The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Dreams of the Damned
Chapter One
The First Domino….
"So, if you dig deep enough," explained a very well dressed professor, to a class full of students. He had planned to hurry this up so he could get back to his field work, but apparently, fate was not with him. There was a loud knock at his door, followed by an FBI and British Intelligence agent striding into the room.
"Mr. Indiana Jones," the FBI agent intoned monotonously.
"Yes," Indiana returned. "What's this about?"
"Come with us, please," returned the British agent
"First you tell me what this is about," Indy replied, "or I'm not going anywhere."
"Sir, this is a matter of the utmost importance," began the British officer.
"In other words, Mr. Jones, we would like you to come with us voluntarily, but we do have the authority to arrest you and force you to come with us if you so choose."
"Ooookay, guess I'll go with you then," Indy replied, after a brief pause. "Class, just…take some notes." After he was more or less verbally dragged outside, he stopped dead in his tracks and said, "Alright, now what's going on?"
"We're from a small group called the Coalition, Mr. Jones," began the FBI agent, like an automaton.
"We're here to recruit you for a certain purpose," continued the British officer.
"This purpose is…what?" Indy was beginning to get impatient…he was itching for something to occupy his hands.
"To save the world, Mr. Jones." Indy's eyebrows rose so high they almost rocketed off his head.
"Alright, who put you up to this," Jones grumbled, glaring at the two of them. "Though that was a very good accent," he stated, jabbing a finger at the British officer. "You should be an actor." The two stayed completely devoid of any expression or emotion whatsoever. "You guys…you guys are serious, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are, Mr. Jones," returned the British officer.
"Why me? I'm just a guy, not one of those super powered people, not like the big green guy." The FBI agent quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh really? How long have you been thirty-nine, Mr. Jones?"
"…That's beside the point."
"Sir, please, if you'd just come with us, we could make this go as quickly as possible," the FBI agent began.
"If you really need motivation, though," the British officer cut-in, "then let me just say this: We know where the Fountain of Youth is. You could too."
"I'm in," Indy said instantly. "Just let me go get my gear." The British officer smirked at the FBI agent.
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"Mr. Jones," rang out a voice from the darkness of a conference room stocked with books and pictures. "Welcome, welcome."
"Mind turning up the lights," he responded. "I've learned not to trust voices that I can't see." There was a chuckle, and then the lights began to grow brighter, until they were a normal intensity for a room this size. Indy couldn't believe who he saw standing there. "James Bond?!"
"Quite, Mr. Jones," Bond returned. "I'm to be the man you're reporting to in this endeavor." He walked up behind a chair near the middle of the left side of the table and gripped its back, leaning on it a bit. "Please, sit. You'll be meeting three of your teammates here and then together you'll be heading off to recruit the rest." Indy did take a seat on his side of the table, but then his head shot up as the last few words registered in his mind.
"Team?"
At that point both heads turned as footfalls turned a corner and came to a stop in the room. Indy recognized the person standing there, as did the person. "Silent Bob," Indy said, nodding in greeting. Bob inclined his head in a similar manner. "I'd heard that you were a thug." Bob glared, indicating that he'd prefer a less derogatory title.
"Yes," Bond returned. "I know, you work alone. I don't blame you. But unfortunately, that isn't possible. So," he replied, sliding a few files across the table, "perhaps you'd like to get to know your teammates?"
"Yeah," came a rough voice from behind Indy, "gotta get to know us sometime, right?" Indy turned his head to search for the source of the voice and then stood up when realizing there was no way the voice could be talking. "Hey. This way big guy, thiiis way." Both Bob and Indy were searching around them now for the source of the voice, Bob with his right hand on the handle of his baseball bat, ready to draw at a moments notice. "Riiiiiight HERE. There. Can you see the floating coat, now? Good. Watch." In the blink of an eye, the coat was filled with a fully clothed person. "Darian Fawkes, Invisible Man."
"Invisible Man," Indy breathed, and Bob appeared to be shocked.
