A/N: Okey-tay, before I get into DTG news and the like, I need to tell you all that I had to bump the rating for this fic up because this chapter gets bloody. I won't tell you the details here but be warned. There's blood. Lots.
Ok, onward to the DTG! Thus far, the roster is as follows: Lily Bengal, morph, funyun, schizomaniax, Lady Moon3, LotRseer3350, Hoshii-chan, and yours truly. [That would be me.] Now, if I'm going to turn this little organization into a parody fic, I'm going to need names, brief descriptions and the like from the lot of you. If you don't want to give any of that info, I'm cool with that. I'll figure out what to do. Hehehe, I find it funny that the X-Men are popping up in random reviews. Too funny.
Lady Moon3 ~ Yeah, Reed said his name in the movie, but I had to watch the DVD with the captions on before I figured out he was the other invisible man.
LotRseer3350 ~ Ooh. Shallow cuts. I remember that episode! You and Lily can come up with fun ways to torture Davis! Oh, yeah! *tosses a steak to the tigers* Here you go guys!
Remy, Bongo & Brak: Growl! [translation: thank-you!] *all three promptly pounce on the steak and devour it*
Steffi ~ Hey, I found Dorian! [And thanks for the idea! You'll see what I mean…] Nothing dirty for my last chapter! Shame on you! Hehehe, j/k! I'm sure you'll find plenty of dirty things to say about this chapter anyway…
schizomaniax ~ Ooh! One of Pyro's lighters! I like fire! *maniac giggles* Yay for fire! *Pyro looks at lighter wistfully* Aww. Here, Pyro, here's one of Reed's flame-throwers that the League commandeered way back in chapter 6. And for you, schizomaniax, here are Skinner's sunglasses! [I stole them when he wasn't looking! Hehehe!]
morph ~ Urk… be careful with that chainsaw, wouldja? *ducks behind table* You're starting to scare me!
Hoshii-chan ~ Ok, you can paint Davis all you want! [I vote plaid. That would be fun!]
funyun ~ Hehehe! Remy, Bongo & Brak are now the official mascots of the DTG!
Remy, Bongo & Brak: *laugh evilly* [that is, if tigers can laugh… aw, heck, mine can laugh!]
Lily ~ Aw, you can't hate me! I'm far too loveable for that! C'mon, admit it! Don't make me do the "Dance Dance" dance!
Niani ~ Bats do come in flocks, you know.
Sanderson Reed was in his room, on the uppermost floor of the fortress, blissfully unaware of the scene that was taking place below. That is, until Davis' crony, Philip came barging in. The soldier's sudden appearance startled Reed, who had been idly leafing through a rather dusty novel. Reed glared at the young man. "What do you want?" He demanded.
"Sir…" Philip panted while nursing the welt on his head. "Sir… the League…"
Reed promptly set down his book, the mention of the League having captured his full attention. "Yes?" He prompted. "What of them?"
"They're here," an American-accented voice said behind Philip. Tom came up behind the invisible soldier and rendered him senseless with the butt of his rifle.
"Well, if it isn't you," Reed said lightly. He snatched up his book and flung it at the young American, but Tom was ready. He merely batted it away with his rifle – he wasn't going down that easily. Reed leapt from his chair and bolted for the exit on the opposite side of the room. Tom took off in pursuit and soon found himself in an empty hallway. The young American looked around him. Reed's clothes lay in a heap not too far from the door.
"Damn it," Tom muttered. Now he would have to fight an invisible foe. 'What I wouldn't give for some flour right now…' He thought as he surveyed the hall for any sign of Reed. All of a sudden, Tom's rifle was violently wrenched from his grasp. The floating Winchester was now aimed directly at its former owner.
Reed chuckled darkly as he cocked the rifle. "Say hello to Quatermain for me." With that, he pulled the trigger. Nothing happened – just a soft click. Out of desperation, Reed attempted to fire again. Just the same soft click. "It's not loaded," he realized.
Now it was Tom who chuckled. "Nope," he said, drawing his pistols. "But these are."
* * *
Cabrilyn slowly opened her eyes. She was not in the same room where she had lost consciousness. This place was brighter, for one thing, and cleaner, but just as frightening. Cabrilyn was lying on a cold steel table. Her wrists, ankles and waist were shackled down. She couldn't move, but she struggle nonetheless.
