it was so they could dump him overboard and let him be immortal at the bottom of the ocean if he got too troublesome. She didn't say it, though. "Perhaps you can lend your experience to the interviews with the scientists."
"What, set a traitor to catch a traitor? Perhaps. I can't bring myself to care anymore. If it will get the man to return my portrait to me so I can crawl off into my hole and die quietly, I'll do it." He turned and started out, evidently seeing no point to continuing the conversation any further.
"Dorian…" Mina reached out her hand before she could stop herself, wanting to say something, anything. There was so much history between them, and very little of it good or pleasant, all of it memorable. She remembered him largely as the man who had broken her heart, treated her cavalierly and tossed her aside, then returned only to betray her a second time. And yet, oddly enough, she still wanted to speak with him, to share her experiences, to sit with him in a parlor with a drink by their sides and a fire in the hearth, talking of nothing of consequence. Orlando had said that it was because, with the prospect of living for a very long time, there were so few who still remembered the things that they did. She herself had forgotten more history than Mina and Dorian put together. Mina hoped that was the case, that it wasn't some misplaced remnant of affection come back to haunt her. Like Dorian.
He turned and stared at her with hollow eyes, the only part of his face that didn't still keep that trademark smugness and arrogance. Everything else about his posture and expression made her irate, made her want to smack the grin off of his face. His eyes haunted her, though, as horrified and exhausted as she had seen in every League member at one time or another. Eyes that had seen too much in one lifetime and were terrified at the prospect of seeing much more.
He turned and left. Mina sat heavily down on her bed, wondering how much trouble she was in if she had this much sympathy left over for a familiar foe.
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Marie stared out the window at the ship unconventionally docked in the makeshift harbor, and the men who loaded crate after crate aboard it. The Nautilus was almost fully prepared, and in two hours it would be leaving with nearly everyone she cared about in the world aboard, to go who knew where and deal with who knew what. It was a feeling that only grew more familiar with time, and yet she hadn't gotten used to it at all. She hoped she would never get used to it, that small feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach that she would never see her brother again, or Nemo, or Mina… or Skinner, not that the verb applied to him. She smiled a little, thinking of how the phrase 'see you soon,' had become their own little private joke.
But this time was different. This time Henry was going with them. And suddenly Marie was afraid again, that paralyzing, ground-shaking fear that gripped her every time she was left (as she saw it) alone, without protection or defense, without friends or allies.
"You'll be all right, Marie." The man in question stood behind her, in her doorway, quietly awaiting permission to come in. Despite the fact that it was really his home he always waited, diffident, outside her door to be invited in.
This time, out of all the times, she didn't. Her arms wrapped around her waist, hugging herself tightly. She didn't feel aware of the movement at all. "You're leaving with them." Her voice sounded distant to her. "You're leaving again. You said you'd never leave again."
"I have to." His voice was equally quiet, equally distant. "They need as many people as they can get, as many scientific minds, to gauge the usefulness of our recruits… to study this problem so we can find it, fix it… stop it."
"But why out there?" she cried, whirling around. The argument had been going on since late the previous night, and it hadn't been resolved yet. "Why do you have to go with them this time? Now, of all times, why does it have to be you? Don't we need you more than they do?" It was almost 'I need,' but she stopped herself barely in time.
"Because I can…" he fumbled for more words, better words, any way to explain it better than his current clumsy attempts. "Because I have the ability, and I can't sit idly by and let evil things happen because I was too afraid… or cared too much."
She stared at the floor. She stomped a tiny foot in distress. "I don't want you to go."
"I have to."
Silence. "Who will take care of us when you're gone?"
"Mycroft will, of course… and Thomas. And Mina, you have her."
Marie blinked at him. "Mina is staying behind?"
Henry nodded, looking a little forlorn and lost in the doorway as he was standing half-hidden behind the frame. Marie gestured him in, and either drew him into an embrace or collapsed into his arms. "It's not the same," she said quietly, somehow managing to give the impression of inconsolable grief without shedding a tear. "You've never left, not in years. You said you would always be here."
He hugged her tight, kissed her forehead, stroked her hair. Anything to make the parting easier, a little more bearable. "Sometimes life conspires against us. I will be back, Marie, you know that."
"I know. But that doesn't make it any better."
She sighed. They stood like that for some time, until the bells on the Nautilus began to toll and the horn sounded their imminent departure. Even then, Marie was extremely reluctant to let him go, and released him only with the promise of his safe return. Henry gave it willingly, and then nearly bolted out the door before his protective impulses could keep him in the room much longer.
"Well, he made it out of here faster than I thought."
If Skinner had been hoping for a startled or indignant reaction from her, he was disappointed. She turned towards him, smiling slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be on board the ship?"
Skinner chuckled. "Probably. Not that they ever notice when I come or go. I've a little time left, it always takes them a while to leave port even when the bells have been sounded." He brushed his fingertips over her cheek, a phantom whisper of a touch to her, somehow deeply meaningful to him. "Are you going to be all right?"