"Oh, yeah," Darian replied, tossing a glance to Bob, "you've dealt with angels and demons that were going to negate all existence, and," his head swiveled, this time looking at Indy, you've run from big giant boulders, dodged priests, priestesses, and Nazis, yet you're so shocked to hear technology has the ability to make a guy like me into the Invisbile Man."
"Touché," Indy stated, to which Bob nodded his agreement. "So, what's your story," Indy asked Darian.
"A long one," Darian replied, lifting a glass of vodka to his lips. "Short version: I was a thief. I had the unlucky break of falling on an old lady just before the cops kicked in the door." He took a swig and winced very slightly at the burning in his throat. "You can imagine what they thought I was doing," he stated wryly. "Anyway, I was gonna get life. Not something I was particularly looking forward to, so when this FBI type came to me and said that I could get out of it, I jumped at the chance. Turns out, I ended up being my brother's guinea pig for his newest little military toy. It's a gland that secrets this Quicksilver stuff. It bends light to make me look invisible."
"Bends light," Indy asked, intrigued.
"Hell, don't ask me. I'm not the scientist." There was a pause, and Bond coughed politely. "Right, right. The Quicksilver Madness."
"Quicksilver Madness," Indy asked.
"Yeah," Darian replied, drawing out the last part as he rubbed the back of his neck. "See, when I go invisible too much, the Quicksilver messes with my head. See this tattoo, back here?" He turned and pulled the collar of his jacket down so that Indy and Bob could see the snake devouring its own tail tattooed on the back of his neck. "It's green now, but the more Quicksilver I use, the more red it gets. If the entire tattoo goes red, then so do my eyes, and I end up being a very not nice guy." He turned back around and lifted something out of his pocket. "This is a medicine that can keep it from happening. As long as I inject this stuff before I lose it, I'm fine. The snake'll go green again and everything will be peachy." Darian dropped the medicine back into his coat pocket. "So, you've heard my story. I know yours, Indiana Jones, famous archeologist." Darian and Indy both turned their heads to look at Silent Bob, but Bond shook his head.
"Later, I'm afraid," Bond stated. "There's one other member coming, and then we'll be able to collect the other two." As if on cue, the doors swung open, and in walked a very pale woman with black hair down to about mid-neck. She wore tight fitting leather clothing, all in black, and large, gothic looking, platform knee-high boots. Over that, she wore a long black coat much like Darian's, though without as many buttons. Guns littered her person, and she looked quite calm and ok with that. "Mr. Fawkes, Mr. Jones, and Mr…ah, well, Bob…I'd like you to meet Selene. Selene, your teammates." She gave them all a curt nod.
"Selene…you're," Indy began, trailing over her file until he got to a certain word. "You're a vampire?!" Bob didn't appear to have any reaction to the word, though something swam across his eyes for a moment. "Vampires exist?"
"You have before you an invisible man and you yourself are forever young," Selene responded. "Is it such a stretch of the imagination?"
"No," Indy mumbled, taken aback, "I suppose not." He glanced at a few of the pictures, and then said, "I guess your husband…Michael, won't be joining us?"
"No," she responded coldly. "Michael has been dead for years."
"Oh." Indy paused. "I'm sorry." Darian and Bob nodded their agreement.
"Don't be. He wouldn't want me to brood, and I'm not." Indy understood then why she was there. Not only for her vampiric gifts, of which she had a few, more than she had originally let on it seemed, but she was incredibly strong and resilient as well. Indy thought that those last two were the real reasons she was here, and the vampiric gifts were just a plus. "When are we getting started?" She seemed to have at least some understanding of what it was that they were doing.
"As soon as the four of you are ready to leave," Bond returned. "Bob will be providing transportation, both to the next member and for the rest of the journey." Selene turned to Bob then, giving him a look that appeared to weigh and measure him, and she nodded.
"Alright. Lead the way."
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It was raining when they got outside, and Indy held up an umbrella to cover the heads of his companions. Darian muttered some form of thanks and Selene nodded. Bob was walking slightly ahead; apparently uncaring that he was being drenched with rain. They saw before them a car that looked a lot like a van would, if it had been souped up and made into a hot-rod/van combo. "Weed-mobile," was all Bob said before slipping into the passenger seat, even as a man outfitted in comic-book ensemble opened the doors for the others.
