A/N: Warning!!! This chapter contains major violence (You can count blowing
up people major violence, right?). I'm a wuss, and I'm telling other wusses
out there; if you're a wuss, read this anyway!
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CHAPTER 7
LONDON, ENGLAND DEEP IN THE CITY STREETS OUTSIDE THE PALACE
The cane-sword hung by his side, digging into Dorian's thigh as he pressed himself against the wall, trying to keep out of sight from Skinner. If Skinner saw him, the consequences might be deadly - for both him and London.
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LONDON, ENGLAND
DEEP IN THE CITY STREETS OUTSIDE THE PALACE
Mina shimmied along the walls of the nearby buildings, keeping a lookout and waiting for Allan and Tom to do their work. Glancing to her left, she saw Skinner stuffing bottles of kerosene with rags.
Shifting her view, she suddenly saw something that nearly left her a splat on the streets below.
*Him.*
So much said in so little words.
Dorian Gray was hidden in one of the shadowy recesses of the doorway of one of the houses, peeking out, checking the line of sight. She stopped her shimmying and watched in a mix of fascination, love and hate as he quietly moved out of his doorway and into another one across the wet street.
*Him.* shaking her head, she snapped back to reality. *What is he doing here? He died! I killed him* she added sadly.
She didn't have time to lament further, as Allan and Tom opened fire on the unsuspecting baddies. Leaping into action, she delivered her fatal kiss with a growl and menace.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
LONDON, ENGLAND
DEEP IN THE CITY ROOFTOPS NEAR THE PALACE
At Tom's signal, Allan started firing. The rifle was solid and comforting in his hands; it reminded him of old times with Matilda. Aiming carefully, he concentrated on his targets, ducking accordingly as some of them fired blindly. Even though the baddies couldn't see them, a stray bullet could be deadly. He noticed bullets - not his own, but Tom's - were hitting the baddies and either injuring or killing them with lethal efficiency.
Again, he felt a surge of fatherly pride for the boy. *So, he HAD learned how to shoot properly.*
"If you can't do it with one bullet, don't do it at all," he had said as they were chasing Hyde through the streets of Paris.
Despite himself, Allan smiled. Obviously, Tom had taken those words to heart. The last time he had shot at - what was it? - 900 yards was in Mongolia...when he died. The smile faded from his handsome, weathered face. Instead, unlike his usual self, Allan decided to vent his anger on the baddies. Adjusting his position, Allan fired without mercy.
Tom fired almost non-stop, sliding the Winchester along the roof edge and taking down as many as he could. Below, he saw Mina and a flurry of bats as they attacked the confused troops; heading towards the so-called base. There was an explosion that rocked the foundations of the building as Skinner threw a Molotov into the flame bearer's ranks. Even though they tried to get out of the way, there wasn't a chance for the kerosene- wielding men. Those on the tank with the table spun around, and began ordering the troops; Tom, even though he was some three hundred yards away, could hear their shouts, albeit softly.
The Winchester clicked empty. Ducking, leaning against the rooftop barrier, Tom reloaded the rifle as fast as he could, then started firing again. There were more explosions as Skinner threw more Cocktails. The whole area rocked as the guards who protected the Palace stared in fascination and awe.
*Oh, god.* Tom taught. *Guess they weren't trained to handle this kinda situation.* What was worse, he was running out of bullets. As if one cue, a group of about a dozen bats - Mina's - flew by, dropping a couple of magazines in front of him and Allan. Tom started while the other man didn't miss a beat. *Wow. She's GOOD.*
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NAUTILUS LONDON, ENGLAND EDGE OF THE THAMES
The men who would join them in the land assault filed out of the Nautilus in neat rows. Jekyll, once again, fidgeted next to Nemo, who pretended not to notice. Already, they could hear explosions and a very very loud commotion in the city, where Buckingham Palace was; the others had started to thwart Maddox's plan to seize power.
