Okay! Here it is, the first chapter...sorry that took so long to get out! I had a huge case of writers block on the ending. Oh well, hope you all enjoyed; please leave me a review...any helpful comments or suggestions welcomed! Oh and I (sadly) can't claim ownership over the League or and of the characters from the books
Anacalagon: lots of Skinner...well we shall see (
Raven Slivers: Ok, ok it's starting to be written. Glad you liked the imagery
Funyun: Good guess!
Clez: There I got it up! It's my turn with the suspense now lol
Duce-Gemini: Thanks for your help...and yes sorry but the romance stays grin
Okay now on with the story...from now on the shout outs will be at the end of each chapter.
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Tom smiled; when Nemo had said "See the world..." he hadn't been exaggerating. After leaving Africa they had traveled to India-Nemo's home country-a strange and beautiful land. Tom agreed with Nemo that the British needed to hand it back over to its people; the League had helped out with this problem a bit. Tom chuckled at the memory; it had ended up with Mina acting as Kali-goddess of death- and with a bit of help from Skinner and Mr. Hyde they had managed to scare the wits out of several British officers who had been abusing their power.They had made many ports of call all over Asia and the South Pacific and now having rounded the tip of South America, they were headed to America. Tom was standing at the very front of the deck watching as the shore line drew closer. He heard the door open behind him; the clicking of heels announced Mina's presence. She leaned on the rail beside him, staring out at the sea.
"Looking forward to going home Agent Sawyer?" Tom smiled, despite having become good friends she still called him by his title, though it didn't have the formality it once had.
"Yeah, guess I am. It's been almost a year since I left." Tom sighed "I just hope it'll be a bit more joyful this time." Tom's mind wondered back to the last time he'd come home. It had been to bury his best friend. Mina put a hand on his shoulder; she was the only one he had told about Huck. "Tom," She turned him to face her "You need to let them go peacefully to their graves." Tom jerked his head up sharply
"What!" Mina sighed
"Tom it was not your fault that Huck or Allan died; we all know that." He sighed and started to reply but Mina put a finger to his lips. "No; it was their choice, and they chose to save your life Tom. Frankly, I for one am very glad that they did." A ghost of a smile played across Tom's face.
"Thanks." Tom knew that Mina was right; he just didn't want to let them go, at least not yet.
"Now, Agent Sawyer I believe that Nemo will be serving dinner soon."
Walking into the dining room Tom noticed that even though they were the last ones to the table the food hadn't been served. Tom and Mina took their costmary seats on the left side of the table across from Jekyll and Skinner; Nemo sat at the head.
"Bout time you two showed up. We was beginning to think that Sawyer here had jumped overboard to try to get there faster." Skinner said. The thief's white make-up bent up into a smirk, Tom laughed.
"Not hardly."
"Indeed Tom, I haven't seen you this excited in quite some time." Jekyll said. Tom shrugged.
"Well, they say home's where the heart is. Till now I've never really understood that." Conversation was cut short at the cooks started filing in with the food. It was the unusual Indian cuisine that Tom found he was actually starting to enjoy. Silence fell over the group for the remainder of the meal; even Skinner's ever-going mouth was quiet. Pushing his empty plate forward Tom leaned back in his chair.
"Nemo," The captain glanced up "where are we going to make port?"
"New Orleans." Tom's heart skipped a beat.
"That's right on the Mississippi!" thought Tom excitedly
"Tom is everything ok?" Mina asked, noticing the look on his face.
"Yeah, I just realized how close to my home we really are. It would only take me about four days to get there."
"Well, if you're going to be so close, why not just pop in for a little visit?" Everyone looked at Skinner in surprise. "What? Sawyer here has been moping bout that girl of his for long enough. He needs to pay her a visit." At this Tom's face turned a deep shade of red. Mina raised her eyebrows and Jekyll chuckled quietly. Tom, quite red in the face, stood up.
"Um...I think I'll get ready to go ashore." As he stood up to leave the room the rest of the League tried unsuccessfully to hide their smiles.
The Nautilus docked under the cover of darkness. The League had agreed to meet in the hold of the Nautilus. The first thing that Tom noticed when he walked into the room was the large covered object on the far side of the room. Nemo noticed Tom's staring at it and allowed a small smile to play across his face.
"Agent Sawyer, I believe that you will be most interested in this." Nemo walked over to the object and pulled the cover off in one swift motion. Tom gasped.
"You rebuilt it!" in front of Tom stood a completely rebuilt Nemo-mobile. Nemo just gave a small smile to the surprised American and opened the door to the driver's seat.
"Would you care to give us the honor Agent Sawyer?"
"You...you want me to drive?" Skinner chuckled and slapped a hand on Tom's shoulder.
"Just try not to drive it into a building this time, huh?" Tom tried to glare at the thief, but couldn't keep a smile from crossing his face. Skinner shoved him forward.
"Go on; don't have all day!" Tom shook his head and climbed into the car. It has the roof on this time.
"Well this could be interesting" Tom thought as the rest of the League climbed into the car; Mina took the front seat. Throwing a smile at Mina Tom leaned back in his seat.