"Call me Brody," the thin man said, before walking around and getting behind the wheel. Selene slipped in first, followed by Darian, and then Indy last, who closed the door. There were seats inside, and stereos. If there had ever been weed in here, the bags had been cleaned out, though Selene thought she could detect slight hints of the aroma. They pulled away from the unmarked building that the meeting had been held at, not noticing the boy with a long, dark jacket watching them pull away, and following leisurely behind them. There was a flash of a yellow letter on the right breast as he walked, but it was gone too soon to see what it said.
"So, how did Bond get you," Darian asked Indy.
"Supposedly, his little group knows where the Fountain of Youth is," Indy returned testily. "I want to know, too." Darian nodded and turned to Selene. She remained silent, and then waved him off. Darian let his eyebrows rise slightly, and then leaned back as she leaned forward.
"You're a bit testy, Mr. Jones." Now it was Indy's turn to lean forward, looking into Selene's eyes a moment before leaning back and looking out the window. "Perhaps it's all those books you've judged merely by looking at their covers."
"I've had women along on expeditions before," he stated. "I found that, while they were helpful, they ended up being a distraction."
"Do I distract you, Mr. Jones?" At this point, Bob looked back, sensing the tension in the back of the car. Darian held his breath, afraid that one of the two in the back would strike out, and he certainly didn't want to be in the way when either of them did. Instead, Indy merely leaned forward and glared intently at Selene.
"I've been left by enough lovers," he stated plainly. "I don't need any more." Bob glanced out his window then and Brody stopped the car. Bob got out and opened the door for his teammates, and they slid out.
"Should I bring it around," Brody asked. Bob merely shook his head before moving to stand with Indy and Darian, while Selene took one glance at the house before them and paused in her tracks. Indy knocked on the door three times, and soon after, it swung open a tiny bit to reveal a pale man, with two scars running down one side of his face, one starting at his forehead, a bit above the right eye, and ending near his mouth. The other ran down the corner of his eye, and then one final scar appeared to be a duplicate of the longer one, only on his left eye. Scars came from the corners of his mouth as well, looking quite like an ironic, sad smile. He was a bit above average height, perhaps five foot eleven, with short, straight brown hair and large muscles. His clothing had several holes in it, with a gray undershirt peeking out above the collar of a ratty gray sweater. He looked to be wearing prison overalls, the top ripped wide down to his waist. Heavy boots adorned his feet, and a long trench coat, with a furry collar, was wrapped around it all. At this point, Indy was used to oddities, so he didn't have too much of a reaction when he saw this man.
"Mr. Alex Corvis," the explorer asked.
"Yes." The man, or boy, really, nodded.
"I'm from Mr. Bond-"
"I already told Mr. Bond that I'm not interested," he responded, and began to shut the door.
"Alex," came Selene's soft voice as she strode through the four men, coming to a stop just next to Indy.
"Selene," was his rather shocked, if subdued, response. "Well…come in, then." He opened the door wide enough to allow the group entrance, and they headed up the stairs.
No one saw the boy from before, long coat hiding anything underneath now, slipping in as well.
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The five of them entered Alex's home, an abandoned strip club that was once owned by D.E.R.T. There were a serious of secret hallways and rooms here as well, where the dirty cops would run an internet porn business and a room up at the top where they would sit and count the money from their prostitution ring. There was a back entrance to that room, and therefore to the rest of the building, that Alex had never bothered to seal up. "So," Alex began, "I guess one of you knows why Bond wants us all together?" Bob nodded, and Selene began to speak, but then a strong, though young, voice rang out.