As the last of the men came out, Nemo turned to friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but Jekyll held up a hand to stop him. "I know. It's time."
Nemo nodded, sympathizing, then stood back as Jekyll produced the vial and downed it. After the painful transformation - more so because Jekyll hadn't taken the elixir in a long time - Hyde stood where Jekyll had, flexing his muscles.
"Shall we?" the beast asked Nemo in his deep, menacing voice. At Nemo's order, the other men and the two League members set off in a paced run to the Palace to provide assistance to Tom and the rest.
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LONDON, ENGLAND DEEP IN THE CITY
STREETS OUTSIDE THE PALACE
DORIAN
Dorian watched on as the guards of the Queen's residence gaped in awe at the flame bearers. *Idiots. They should be doing their duty, protecting the Queen.* Then he stopped his line of thinking. *Then again, they haven't seen this kind of thing before.*
He saw the flurry of bats as they came down on the troops, heard the sounds of gunfire and the screams of the baddies. Skinner and the bottles were running around, which would have made for a hilarious scene if not for the circumstances.
*Those security men should be spurred into action, not just standing there looking like children.*
He drew his sword, savoring the sound of steel sliding against the fine mahogany. Even as it came out of the cane, Nemo, Hyde and their men came around the corner. Dorian stopped for a moment. He hadn't expected to see his old friends again...if they could be counted as friends.
Nemo gave his orders and the crewmen ran forward into the battle. Dorian did so too, shouting at the English guards, sounding his war cry.
"Come on! Protect your Queen!"
That seemed to snap them out of their shock. Picking up their weapons, they charged forward, Dorian joining them, slashing and stabbing with terrifying ferocity. It felt good to be in practice once again; the last time he fought was when he tried to kill Mina.
*Mina, my true love.* And now, they were fighting on the same side, towards the same goal: to save London, though they had different reasons.
After Mina had showed him that damnable portrait of his, after he "died", and after M's weapons factory was blown up, his body had pieced itself back together.
It had been so painful; Dorian couldn't remember when he had ever felt so much agony before. He never wanted to go through that again. He had had so much time to think, to reflect on his past mistakes, finally realizing how many he had made.
The worst of them was trying to kill Mina.
The voice of longing within him called out for her. He missed her so...that was part of his reason for giving false information to Maddox. Through his good deed, he hoped that Mina would forgive him and maybe even love him again. He wasn't too hopeful for the latter, though; he would be content if she forgave him.
Gutting one of the baddies are cutting his chest armor off, Dorian made his way to the evened-out tank, the one that had passed by him earlier that night. It was there that the commanders of the various units had been discussing their plans.
Dorian felt dozens of bullets pierce his back, then turned with a slightly irritated look at the young marksmen who had fired on him.
"What...what are you?" the marksmen, no more than twenty-two years old, stammered and moved back as Dorian advanced; no doubt he looked like a mass murderer, with blood dripping off his blade and the clear intent of malice in his eyes against the backdrop of fire and destruction.
"I'm...complicated," Dorian said, smiling at the memory of the line nearly three years ago. He didn't move anymore, but the kid suddenly fell down, out cold. Dorian blinked. Of all the things he had thought the marksmen would do, he hadn't expected that.
NEMO
Nemo fought brutally, whirling and spinning, dishing out kicks and punches like a school lunch lady gone wacky. He felt the very satisfying crunch of bone underneath his knuckle as he broke somebody's nose.
His path of destruction seemed random, but in truth, he was heading towards the aforementioned funny-looking tank, as the rest of the League on the ground were doing. Their priority was to get Maddox alive.
The ground shook as more explosions went off, and Nemo saw Skinner run past him, in the direction of Maddox and commanders. He also heard Skinner's colorful vocabulary as the captain saw Maddox make a run for cover, headed for the nearby museum - the one, Nemo realized with a start, that M had first met and formed the League. The irony was not lost on him.
"Skinner, go after him; I'll join you later!" Nemo yelled at the invisible thief, who gave a shouted affirmation as he threw the last of the cocktails and ran after Maddox.
