League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Dreams of the Damned
Chapter Four
Planning
AN: Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate the feedback. I do want to say one thing, though: The Batman I'm using is movieverse, and therefore he hasn't faced Superman…and, actually, I don't think movieverse Batman could handle Dracula. I know my opinions aren't shared, but that's the way I feel about it. And yeah, I know the Silent Bob choice is pretty wild. I wanted to surprise people, lol. And hey, Velocity, if you ever get your fic up somewhere, toss me a link. I love reading LXG stuff, as can be guessed, lol.
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"So," a thickly accented voice began, Edward Nigma standing stiff as a board before the darkened throne from which the voice spoke, "you were defeated." The room was large, shadowed, and dim, almost like night itself. There was one doorway, behind Nigma, and it had been securely closed when the Riddler had entered.
"Yes, but-"
"SILENCE," the voice snarled, and Nigma's jaw snapped shut. "You were created to oppose the League and to keep them from getting here. You do realize that, do you not?"
"Yes, I do, but-"
"Do not try and explain yourself to me, Nigma. You are wasting your time." Nigma merely gulped and nodded. "You are very, very lucky that the League has not yet come to a decision about how to get here. I am assigning you to a different task now. You will not be directly opposing the League, not in the same fashion as previously, at any rate." From out of the deep shadows of the throne came a face, with a bushy black mustache, high aquiline nose, pale complexion, long, well groomed black hair topped in a white top hat…and red, devil's eyes, full of rage and disappointment. "Im Ho Tep tells me that the League would have been hopelessly locked in futile combat were it not for the initial intervention of the invisible thief. Is this information correct?"
"Y-yes, it is."
"I see. I assumed that one of you could handle two enemies at once. Apparently, I was wrong."
"If I may-"
"You may not," the regal looking man stated. He identified a brief shudder rippling through Nigma's body, and he laughed at the pathetic little psychotic's terror. "To ensure that this does not happen again, I have added someone to your troops." Dracula, Count of legend, as yet unknown terror of the present, stood from his throne and pointed to a doorway. "I trust you will take good care of my childe…."
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Meanwhile, on the Sword, the League all sat around the conference table. Bob had directed Brody to sail them on a path that would take them to Romania. Brody was, of course, a bit worried about that, but Bob made sure he understood it was of the utmost importance. At this point, Bob was just worried Brody would slack off and start reading comics instead of taking care to get them to where they needed to go. Honestly, after spending time with the man, so was the rest of the League. At the moment, though, they had other things to concern themselves with. "So," Indy began, "we've experienced our first battle as a team. I really don't need to point out that we didn't do too well."
"We won," Robin supplied cheerfully.
"That we did," Selene stated, "but it was luck, not skill. Had there been someone to keep Darien occupied, we all would have been lost to our own angers and pasts, and this…anti-League would have won."
"But that didn't happen," Robin cut in.
"Not this time," Bruce sighed, "but you have to believe that Dracula will correct that mistake."
"We don't know that," Robin argued, trying to salvage some form of victory from the gloomy mood of his comrades.
"Robin, they're right," Darien said. "But I see what you're saying. It was a lucky win, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy about it."
"Now, who said we weren't happy," Selene said, smiling very slightly. Zorro had been silent since entering the conference room, and Robin had a guess as to why.
"I'm sorry, Zorro," the Boy Wonder said, sighing. "I know you wanted to free Diego de la Vega from Dracula's grasp."
"You don't need to apologize," Zorro returned. "In fact, I think I should be apologizing to you. You put yourself on the line for me, and all I did was insult you. So I am sorry, Robin. Perhaps you know something of the sorrow that I feel." Robin didn't say anything to that, but it was rather obvious that Zorro had said the wrong words. Silence descended on the table for a moment, and then Robin muttered something about needing air before pushing himself up from the table and heading out of the room. Darien rose to follow, but Selene shook her head.
"He needs to be alone," she stated, sighing.
"I should not have said anything," Zorro replied, his voice heavy with guilt.
"It isn't your fault, Zorro," Indy corrected. "See…you know about Batman, right?"
"That Robin is his partner, of course. The Dynamic Duo are famous," Zorro explained.
"Was," Bob corrected.
"Dracula killed Batman," Darien explained.
"Oh," Zorro said, feeling terribly guilty for what he'd said. "I should go apologize."
"I think maybe we should all just let him be for now," Bruce stated.
"He should be here for the meeting," Darien argued. "I'll get him."
"He wants to kill Dracula," Selene corrected. "He doesn't give a damn how we get there. Just that it happens."
"But he's an equal part of the League," Darien stated.
"No one is saying he isn't," Bruce added. "Just that he needs to be left alone right now. Since all he wants is to take down Dracula, why would he care whether we go down one channel or another? His only concern is that we get there, not what road we take."
"That's what I'm worried about," Darien muttered, but it was under his breath and no one heard.
"So…are we agreed to follow the route that the Harker party took when going to Transylvania," Selene asked. "Since that's all that's necessary to be ask."
"I don't see why not," Bruce confirmed.
"Works for me," Darien put in.
Bob nodded matter-of-factly.
"I have no problem with it," Zorro replied.
"Then it's decided," Indy stated, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table. "We go to Transylvania, to fight a horror of horrors. We all have our own reasons, but our duty is what unites us as a team. We're all different, some of us more than others, but that doesn't make us any less. As a team, we have to watch out for each other, and none of us can abandon ship." He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily as the last words of his speech escaped his lips. "We're the last hope this world has. Lets not disappoint anyone." Selene was the first to rise, followed by Bob, then Bruce, and finally Zorro. Darien didn't move, and when Indy rose to go, he rose as well. "What is it, Darien," Indy asked, sounding exasperated.
"You should go talk to Robin."
"Darien…he needs to be alone."
"No," Darien stated, his tone leaving no room for argument, "he needs to be with someone."
"How do you know," Indy asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I see a lot of myself in the kid," Darien replied. "He's angry, and not just at Dracula. He's a kid, he doesn't get that this is an isolated thing. He's angry at the world for creating Dracula, for creating the circumstances around his resurrection, for creating the circumstances that lead to Batman's death. He's angry at himself for not being able to do a damn thing about Batman's death, and most of all…he's angry at Batman for leaving him…and he hates that he is."
"…Wow." Indy moved towards the door, but stopped and put his hand on Darien's shoulder briefly. "I guess you're not as see-through as you thought." With that, Indy headed out, intending to find Robin. Darien smiled very slightly.
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Robin stood on the conning tower, wondering why he always came there to brood or think. "Bruce…why did you have to jump down there? Jay was in trouble…but we both knew there was no way Dracula could be stopped. We could've helped some other way…maybe you could've been here instead of me. God knows you're more capable." He began to choke up, and unshed tears began to roll down his face.
"Who says this isn't how it was meant to be," came Selene's soft voice from behind him. Robin took a deep, gasping breath and tried to stop the tears. "Don't. Sometimes people need to cry." She came to stand beside him, putting her hand on his arm gently. "Robin…sometimes you have to cry to let out whatever it is you want to let out." Robin looked into her eyes for a moment before more or less throwing himself into her arms, burying his face in her shoulder. While Selene wasn't used to this sort of thing, she knew Robin needed someone, someone besides a role model…and she'd seen the way he'd looked at her from the moment they met. He cared for her, and right now, he needed that. She would be there for him.
Because she wasn't sure if she didn't feel the same way about him.