"I do." Indy had his gun out before anyone could blink, while Darian had instantly gone invisible. Selene had drawn two pistols from within her coat, Bob had reached for his baseball bat, and Alex was suddenly holding a long knife. From the shadows came a boy covered in a long coat, his head down. He paused there for a moment and then his head shot upright as he flung his coat off and to the ground. Eyes widened around the room as they saw that Robin, the Boy Wonder, stood before them…though Indy and Darian both smirked at the fact that he'd replaced his leggings with camouflage pants. Weapons were gradually put back, and Alex then sat down in a comfy chair near the pole, looking bored. "So, I guess you're all wondering just what's going on," he said, and then paused. "Well, except for Bob." The rest of the group cast a curious glance at Bob, who merely stood with his arms crossed, silent as always.
"Actually," Selene stated, "I know, as well." Robin hadn't really noticed her, at first, but now that he did, he had to stop himself from automatically going into "flirt mode." Given the gravity of the situation, it wasn't too hard, and he returned to the task at hand. "But you can explain it," she replied, sitting on a table not too far from where Darian was pouring himself a glass of vodka.
"Help yourself," Alex called over to him. Darian smirked and gave Alex a nod of thanks.
"Well," Robin began, sounding a bit annoyed that the scarred man and the guy in the coat didn't appear to be taking this seriously. "It started the night of May 19th. Batman and I were on the rooftops, though for the past few days, we'd had pretty boring nights. It was odd really, considering that a lot of the criminals from Arkham had escaped." He paused in thought at this for a moment before shaking his head and continuing. "Well, we saw Bob and his partner Jay partaking in a business venture," he quirked an eyebrow at that, and Bob smirked before nodding for Robin to continue, "and the guy they were trying to sell to decided to get violent. He smacked Jay in the face pretty hard, and Jay went reeling. It looked like Bob was going to stand up for him, but then the guy pulled out this cane sword and they both ran. We watched as the guy just kind of…melted into the shadows before following after Jay and Bob. Batman looked spooked, but I was just confused. Well, anyway, we saw that Jay and Bob had stopped, and for a second I figured they'd lost the guy. Batman still looked spooked, and sure enough, the guy just came waltzing out of the shadows, clapping his hands like they'd done some great thing. The spooky thing was, there were these wolves following him. Then Jay and Bob REALLY ran, and this time, the guy followed, his wolves taking the rooftops and forcing Batman and I to run in the same direction as Jay and Bob. We could see this big diesel truck that the two of them seemed to be running to, but then a wolf leapt off one of the roofs and knocked Jay down. The guy was on him in a second, lifting him into the air by the collar with one hand."
"One hand," Darian interrupted, and Bob nodded angrily before waving a hand for him to be quiet so Robin could finish.
"Jay told Bob to run, and after a couple more tries, it worked. Bob ran, and was almost wolf food. After he pulled out, Batman and I saw the guy bite Jay on his throat. At that point, I had to admit that Batman was right. It really was Dracula we were looking at."
"Dracula," Darian gasped, shooting up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" Bob grabbed him and forcibly sat him back down. Robin nodded his thanks before going on with his story.
"Bob, I'm really sorry, but…Dracula made Jay into a vampire. I ducked into the shadows to avoid a wolf, but Batman wasn't quick enough and got knocked off the roof. He landed right in front of Dracula. I heard voices saying things, and after a while, I got up the courage to come out of the shadows and look at what was going on. Batman was fighting like hell to get Dracula into a corner. Dracula kept asking where I was and dodged Batman's attacks easily. He said that eventually he'd get tired of asking." Robin's voice was escalating in intensity and volume by the second now, and his eyes were burning with rage. "Eventually came too soon for Batman. Dracula slashed him across the throat and left him for dead. He was." That was it. Robin clamped his jaw shut, his fists clenched. No one moved for a second, and then Bob walked over and put a hand on Robin's shoulder. Bob knew what Robin was going through, having lost Jay that same night. After a moment, the anger began to fade from Robin's features, and he nodded his thanks to Bob. "Bond got you guys together to fight him." Silence descended upon the group until, quite suddenly, men carrying assault rifles appeared on the balconies, and from out of the hidden hallway came a twisted, sick voice that Robin instantly recognized.