SKINNER
Skinner swore as one of the gunmen nearly nicked his side with the butt of an automatic gun. Nemo was barely three feet away, having just broken someone's nose.
The thief cursed using the language he had picked up in the slums of London, long before the formation of the League. Maddox was making a run for it, headed toward a big, old-looking building that looked oddly familiar.
"Skinner, go after him; I'll join you later!" Nemo shouted over the noise.
"Aye!" Skinner used all his strength to throw the last of the Molotovs into the carnage and sprinted after the mastermind who had utilized M's original doomsday plans. He tripped over the dead bodies of some of the poor guards who had been cut down by the modern weapons. He felt sorry for them and their families, but he didn't have time to think any further than that because a person who was meant to be dead joined him, keeping pace, whether knowingly or not, Skinner didn't know.
*DORIAN GRAY!* his mind screamed at him. *Good lord, all that sherry must be getting to my head.* He shook his head and only succeeded in nearly falling over a baton discarded by a constable.
Skinner decided to keep quiet and hope that the traitor didn't know that he was there; in reality, Dorian did know, but didn't say anything.
ALLAN
The great adventurer focused his aim on Maddox as the man ran perpendicular to the building he was on. His sight followed the baddie and Allan pulled the trigger; unfortunately, the bullet only ricocheted off the street, nicking the edge of Maddox's coat that trailed behind him as he ran.
Allan glanced up from his scope slightly in disbelief when he saw Dorian follow behind Maddox. Tom had told him that Mina had killed Dorian in the factory 3 years ago, using the portrait - the one he had noticed missing from the wall in Dorian's home.
*Well* Allan thought with a small shrug, settling down in his place once again. *If I can come back from the dead, who's to say he can't?*
TOM
"Now this is getting weird," Tom muttered to himself as he saw Dorian at about the same time as Allan. "Whoa. That guy should be dead." He then saw a stone being lifted from the ground by Skinner's invisible hand and it was thrown, making Maddox trip and stumble but he didn't fall.
So, Skinner was probably running next to Dorian.
Tom tried to hit Maddox but an explosion that caused the windows below to shatter threw his aim out of whack and he hit another baddie instead.
"Damn!"
Tom reloaded the Winchester and then sighted again, opting to pick out others instead of Maddox; he certainly hoped that Skinner could take care of himself.
MINA
The vampiress flew just above the bloodbath, taking dark joy out of the scene of wounded troops staggering out of the line of fire, many of their number having died from the sheer heat from the fires that raged below and explosions fuelled by their tanks of kerosene as the gunmen were taken down by both Nemo's men and the Palace guards. Their numbers had fallen dramatically; obviously, they had not expected a pre-emptive strike. Police constables had joined the fight, using their pathetic batons to knock those who didn't wear armor. She delivered her crimson kiss to those baddies who were still able-bodied; their screams of terror and pain gave her a kind of delight she knew could be deadly should she become addicted to it.
Blood dipped from her luscious lips as she killed a few more men, and she licked her upper lip as one of her unfortunate victims' body fell to the ground with a dull thud. She saw Maddox heading towards a nearby building, and had started after him when Skinner shouted, "Don't! Take care of the rest! I'll deal with him!"
Dorian was there, she saw, but that didn't really matter to her as she went on her feeding frenzy with her flurry of bats.
HYDE
With a mighty roar, Hyde lifted one end of one of the tanks and pushed it over, letting it drop to one side with a deafening clang. Its occupants scurried out of the vehicle in terror.
He dispatched many of the baddies in ways that were unprintable (so as to keep this as PG as possible). He was enjoying this, finally coming out after almost two and a half years. Jekyll had kept him quiet through his strong will; as much as Hyde hated to admit it, Jekyll was a man with one hell of a willpower.
The huge beast stopped in his tracks and ripped out the armored hull of the tank, crushing it and flinging it somewhere to his left, making the people there who saw it duck for their lives.
