A/N: Okaay. That was chapter three. Thanks for all the reviews. Right. So. Shall we get on with business, my freaky darlings?
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CHAPTER 4
HEATHROW FAMILY ESTATE
NEAR KEW GARDENS, ENGLAND
SOME TIME OUT OF LONDON
Their female host led them into the living room, her long black hair swinging behind her as she walked. For Dorian, he found it intriguing that she wore clothes obviously meant for men. She was panting a little, so he figured that she was working out or something.
"I'm surprised you came here," Jesse said to Allan, whom she regarded as the leader, as they sat down. "I knew Mycroft told you about me and the others, but your presence is unexpected."
"Well," Tom said, "We needed help. To find the kids."
"I see." Jesse nodded. The butler came and served tea. "My sympathies."
Skinner snorted. "I don't suppose you have kids, do you, Lady Heathrow?" He leaned back in the comfortable couch.
Jesse's expression darkened. "That is none of your business, Mr. Skinner."
"Touché, Lady Heathrow," Skinner said, then added quickly, "My apologies."
Her eyes now glinted with dangerous calm, a fury hidden; and also, pain. Allan knew how it felt; he had no doubt that Jesse had had children, but lost them in some way. He was reminded of Jack, and now Will. I haven't lost him yet.
And I won't.
"The way I see it, Mycroft told you to come here and ask for help," Jesse addressed Allan. He nodded.
"The children are our priority, as is getting them back safely," Nemo said, choosing to stand.
"I can understand, Captain," Jesse nodded. "But we have limited resources, here...I'm not sure if we could be of any help."
"Lady Heathrow," Dorian spoke up, earning a glare from Skinner, "Before you speak for your friends, I think it would be best if they were present."
Jesse looked slightly alarmed. She swallowed. "Gentlemen...my friends are not of conventional people."
"Well, Lady Heathrow," Mina said, "We are not of conventional people as well."
That earned a few chuckles from the League members. Jesse raised an amused brow. She stood up, as did the rest of them who sat. "Fine. Follow me. I warn you...keep your minds open."
Jesse stopped and turned at the landing on the third floor, waiting for Skinner as he hobbled up the steps with Jekyll's help. As the two friends reached the landing, Jesse continued walking until they reached the end of the hallway, where there was a door, leading into a massive room. As they entered, Jesse grinned at their expressions.
There was a thing flying near the high ceiling. Down on the floor, another girl of about twenty years was crouched, a deep, feral growl coming from her throat. In her hands she held two wickedly sharp daggers. Mina imagined she saw the female's eyes like a cat's; slitted pupils the color of honey. Obviously, her target was the flying thing at the ceiling.
The flying thing didn't come down, and only when Jesse sounded a angry shriek did it land with grace that should have been impossible.
"What is that?" Tom whispered to himself. Jekyll's saucer eyes were wide open; if they had widened any more his eyeballs would have popped out. Skinner merely grinned his perverted grin when he saw that the woman who landed wasn't wearing much.
"Me?" On closer inspection, the flyer was also a young woman, pretty and overly normal — with the exception of two wings on her back. They were like an angel's, with gray feathers and streaks of black in them. Shoulder-length orange hair was wet with sweat, the streaks of yellow darkened by the liquid, and Skinner noted that her ears were ever so pointed as the other female with the dagger joined them. Whiskey eyes studied the visitors. "Not a thing, mind. A person. Or is your skull so thick you can't see that?"
"Vic," Jesse admonished. "Don't be so rude to our guests. And get some clothes."
"Sierra Worthbright," the one with the daggers said, shaking Jekyll's offered hand. "Charmed to meet you."
"I'm Victoria Attenbrough," the one with wings said. To Sierra, "They don't look so extraordinary to me."
"Vicky!" Sierra hissed, elbowing her friend in the ribs.
"These are my friends, gentlemen," Jesse said, ignoring the two bickering girls. "As you may or may not know, there is a world full of magicks out there. Among these magicks are different species. Like Vicky here. She's Aseyewrn."
"I've heard of them," Mina spoke up, "But I never thought them to exist."
"Well, sister, you're looking at one," Vic remarked, to a whack on the head by Sierra. "Ow!"
"Aseyewrn?" Jekyll asked. He had never heard of such a species. Skinner nodded.
"The Aseyewrn are winged flyers, like Vicky here," explained Jesse. "They descend from half-elves — the offspring of humans and elves — and the affati, the fierce bird-people. They're virtually extinct, and there are very few half-elves around; you can count all the Aseyewrn with the fingers on one hand."