"Riddle me this, Bird boy: What has two wings and is dumb enough to fly right into a glass door?" Before anyone could respond, Edward Nigma sauntered out of the hidden hallway, in full Riddler garb once again. His long, metal staff, topped with a question mark, made soft tapping sounds on the ground. "That's right: YOU!" The maniac squealed with delight and clapped his hands together. "Well, lookey what we have here."
"First meetings," Indy stated boldly, "normally mean somebody's got to introduce themselves."
"Fair enough," the Riddler replied. "I'm Riddler. You're the…oh, what a name…League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." The Riddler couldn't help laughing at that. "Joker was right, that is a pathetic name!"
"Joker," Robin exclaimed, surprised.
"Yeeees," Riddler replied. "Awww, you didn't think we'd just turned over new leaves, now did you, bird boy?" He paused, and then said, "Oh, Indy. I'm crazy, not blind. Drop the gun." Indy paused for a moment before doing as he was told. The Riddler pointed with his staff at the far wall, and Indy kicked it over there. Robin kept his eyes on it as it skittered across the floor and very slowly, very carefully began sliding a Batarang into his hand. None of the others moved, though Darian tensed and made ready to become invisible at a moments notice. Indy glanced at Robin, saw what he was doing, and winked at him. Robin winked back, and then Indy looked back at Riddler. "What? Do I have something in my teeth?" Robin flew into action, flinging the Batarang at the Riddler's head, aiming for a kill. Riddler dodged as gunfire erupted throughout the room. Selene drew her pistols and ducked for cover, firing at a few of the men on the balconies.
Alex didn't bother dodging, knowing the bullets meant absolutely nothing to him. Instead, he spied men coming out of the hidden hallway and engaged them instead, slashing and thrusting with his knife. The first man fell with a stab wound to the head and another dropped the gun he was toting to grab his suddenly bleeding arm instead.
Indy had taken the opportunity presented by the Riddler's moment of inattention to grab his whip from his side, and he now used it to bring the gun back to him. That done, he noticed that the Riddler was getting away the same way he'd come in. He shot one of the men on the balcony before spinning and giving chase.
Robin had launched his grappling hook the moment the gunfire started, and he now stood on the balcony, dispatching soldiers whose weapons weren't all that useful in close combat. He'd taken down three of them when he heard the cracking of Indy's whip stopping. He spared a glance over to him to see the Riddler slip out the same way he'd come in, and Indy following him. Robin knew the balcony was connected in the same way as the first floor, so he took off down that way, punching, kicking, or flinging Batarangs at any soldiers that got in his way.
Darian had immediately made himself invisible. That done, he grabbed a pair of handcuffs that had quite obviously been left by a stripper near the pole, getting an idea of how to use them almost immediately. He broke the chain on the cuffs and flipped them open, one in each hand. He then let the open end poke out between his middle and ring fingers, like claws. He began using them in just that way, tearing the faces or bodies of soldiers he ran into.
Bob strode forward, standing in between two groups of men with assault rifles. "Get your gun," one of them growled. "I hate killing unarmed idiots." Bob merely shook his head, and then his baseball bat was out, knocking the gun up and out of the soldier's hands. Bob slammed a kick into the soldier's gut and brought his steel bat crashing down on the soldier's baldhead. He went down instantly, his arm jerking once and then his body moved no more. He ducked as one of the soldiers behind him leveled his gun and then he swept his foot out, tripping the soldier up. Then came the bull rush that bowled through the soldiers, knocking them off balance.
Selene ducked out from behind her cover, firing six shots, each finding the head of their intended target. She saw that the soldiers Bob had rushed into were regaining balance and shot two of them, leaving Bob with the last two to handle. She ducked behind Alex's chair to reload before realizing that Robin was no longer covering this portion of the balcony. She bolted out from behind the chair, running towards the balcony. She flipped up and onto it easily, landing in a crouch that she immediately sprang out of and began firing.