"Tell the gods that Hyde sent you!" he bellowed, drinking in all the pain, terror and fear that he could smell.
MADDOX
*Stupid League!* Maddox swore inwardly as he ran for his life, hoping that the League members wouldn't notice him leaving in all the hell that had broken loose. *They're supposed to be dead! How could they have survived Oslo?! I'll skin that lieutenant of mine!*
That is, if he got out of this place alive.
Glancing over his shoulder as he breathed heavily, he saw a young, handsome dark-haired man whom he couldn't recognize chasing him, holding a long thin sword that was wickedly sharp, dripping with crimson blood.
*Who is he? The League has only five members! Or is he from some other organization?* The thought chilled him to the bone; it meant that his plan had worst information leaks than he had thought possible.
He headed towards the (#1) Albion Museum, where his predecessor had set his plan into action. Within the old museum, Maddox had set up a secondary command post after killing almost all the guards stationed there the night before.
The back of his thick coat, custom-made for the cold nights of London, was shot off as one of the damned snipers - either Quatermain or Sawyer, Maddox knew - tried to take a potshot at him.
Maddox swore audibly this time. A stone whizzed past his head and he jerked his head to the left, alarmed. The steps of the museum were so near, less than 200 yards away. Maddox smiled. He could make it! His plans could still go on! Although they were stalled somewhat, they could still work.
*I am a brilliant genius.* Maddox preened. He ran up the steps and threw open the doors to the sprawling building, not bothering to close them as he ran inside.
SKINNER
The thief was panting hard, not bothering to hide his presence from Dorian.
"Since when have the bad guys run so fast?" he asked no one in particular. Maddox had made it to the stairs and had disappeared inside the building. Skinner was running as fast as his tried legs could carry him. Just as he neared the steps, he bumped into Maddox's lieutenant, who was wielding a long blade that could inflict a lot of damage.
"I won't let you get to Maddox!" the man stated. Skinner tried to run past him, but somehow, the man knew where the invisible man was and slashed him, making Skinner have to suck his tummy in.
"Oi!" Skinner said. He dodged left and right, but to no avail. The baddie knew where he was going and came dangerously near to seriously hurting him.
"Skinner, go," Dorian ordered. "I'll take care of this midget."
"Right. How can I trust you, may I ask?" Skinner replied.
"If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so earlier. And now is hardly the time for arguments." Dorian fended off a vicious stab from the baddie who, again, blocked Skinner's way as he tried to get into the museum.
"We don't have time for this!" Skinner was exasperated. Nobody knew which direction he was going, unless you counted Mina. Besides, she was a vampire and had much more sensitive senses than the average human. Dorian didn't answer him and Skinner joined in the duel.
NEMO
Nemo saw Dorian dueling with a man at the entrance to the museum. Skinner was there as well, because Nemo could see a piece of scrap metal from one of the discarded fuel tanks of the flame bearers floating in midair, as if defending something, most likely Skinner's body. All three men were weaving from left to right as Skinner tried to get past the baddie.
Breaking someone's neck, Nemo dashed towards them and, using a well- placed and blindingly fast move, Nemo dispatched the man. He turned to face Dorian.
"You live," he said simply. Dorian touched a long gash that the baddie had given him as it healed, looking at the blood on his finger.
"Yes. And I'm working on your side, for once," Dorian answered. Nemo gave the familiar face a once-over, seeing that the strong features, ebony hair and eyes were still the same; even the slightly bored and "I'm-better- than-you-and-I-know-it" expression was still there.
"Nemo, Maddox," Skinner reminded him. "We can kill him later."
"Indeed," Nemo answered before running up the steps and entering the dark building.
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(#1) the museum is mentioned in the novelization of the movie; I'm using it for the sake of giving the museum a name.
A/N: hah! Chapter 7's finished! And so are my exams! *does the crazy victory dance* Everybody, thank you for being patient, and I hope I don't disappoint your high standards with this...expect the upcoming chapters every few days, depending on how fast I can write. Chow!