Owen came strolling in, surveying the struggling young woman with a bemused expression on his face. "It's a pity I have to do this. You were my finest work," he said, picking up a scalpel and examining it.
"What are you talking about?" Cabrilyn demanded, her voice trembling slightly with fear. "What are you going to do?"
"How can I put this in terms you'll understand?" Owen asked patronizingly. "I'm going to reverse my initial operation, in a matter of speaking. Unfortunately for you, you won't live through the procedure. Pity." His seedy, nasal voice showed not even the slightest hint of pity.
Cabrilyn scoffed. "I lived through your last one, didn't I?"
Owen merely raised an eyebrow. "More or less. If your talking about waking up in the morgue, that was a bit of a creative touch on my part." Cabrilyn stared at the doctor. "Oh, yes," Owen continued. "Everything from your blindness to the morgue was my doing." Cabrilyn gaped. So, she was not a failed experiment after all. In fact, she was one of Owen's greatest successes. "Now," the doctor said, scalpel in hand, "Please try to lie still – I can't have you fidgeting while I'm trying to operate, can I?"
* * *
Reed had dropped Tom's rifle and bolted. Just when he was thought he had lost his pursuer, he ran into someone he did not expect – Dorian Gray. Dorian was amusing himself by pestering a soldier, who was trying again and again to stab Dorian with a dagger. Dorian would merely laugh as the knife went through him and land the soldier a punch in the face. The soldier would try again, thinking that if Dorian could hurt him, then surely he could hurt Dorian.
"Dorian Gray?" Reed blurted, not exactly meaning to say anything out loud.
Dorian stopped in mid-laugh and stared at the place where Reed's voice had come from. The soldier tried again to stab Dorian. The immortal put on a look of annoyance and wrenched the knife from the soldier's hand. He promptly slew the young man with his own knife. "Well, Sanderson Reed," Dorian commented, stepping over the dead solder to where he presumed Reed was.
"I thought they killed you," Reed replied, careful to keep his distance.
"Funny," Dorian said in bemusement, "I was about to say the same about you."
Tom came sprinting around the bend, loaded rifle in hand. "Dorian!" He cried at the sight of the immortal. "Where's Reed?"
Dorian chuckled. "He's right here," he replied, reaching out, but he found Reed was no longer there. "Well, he was right here."
Tom was about to remark about how blatantly obvious that statement was, when he saw a floating knife, the same one that Dorian had previously buried in the body of the soldier, coming strait for him. "Oh, boy," Tom muttered. "Here we go again." As Reed struck with the knife, Tom blocked with his rifle. Dorian raised his eyebrows as he watched – Tom had much better reflexes than he'd expected, and was faring quite well. Tom knocked the invisible man back against a wall, but Reed was undeterred and came at Tom just as quick as before.
"This is getting real old," Tom said. He swung his rifle like a baseball bat, catching Reed on the side of the head as he approached. The invisible man fell to the floor, loosing his weapon in the process. Reed scrambled for the knife, but Tom kicked it away and landed Reed another blow with his rifle. Reed groaned. Tom took a wild guess at where Reed's head would be, and swung again with his rifle. He guessed right, and Reed collapsed into an unconscious heap on the floor. Tom made no more efforts to hurt the unconscious man.
Dorian stared at the younger man. "What are you waiting for? Shoot him already."
"No," Tom said. "This cannot be a fight to the death – more's the pity." He grinned slightly. Quatermain would be proud of him for that. Tom nudged the unconscious Reed with his foot and looked up at Dorian. "Come on. Let's go before this place explodes."
* * *
Skinner had finished placing the bombs and was intent on getting out of the building before they went off. He was making his way down one of the many halls, trying to remember which way he'd come from, when he heard something he never thought he'd hear – Cabrilyn screaming. Just the sound of it made Skinner's blood run cold. He took off down the hall at full run, following Cabrilyn's cries. Suddenly, Cabrilyn stopped screaming and silence reigned. A million thoughts raced through Skinner's mind, and he prayed that, if he found her, it wasn't too late.