"So, where to Nemo?" Nemo, sitting between Jekyll and Skinner in the back, leaned forward.
"We will be heading here." He pointed to a place on a map which he handed to Mina "It's marked." Mina nodded, studying it for a moment.
Tom turned the car on and headed for the hatch that was opening; pulling down the gangway Tom smiled remembering the last time he had driven a car down it. As if sensing his thoughts Mina leaned over to him.
"Please do try to drive a bit slower this time." Tom laughed
"Aye, aye, ma'm. Now which way do I go?" Mina glanced back at the map before answering.
"Turn right at the end of the dock, then left after six blocks."
"Will we be passin' any pubs?" Skinner leaned up. Mina turned and glared at the thief.
"Though the answer is most likely yes we will not be stopping. The last thing we need is attention and a drunk invisible man would hardly be discreet!" Skinner slumped back in his seat muttering under his breath about never getting to have fun. A comfortable silence fell over the group interrupted occasionally by Mina giving Tom directions.
Pulling up in front of the hotel that Nemo had chosen, the League all stepped out.
"Where should I put the car?" Tom asked after helping Jekyll get the bags out of the back.
"I would pull it around back. It will be less likely to be seen there." Nemo said. Tom nodded and got back into the car. The rest of the League headed into the hotel.
Tom pulled the car down the alley and parked it behind the building. It was a tight fit but Tom was pleased to find he had gotten it back with out a scratch. He smiled remembering all he had put the first car through; it was hard to believe that only seven months had passed since he first met the League in Gray's library. It seemed to Tom as if it had been years ago. A lot had changed since then, himself mostly. To the others he might have appeared to be the same old care free, adventure seeking, optimistic Tom Sawyer but he knew this wasn't true. The loss of his best friend and his mentor still weighed heavily on his mind. He had also changed for the better too; thanks to Quatermain he had matured from a reckless boy into a strong American agent. Sure he still loved a good adventure but he was more aware of the dangers they brought with them.
Looking up Tom realized that he had been walking down the alley and was now standing at the waters edge where it ended. Taking a deep breath he leaned on the wooden rail that lined the side of the river. The familiar smells of the Mississippi brought back a flood of memories.
Tom had no idea how long he had been standing there before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he found Mina standing beside him.
"When you didn't come in we thought that something might have happened." She explained.
"Sorry bout that...I was just thinking." Looking over at Mina he saw that she was silently urging him to continue. Over the past few months they had become good friends; the League as a whole had become a lot closer but Mina seemed to be the one that Tom found him self going to when he needed to talk.
"I've spent all of my life on the banks of this river, until I joined the service that is." Tom sighed "I left a lot of things unresolved when I left home, things that I should have taken care of."
"Family?" Mina asked then shook her head "I'm sorry, it's not my place to ask."
"No, it's ok. I need to deal with it any way. My brother and I were barley speaking when I left and..."
"You have a brother?" Mina interrupted, clearly surprised
"Uh, yeah half-brother, he's a couple years younger than me."
"Two of you; I feel for your parents." Mina joked, Tom chuckled lightly
"Yeah well Sid and I are about as different as you can get. He was the one that followed all the rules, never skipped out on school, and did his best to make sure that I got caught and punished for all the mischief that I got into. Poor Aunt Polly, I'll bet that I caused every gray hair on her head." Seeing the confusion in Mina's eyes he elaborated. "My parents died when I was pretty young so my Aunt Polly raised Sid and I."
"And you were that bad to her?" there was a teasing light to Mina's eyes as she said this.
"Well I never honestly meant to be, it's just that swimming, playing hooky, treasure hunting, or being a pirate was so much more exciting than going to school." Mina laughed.
"One would think so." The conversation lulled for a moment before Mina asked Tom the question that she had been wondering since dinner. "So was Skinner correct when he said that you had a girl?"
Tom blushed; he had guessed that this one was coming. He had told Skinner about a lot of things during the weeks that Skinner had spent in the infirmary recovering from his burns that he a gotten when he had saved Tom's life.
"Becky; we've kind of been sweethearts since we were kids. Though the last time I saw her was not a good one. I told her that I was going after the Fantom and she begged me not to. I said that I had to; and I did...the man had just killed Huck and I couldn't live with the fact that he was still out there killing. I think that she understood but...I don't know."
"Does she know that you're still alive?" Tom shook his head.
"Every time I sat down to write her a letter I couldn't do it." Tom hung his head; Mina reached over and lifted his face to look him in the eye.
"I think, perhaps, that it's time for you to go home Agent Sawyer." Tom looked at her in surprise.
"Are you saying that I should leave the League?" asked Tom. The League had become a second family to Tom; the thought of leaving it made him feel queasy.
"Tom Sawyer." Mina's voice held the same reprimanding tone that reminded him of Aunt Polly "You will always be a part of the League." Her voice softened a bit "I was merely suggesting that you should see to your family and friends, who are no doubt worried about you."
"You're right...as usual." Mina smiled.
"Then I shall let the others know that you are planning on leavening us in the morning."
"In the morning?" Mina laughed at the look on Tom's face and started walking back to the hotel.
"I know that you would be no fun to have around when you want to go do something Agent Sawyer. You have no patience."