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CHAPTER 7
LONDON, ENGLAND DEEP IN THE CITY STREETS OUTSIDE THE PALACE
The cane-sword hung by his side, digging into Dorian's thigh as he pressed himself against the wall, trying to keep out of sight from Skinner. If Skinner saw him, the consequences might be deadly - for both him and London.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
LONDON, ENGLAND
DEEP IN THE CITY STREETS OUTSIDE THE PALACE
Mina shimmied along the walls of the nearby buildings, keeping a lookout and waiting for Allan and Tom to do their work. Glancing to her left, she saw Skinner stuffing bottles of kerosene with rags.
Shifting her view, she suddenly saw something that nearly left her a splat on the streets below.
*Him.*
So much said in so little words.
Dorian Gray was hidden in one of the shadowy recesses of the doorway of one of the houses, peeking out, checking the line of sight. She stopped her shimmying and watched in a mix of fascination, love and hate as he quietly moved out of his doorway and into another one across the wet street.
*Him.* shaking her head, she snapped back to reality. *What is he doing here? He died! I killed him* she added sadly.
She didn't have time to lament further, as Allan and Tom opened fire on the unsuspecting baddies. Leaping into action, she delivered her fatal kiss with a growl and menace.
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LONDON, ENGLAND
DEEP IN THE CITY ROOFTOPS NEAR THE PALACE
At Tom's signal, Allan started firing. The rifle was solid and comforting in his hands; it reminded him of old times with Matilda. Aiming carefully, he concentrated on his targets, ducking accordingly as some of them fired blindly. Even though the baddies couldn't see them, a stray bullet could be deadly. He noticed bullets - not his own, but Tom's - were hitting the baddies and either injuring or killing them with lethal efficiency.
Again, he felt a surge of fatherly pride for the boy. *So, he HAD learned how to shoot properly.*
"If you can't do it with one bullet, don't do it at all," he had said as they were chasing Hyde through the streets of Paris.
Despite himself, Allan smiled. Obviously, Tom had taken those words to heart. The last time he had shot at - what was it? - 900 yards was in Mongolia...when he died. The smile faded from his handsome, weathered face. Instead, unlike his usual self, Allan decided to vent his anger on the baddies. Adjusting his position, Allan fired without mercy.
Tom fired almost non-stop, sliding the Winchester along the roof edge and taking down as many as he could. Below, he saw Mina and a flurry of bats as they attacked the confused troops; heading towards the so-called base. There was an explosion that rocked the foundations of the building as Skinner threw a Molotov into the flame bearer's ranks. Even though they tried to get out of the way, there wasn't a chance for the kerosene- wielding men. Those on the tank with the table spun around, and began ordering the troops; Tom, even though he was some three hundred yards away, could hear their shouts, albeit softly.
The Winchester clicked empty. Ducking, leaning against the rooftop barrier, Tom reloaded the rifle as fast as he could, then started firing again. There were more explosions as Skinner threw more Cocktails. The whole area rocked as the guards who protected the Palace stared in fascination and awe.
*Oh, god.* Tom taught. *Guess they weren't trained to handle this kinda situation.* What was worse, he was running out of bullets. As if one cue, a group of about a dozen bats - Mina's - flew by, dropping a couple of magazines in front of him and Allan. Tom started while the other man didn't miss a beat. *Wow. She's GOOD.*
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NAUTILUS LONDON, ENGLAND EDGE OF THE THAMES
The men who would join them in the land assault filed out of the Nautilus in neat rows. Jekyll, once again, fidgeted next to Nemo, who pretended not to notice. Already, they could hear explosions and a very very loud commotion in the city, where Buckingham Palace was; the others had started to thwart Maddox's plan to seize power.
As the last of the men came out, Nemo turned to friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but Jekyll held up a hand to stop him. "I know. It's time."