The gentleman thief saw light coming from beneath a door near the end of the hall. That had to be where Cabrilyn was. He raced up to the door and opened it just enough to see inside – he didn't want to barge in, just in case. "Oh my God…" he breathed. What he saw was horrendous. Cabrilyn strapped to the table, her face covered in blood, passed out from the pain. That was how Owen got his kicks. Since he knew Cabrilyn wouldn't survive, he did not want to waste any sedative on her. Owen was standing over the unconscious young woman, his hands much in the same condition as Cabrilyn's face – covered in blood, Cabrilyn's blood. The doctor went to a nearby sink and retrieved a towel. He dabbed off his patient's face a little with it. "This is very hard to do with you bleeding all over the place," he commented, though he knew Cabrilyn was out cold.
When Owen turned to replace the towel, Skinner slipped noiselessly in the room. The invisible man tried very hard not to look at Cabrilyn, but found he couldn't tear his eyes from her. Blood coated her eyes and forehead and was matted in her hair. Her wrists and ankles were rubbed raw from fighting the shackles. She'd put up a good fight, but her attempts had been futile. At the sight of her, Skinner wanted to cry and be sick at the same time. She had been right, Owen was mad as hell, and he deserved to die… a very painful death.
Owen had now snatched up another scalpel and was turning it over in his hands as though he were inspecting it. He gave a small grunt of approval and bent over Cabrilyn again. In a fit of sudden rage, Skinner swatted the scalpel from Owen's hand, slicing his own hand open in the process, but the pain didn't matter. Not now, not while there was so much more at stake. "What on earth…?" Owen yelped. He backed against the sink, searching wildly for who, or what, ever had taken him by surprise. "Who's there?" He demanded, reaching behind him into the sink.
Skinner snatched up the scalpel that he'd caused Owen to drop, unknowingly giving Owen a target. Owen hurled the bloody towel at Skinner. It hit him dead on, spattering blood all over him. Skinner seemed undeterred by the fact the now he could be seen and kept coming at the mad doctor. Just when Skinner was almost upon him, Owen dipped his hand into the sink again and brought up another scalpel. The doctor swung his weapon that the gentleman thief. Skinner moved aside, but not before Owen sliced his cheek. Ignoring the wound, Skinner ducked as Owen swung again.
"Damn you!" Owen raged, slashing wildly with the scalpel, but Skinner was one step ahead of him.
The invisible man caught hold of Owen's arm. "No," Skinner said, his words ringing hate. "Damn you." In one swift movement, Skinner plunged the scalpel into the doctor's chest. The mad man let out an anguished gasp, and then with a groan and a gurgle, he collapsed dead on the floor.
* * *
An explosion rocked the building to its very foundations. Nemo steadied himself on the wall. Mina did the same. "Nemo," Mina said over the noise of falling rubble. "We have to get out of here!"
"No," Nemo said adamantly. "We've got to find…" His last words trailed off as Skinner, spattered with blood and carrying an unconscious Cabrilyn in his arms, came barreling around the corner.
Mina let out a small gasp. "Skinner… what?"
"No time for that now," Skinner said, sounding clearly traumatized. "Let's get out of here!"
"Here," Hyde offered, "Let me carry her." Skinner looked up at the monstrous Mr. Hyde, slightly surprised that he would offer to do such a thing, and carefully placed Cabrilyn in his arms. Another explosion shook the quickly collapsing building.
"Come on!" Nemo called and they raced for the door.
* * *
Tom and Dorian watched as the fortress collapsed into the snow, the wreckage spewing orange flame and jet-black smoke. Both were wondering where the rest of the League was, and were worried that neither of them had spotted them yet. "They should be out her by now," Tom said, surveying what once was Reed's fortress.
Dorian shrugged, trying not to let his concern for the others show.
"Sawyer!"
Tom and Dorian reeled around. It was Mina, followed by Nemo, Skinner and Hyde, who still had Cabrilyn in his arms. "Oh my God! What happened to her?" Tom asked.
"Two words," Skinner replied. "Doctor Owen."
"Doctor…? Skinner, what happened to you?"
Before Skinner could respond, a very familiar voice cried out from nowhere, "My hands! I can't see my hands!"
"Oh good Lord," Skinner sighed. "Davis?"
"Who?" Davis' disembodied voice replied.
Hyde let out a low chuckle. "It appears you succeeded in giving him amnesia after all."
A/N: Yes, I know. Davis lives. He was too much fun to have around, and now Skinner can harass him mercilessly because he doesn't remember who he is! Hehehehehehehe! Ahem… yes. Well. We'll get into how he survived and how he got out and all that jazz later. I promise. :-P Right-o. I'm done rambling now.