"No…" The tears welled in her eyes again, but still she managed to keep them from falling. "But I will survive. And you had better do the same." With that always strange unerring accuracy she clasped his hand, squeezing it gently. "I want to see you again, Rodney Skinner. I'm not yet tired of you enough to say goodbye."
They chuckled. "I'll have to work harder, then," he teased her gently, then blinked as she hugged him tight. One of these days, he thought to himself as he wrapped his arms gingerly around her, he was going to have to ask her how she managed to do that just by touching so little a thing as his fingertips. What sort of sensory organs were in her palms, that she could tell where he was through the slightest touch? It didn't matter, not now.
"I'll be back, darling. You know I will." He kissed her hair, and she sighed.
"I know."
"I'll always come back."
"I know…" she hugged him tighter. "I just feel… so useless. You always go off and do glorious things, good things. And I … I can't even get beyond my own front door."
Skinner frowned. "You're not useless, girl… who's been telling you such things?" He could imagine at least one person. "Has Dorian been at you?" Two. "Or Hyde…"
"No… no. Dorian's been a perfect gentleman… which is to say I don't see much of him at all." She shrugged ruefully. "Henry won't let me see much of either him or Edward. I don't think Henry would let me see either of them at all if he could help it, but there's not much helping it here, not all the time, not when there's so many other things to worry on."
"Marie…" he gripped her by the shoulders and held her at a little distance, wishing he could look her in the eyes and tell her with more than just his words. Except that he already had the uncomfortable feeling he could do just that. "You are not useless. You are not worthless, and it is perfectly understandable that you should be as afraid as you are. For Godsakes, Marie, you spent the first years of your life going through things none of us can imagine. And you survived. You can't get over that in a day, or a year, or even ten years. You're doing wonderfully, and you're a wonderful person, and don't let anyone… even Henry… tell you different." Had all that pap spouted from his mouth? He must be getting old.
Marie smiled, and touched his cheek. "You're sweet, but I wonder if you're right…"
"Of course I'm right. I'm always right. I am Rodney Skinner, Gentleman Thief and Invisible Man Extraordinaire!" He struck a grandiose voice, since poses were out of the question. It got the hoped-for laugh, and he smiled. "Don't worry so much, darling. We'll be back before you know it, and in the meantime you can be assured of your usefulness by taking care of this score of children Henry's decided to take care of, for reasons beyond the ken of us sane people."
Marie laughed. "He has a charitable heart, Rodney, and you do too, if only you'd admit it."
Skinner frowned slightly. "He also has an overdeveloped need for atonement, and you'd better watch that around him when he gets back. I think he's developing some sort of St. Francis complex."
She nodded. "I will. And you'll have to watch him for me, while you're away."
"Of course." He smirked. "What kind of invisible man do you think I am?"
"A kind and generous one." She kissed his cheek, then hugged him tightly again. "I wish you didn't have to go."
"I wish I didn't either, darling," he said quietly, very much aware of Nemo yelling for him on the ramps. "But I do. Before Nemo sends the bloodhounds after me." He kissed her on the forehead and grabbed his coat as he left, dropping his hat on her head. It fell down over her eyes, and he was gone before she'd pulled it up again. She pelted down the stairs and out the door, for once not thinking about the …
the outside…
she was outside…
fear took her
shook her
held her in place
she was outside
on the ground
that could burst open
any moment
and swallow her again
And then Percy was there, hugging her and whispering to her and leading her back to the house. Percy, her younger/older brother, taller than her by nearly a foot now and ganglier than ever. He held her tightly as they murmured in their secret language and cried to each other quietly, in their minds, where no one could hear. She didn't want him to go, she never wanted him to go, but it was what he wanted, the ship, the Nautilus, the voyage, the freedom. And she wasn't going to deny it to him.
"You bring them all back to me," she whispered.
"I will."
"You make sure He doesn't get hold of them.'
Percy nodded, grim. "I will."
They clung to each other. "What are we going to do?" she murmured as he carried her in and set her down on Henry's favorite chair in the library.
"We're going to help them…" Percy said, with more confidence than he felt, aware that she knew it too. "We're going to do what we have to, because they're doing everything they can. Even though they have no idea what they're up against." Pity laced through his tone, and fear.
"What do you think happened?" she asked, curling up as Percy tucked a blanket around her. "It wasn't this bad… there are so many more of them now. So many more…" she shuddered. Percy kissed her forehead.
"I don't know. But they'll find out. They'll stop it, if anyone can."
Marie nodded. "Be careful…" she whispered in her mind as he left. "They're still out there... and they haven't stopped listening."
I know… I love you, sister.
I love you too.
The comfort echoed in her mind long after the Nautilus had disappeared from the water. Marie wrapped her arms around her knees, shivering in the house that suddenly seemed so much emptier, thinking about the forces that were aligned against them. Wondering if they really were still listening, out there in the darkness.