Nemo nodded, sympathizing, then stood back as Jekyll produced the vial and downed it. After the painful transformation - more so because Jekyll hadn't taken the elixir in a long time - Hyde stood where Jekyll had, flexing his muscles.
"Shall we?" the beast asked Nemo in his deep, menacing voice. At Nemo's order, the other men and the two League members set off in a paced run to the Palace to provide assistance to Tom and the rest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
LONDON, ENGLAND DEEP IN THE CITY
STREETS OUTSIDE THE PALACE
DORIAN
Dorian watched on as the guards of the Queen's residence gaped in awe at the flame bearers. *Idiots. They should be doing their duty, protecting the Queen.* Then he stopped his line of thinking. *Then again, they haven't seen this kind of thing before.*
He saw the flurry of bats as they came down on the troops, heard the sounds of gunfire and the screams of the baddies. Skinner and the bottles were running around, which would have made for a hilarious scene if not for the circumstances.
*Those security men should be spurred into action, not just standing there looking like children.*
He drew his sword, savoring the sound of steel sliding against the fine mahogany. Even as it came out of the cane, Nemo, Hyde and their men came around the corner. Dorian stopped for a moment. He hadn't expected to see his old friends again...if they could be counted as friends.
Nemo gave his orders and the crewmen ran forward into the battle. Dorian did so too, shouting at the English guards, sounding his war cry.
"Come on! Protect your Queen!"
That seemed to snap them out of their shock. Picking up their weapons, they charged forward, Dorian joining them, slashing and stabbing with terrifying ferocity. It felt good to be in practice once again; the last time he fought was when he tried to kill Mina.
*Mina, my true love.* And now, they were fighting on the same side, towards the same goal: to save London, though they had different reasons.
After Mina had showed him that damnable portrait of his, after he "died", and after M's weapons factory was blown up, his body had pieced itself back together.
It had been so painful; Dorian couldn't remember when he had ever felt so much agony before. He never wanted to go through that again. He had had so much time to think, to reflect on his past mistakes, finally realizing how many he had made.
The worst of them was trying to kill Mina.
The voice of longing within him called out for her. He missed her so...that was part of his reason for giving false information to Maddox. Through his good deed, he hoped that Mina would forgive him and maybe even love him again. He wasn't too hopeful for the latter, though; he would be content if she forgave him.
Gutting one of the baddies are cutting his chest armor off, Dorian made his way to the evened-out tank, the one that had passed by him earlier that night. It was there that the commanders of the various units had been discussing their plans.
Dorian felt dozens of bullets pierce his back, then turned with a slightly irritated look at the young marksmen who had fired on him.
"What...what are you?" the marksmen, no more than twenty-two years old, stammered and moved back as Dorian advanced; no doubt he looked like a mass murderer, with blood dripping off his blade and the clear intent of malice in his eyes against the backdrop of fire and destruction.
"I'm...complicated," Dorian said, smiling at the memory of the line nearly three years ago. He didn't move anymore, but the kid suddenly fell down, out cold. Dorian blinked. Of all the things he had thought the marksmen would do, he hadn't expected that.
NEMO
Nemo fought brutally, whirling and spinning, dishing out kicks and punches like a school lunch lady gone wacky. He felt the very satisfying crunch of bone underneath his knuckle as he broke somebody's nose.
His path of destruction seemed random, but in truth, he was heading towards the aforementioned funny-looking tank, as the rest of the League on the ground were doing. Their priority was to get Maddox alive.
The ground shook as more explosions went off, and Nemo saw Skinner run past him, in the direction of Maddox and commanders. He also heard Skinner's colorful vocabulary as the captain saw Maddox make a run for cover, headed for the nearby museum - the one, Nemo realized with a start, that M had first met and formed the League. The irony was not lost on him.
"Skinner, go after him; I'll join you later!" Nemo yelled at the invisible thief, who gave a shouted affirmation as he threw the last of the cocktails and ran after Maddox.