Indy was following the Riddler through the narrow hallway at the back, Robin flinging Batarangs from the walkway above. Indy had almost closed the distance when an unarmed soldier leapt out from the shadows. Robin continued to follow the Riddler, while Indy was forced to stop and deal with the soldier. He holstered his gun and leaned back to dodge a sloppy left hook. He saw his opportunity then and ducked in, slamming three or four body punches home. The soldier stumbled back but recovered quickly, coming at Indy with a much less sloppy jab that he wasn't able to avoid. It was softer than Indy had expected, though, so it didn't do too much damage, and it left the man open for a strong jab to the head that sent him reeling. Indy followed it up with a kick to the stomach and finished the fight with an uppercut that sent the soldier into the air briefly. "Now, where'd the boy get to," he mumbled.
Robin had continued to run after Riddler, tossing Batarang after Batarang. In the end, his aim was off, because none of them hit. He chased the Riddler all the way to the secret door, which was really just a window, but couldn't. He swore and looked out, to see an unmarked car speeding off, with no sign of the Riddler. Another expletive passed his lips as he began making his way back towards the main room, where the sounds of battle had ceased.
Robin must have looked glum indeed when he entered, because Alex shook his head and stated, "Don't worry, he won't get away. He went tearing out of the city, but I don't know where he was headed."
"How could you know that," Robin asked, and then they heard the cawing of a crow. The ebon bird landed on Alex's shoulder and he smirked. "You can…see through the bird's eyes?" Alex grinned and the bird cawed, and Robin noticed Alex's bullet wounds were healing on their own. "What…what are you?"
"I'm complicated, Alex returned.
"Ugh, you always were melodramatic," Selene groaned, rolling her eyes. Alex grinned briefly before wiping his bloody knife on the uniform of a dead soldier and then making it disappear up his sleeve. "So, Robin, perhaps you'd like to tell us why you're here," Selene asked, and all eyes turned to him.
"I want to join you," he responded.
"I don't have a problem with it," Indy replied.
"Me neither. The kid can hold his own," Darian added.
"Another fighter is always useful," Selene put in.
Bob gestured at Robin and then nodded his approval.
It all came down to Alex. Would the apparently immortal being say yes or no to the addition of the young, eager hero? "Welcome aboard," the immortal replied.
"You're in," Indy stated, and Robin smiled very slightly.
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The League was exiting the building, moving towards the docks, off to the left of Alex's home. "Now, there's one more member to recruit," Indy stated.
"Capture is more like it," Darian replied wryly.
"Capture," Robin asked, confused.
"Yes…he's more like an savage beast than a man," Selene explained.
"Where is he," Robin asked.
"South America, in the jungle. There's a war going on down there, and supposedly, he just comes out of the trees and smashes things," Indy explained.
"How are we getting there," Robin asked, stopping when he realized Bob, who had been the one leading them, had stopped at the end of a pier. There was nothing there. "By boat?"
Bob smirked and crossed his arms, and a huge diesel truck rose up out of the water. It was ENORMOUS, at least the size of three RVs. "The Sword," Bob stated proudly.
"A diesel truck," Darian asked. "We're sailing across the sea in a diesel truck?" Almost as if on cue, ramps dropped from the sides, and the rest of the League saw that inside was what appeared to be a well-stocked house.
Robin's brows rose in shock. "Whoa." Bob grinned and nodded. "So," Robin asked, as the Sword began to sidle its way closer to the pier, "who is this guy that we have to capture?"
"He's a big guy, has to be at least nine feet tall," Indy replied.
"He couldn't way less than a ton," Selene added.
"How do people not see something like this coming from a mile away," Robin asked, stepping up onto one of the Sword's ramps, confused yet again.
"He's the same color as the trees," Darian explained, following him.
AN: Well, there you have it. I trust you all know who the final Leaguer is, right? If not, shame on you! As far as whether killing Batman is against the rules or not…*points at comics, wherein Bane broke Batman's back and Batman passed on the mantle of the bat to a reformed assassin, who turned the suit into high-tech armor stocked full of lethal goodies* If they can do that, and make it good (which they did, I give DC credit for that) then killing him is okay, as long as it helps the story. Hopefully my next update won't take too long, wherein the next Leaguer is captured and we have some nice character interaction. As always, don't forget to R&R.