"Fascinating," Jekyll muttered. "And Miss Worthbright...? I, uh, noticed her, uh..."
"Eyes," Sierra smiled. Her green eyes laughed, and she pushed strands of her light hazel hair out of her delicate face. "I know. I daresay you heard the growl, too. Well, I'm a crossbreed. My mother is a Aclida, a race of felines. My father was a human. I have traits of both worlds, but I take after my father more."
"She's one of the last of the crossbreeds," Vicky chirped. "Here comes Sloane now."
From behind them, through the doorway, another person, a woman, all dressed in black, entered. "Hello."
"Sloane, this is the League," Jesse told her vampire friend. "And, if I'm not wrong, Mrs. Gray is very much like you..."
"A vampire, are you, Mrs. Gray?" Sloane asked, a glint of mystery in her gray eyes, framed by a pale face. "And I was beginning to think our kind was extinct."
"Half-vampire," Mina replied frostily. "I have found a partial cure."
"You can go out in the sunlight," Sloane nodded appreciatively.
"And I don't need that much blood to sustain me," Mina added. Sloane's dark eyes were glittering with slight mirth; at what, Mina didn't know. Suddenly, there was a whizzing sound as Tom and Nemo ducked, a figure moving through the air so fast it was a blur of color.
"What the...?!" Tom exclaimed as he picked himself up. Jesse whipped around angrily.
"Dammnit, Crow! I told you, they're visitors!" She yelled at the ledges that lined the room. They were hidden in shadow as someone jumped down from one directly opposite them. He was a young man, with hazel hair and misty gray eyes, the color of Vicky's feathers. Those eyes were narrowed with suspicion. In one hand he held a bow that gleamed gold or silver, depending on the angle the light reflected off it. On his back he wore his quiver of arrows.
"You didn't say they were coming today," Crow said, coming to stand next to Vicky. "And mind your language."
"Oh. Sorry," Jesse smiled apologetically at the League. "I forget myself sometimes. This is Crow McGuire."
"Does he descend from any magical heritage?" Nemo asked, dusting himself off.
Jesse shook her head as Sierra spoke. "He has earned the respect of the elves, though. They rarely produce Goldsil wood bows anymore, except for those they deem worthy."
"He has one," Vicky jerked a thumb at her friend. "And he has one hell of an aim."
"I didn't shoot you down because I didn't want to hurt you," Crow said quietly. "But I could have."
Mina instantly sensed that of all the five, Crow and Jesse would be the most dangerous. True, Sierra, Sloane and Vicky were dangerous as well, but not so much as Crow and the Heathrow. She would have to be extra cautious around them.
Jesse explained the situation to her friends. Sloane gestured and they gathered into a circle. She said something in a language that Mina didn't recognize. Dorian looked interested and Skinner sneezed, immediately turning invisible as Vicky threw him a glance. Her whiskey colored eyes widened and she grinned when he reappeared. Skinner winked. He's flirting with her.
Mina smiled inwardly, and so did Allan. It had been a long time since they had seen courtship played out; Allan stopped after his son's death, while Mina had given up those games after the loss of Jonathan. She glanced at her husband. They would be together forever — literally. Both immortals, both unable to die.
The curse or gift of immortality.
Dorian's painting was hidden in the basement of their home, covered with a heavy cloth lest Lucy somehow get to it. The two lovers had gotten married in the months after their second mission, and Lucy was born shortly after. At the wedding, Skinner had made a point of not being there.
She considered what had happened to the man.
After getting married to Hannah, she knew that they had a baby girl. Hannah hadn't made it through a bout of consumption, and Skinner was left to take care and raise his child, with the help of Jekyll and his loving wife. Skinner, now, looked haggard through the bruises and cut lip; obviously, he had lost much sleep.
The red hair was tousled and Skinner yawned frequently. She was prepared to give him a sleeping draught if that kept on. Or, if he didn't take it, she would drug his drinks and food.
If it came to that.
Finally, the circle broke up. Jesse addressed them, "We'll help."
Nemo nodded, "Thank you."
"It's alright." Jesse smiled. Vicky grinned and gave her wings anapproving flap.
"I assume you would want to set up a headquarters?" Crow said. The League members nodded, and Allan told them that they would need to get into contact with Mycroft to arrange things.
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A/N: So, Lady Heathrow's friends aren't all human; question is, will they be able to be useful? I really hope I satisfy your need for the story to go on in this chapter. Watch out for the next one; it won't be long in coming.