SKINNER
Skinner swore as one of the gunmen nearly nicked his side with the butt of an automatic gun. Nemo was barely three feet away, having just broken someone's nose.
The thief cursed using the language he had picked up in the slums of London, long before the formation of the League. Maddox was making a run for it, headed toward a big, old-looking building that looked oddly familiar.
"Skinner, go after him; I'll join you later!" Nemo shouted over the noise.
"Aye!" Skinner used all his strength to throw the last of the Molotovs into the carnage and sprinted after the mastermind who had utilized M's original doomsday plans. He tripped over the dead bodies of some of the poor guards who had been cut down by the modern weapons. He felt sorry for them and their families, but he didn't have time to think any further than that because a person who was meant to be dead joined him, keeping pace, whether knowingly or not, Skinner didn't know.
*DORIAN GRAY!* his mind screamed at him. *Good lord, all that sherry must be getting to my head.* He shook his head and only succeeded in nearly falling over a baton discarded by a constable.
Skinner decided to keep quiet and hope that the traitor didn't know that he was there; in reality, Dorian did know, but didn't say anything.
ALLAN
The great adventurer focused his aim on Maddox as the man ran perpendicular to the building he was on. His sight followed the baddie and Allan pulled the trigger; unfortunately, the bullet only ricocheted off the street, nicking the edge of Maddox's coat that trailed behind him as he ran.
Allan glanced up from his scope slightly in disbelief when he saw Dorian follow behind Maddox. Tom had told him that Mina had killed Dorian in the factory 3 years ago, using the portrait - the one he had noticed missing from the wall in Dorian's home.
*Well* Allan thought with a small shrug, settling down in his place once again. *If I can come back from the dead, who's to say he can't?*
TOM
"Now this is getting weird," Tom muttered to himself as he saw Dorian at about the same time as Allan. "Whoa. That guy should be dead." He then saw a stone being lifted from the ground by Skinner's invisible hand and it was thrown, making Maddox trip and stumble but he didn't fall.
So, Skinner was probably running next to Dorian.
Tom tried to hit Maddox but an explosion that caused the windows below to shatter threw his aim out of whack and he hit another baddie instead.
"Damn!"
Tom reloaded the Winchester and then sighted again, opting to pick out others instead of Maddox; he certainly hoped that Skinner could take care of himself.
MINA
The vampiress flew just above the bloodbath, taking dark joy out of the scene of wounded troops staggering out of the line of fire, many of their number having died from the sheer heat from the fires that raged below and explosions fuelled by their tanks of kerosene as the gunmen were taken down by both Nemo's men and the Palace guards. Their numbers had fallen dramatically; obviously, they had not expected a pre-emptive strike. Police constables had joined the fight, using their pathetic batons to knock those who didn't wear armor. She delivered her crimson kiss to those baddies who were still able-bodied; their screams of terror and pain gave her a kind of delight she knew could be deadly should she become addicted to it.
Blood dipped from her luscious lips as she killed a few more men, and she licked her upper lip as one of her unfortunate victims' body fell to the ground with a dull thud. She saw Maddox heading towards a nearby building, and had started after him when Skinner shouted, "Don't! Take care of the rest! I'll deal with him!"
Dorian was there, she saw, but that didn't really matter to her as she went on her feeding frenzy with her flurry of bats.
HYDE
With a mighty roar, Hyde lifted one end of one of the tanks and pushed it over, letting it drop to one side with a deafening clang. Its occupants scurried out of the vehicle in terror.
He dispatched many of the baddies in ways that were unprintable (so as to keep this as PG as possible). He was enjoying this, finally coming out after almost two and a half years. Jekyll had kept him quiet through his strong will; as much as Hyde hated to admit it, Jekyll was a man with one hell of a willpower.
The huge beast stopped in his tracks and ripped out the armored hull of the tank, crushing it and flinging it somewhere to his left, making the people there who saw it duck for their lives.
"Tell the gods that Hyde sent you!" he bellowed, drinking in all the pain, terror and fear that he could smell.
MADDOX
*Stupid League!* Maddox swore inwardly as he ran for his life, hoping that the League members wouldn't notice him leaving in all the hell that had broken loose. *They're supposed to be dead! How could they have survived Oslo?! I'll skin that lieutenant of mine!*
That is, if he got out of this place alive.
Glancing over his shoulder as he breathed heavily, he saw a young, handsome dark-haired man whom he couldn't recognize chasing him, holding a long thin sword that was wickedly sharp, dripping with crimson blood.
*Who is he? The League has only five members! Or is he from some other organization?* The thought chilled him to the bone; it meant that his plan had worst information leaks than he had thought possible.
He headed towards the (#1) Albion Museum, where his predecessor had set his plan into action. Within the old museum, Maddox had set up a secondary command post after killing almost all the guards stationed there the night before.
The back of his thick coat, custom-made for the cold nights of London, was shot off as one of the damned snipers - either Quatermain or Sawyer, Maddox knew - tried to take a potshot at him.
Maddox swore audibly this time. A stone whizzed past his head and he jerked his head to the left, alarmed. The steps of the museum were so near, less than 200 yards away. Maddox smiled. He could make it! His plans could still go on! Although they were stalled somewhat, they could still work.
*I am a brilliant genius.* Maddox preened. He ran up the steps and threw open the doors to the sprawling building, not bothering to close them as he ran inside.
SKINNER
The thief was panting hard, not bothering to hide his presence from Dorian.
"Since when have the bad guys run so fast?" he asked no one in particular. Maddox had made it to the stairs and had disappeared inside the building. Skinner was running as fast as his tried legs could carry him. Just as he neared the steps, he bumped into Maddox's lieutenant, who was wielding a long blade that could inflict a lot of damage.
"I won't let you get to Maddox!" the man stated. Skinner tried to run past him, but somehow, the man knew where the invisible man was and slashed him, making Skinner have to suck his tummy in.
"Oi!" Skinner said. He dodged left and right, but to no avail. The baddie knew where he was going and came dangerously near to seriously hurting him.
"Skinner, go," Dorian ordered. "I'll take care of this midget."
"Right. How can I trust you, may I ask?" Skinner replied.
"If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so earlier. And now is hardly the time for arguments." Dorian fended off a vicious stab from the baddie who, again, blocked Skinner's way as he tried to get into the museum.
"We don't have time for this!" Skinner was exasperated. Nobody knew which direction he was going, unless you counted Mina. Besides, she was a vampire and had much more sensitive senses than the average human. Dorian didn't answer him and Skinner joined in the duel.
NEMO
Nemo saw Dorian dueling with a man at the entrance to the museum. Skinner was there as well, because Nemo could see a piece of scrap metal from one of the discarded fuel tanks of the flame bearers floating in midair, as if defending something, most likely Skinner's body. All three men were weaving from left to right as Skinner tried to get past the baddie.
Breaking someone's neck, Nemo dashed towards them and, using a well- placed and blindingly fast move, Nemo dispatched the man. He turned to face Dorian.
"You live," he said simply. Dorian touched a long gash that the baddie had given him as it healed, looking at the blood on his finger.
"Yes. And I'm working on your side, for once," Dorian answered. Nemo gave the familiar face a once-over, seeing that the strong features, ebony hair and eyes were still the same; even the slightly bored and "I'm-better- than-you-and-I-know-it" expression was still there.
"Nemo, Maddox," Skinner reminded him. "We can kill him later."
"Indeed," Nemo answered before running up the steps and entering the dark building.
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(#1) the museum is mentioned in the novelization of the movie; I'm using it for the sake of giving the museum a name.
A/N: hah! Chapter 7's finished! And so are my exams! *does the crazy victory dance* Everybody, thank you for being patient, and I hope I don't disappoint your high standards with this...expect the upcoming chapters every few days, depending on how fast I can write. Chow!