Disclaimer: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie is copyright of 20th Century Fox. No infringement is intended.

GODS AND GAMBLERS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter One: Just A Dream Away

And when it's over, I dream again. The wise men say that it's all in vain, but do wise men go insane?

There was a war between the cowboys and the Indians going on right outside the master bedroom complete with whooping war cries and simulated sounds of cannons, shotguns and the deadly whooshing of arrows. A rather loud tea party was going on just down the hallway from the cowboys and Indians war. The tea party included shrill shrieking every so often when the tea would end up somewhere other than the drinker's mouth. In his study, the room right below the master bedroom, a symphony was being played by the world's youngest composer who sounded like she was making up the music on the spot. The butler was in the back garden singing a song in his native tongue rather exuberantly. The only people in the house being quiet at this moment were the lord and lady of the manor.

Doctor Henry Jekyll, though he loved his children dearly, was ready to strangle every last one of them for some peace and quiet. He had been spoiled for many years by living alone and had taken the customary quiet for granted. Now, it was a luxury never to realize- not with four children running around the house along with a butler, nanny and housekeeper who also acted as a cook. The townhouse was always loud with some sort of noisy game or argument going on. The only peace came after the children were in bed, the two female employees had gone home and the butler [Hasaan] had retired to the apartment behind the house.

He rubbed his eyes for a moment and then flopped face first onto his and Mina's bed. Whatever thought he had about the movement stopping the noise was wrong, because the noise continued unabated. The cacophonous symphony that was his home seemed like it would never end.

The door that connected the bedroom to the sitting room opened and closed. The soft swishing of a skirt confirmed who it was.

"Henry," came Mina's voice with a reprimanding tone. "We have to be at the courthouse soon and you're not even dressed."

He rolled over on his back and surveyed his wife. Wilhelmina Jekyll, previously Harker and even before that Murray, was standing over him with an amused smile. She was clad in a becoming black dress and her reddish-brown hair was pulled back in a severe bun. And her statement had been correct. He was only wearing his pants and shirt- the rest of his ensemble was lying over the chair in front of Mina's dressing table. She smiled and sat next to him on the bed. If he hadn't known better, he would have never believed that she had four children.

"They're half yours, you know," she reminded him, picking up on the exact cause for his present distress.

"Well, they seemed like a good idea at the time," he muttered.

"And now they're growing up."

"I don't ever remember being that noisy as a child."

Mina laughed. "You were an only child. And I imagine that you were the type of child who would have preferred to read than play outside."

"And I'm sure you were the little hellion who ran all her dresses through the mud." He paused. "Which would explain where Rosemary gets it from."

She just laughed and shook her head. Rosemary was their youngest child- she was almost three and had a penchant for getting dirtier and ruining more clothes than her older brother. "Hurry up, Henry," she said leaning over him and planting a kiss on his forehead. "We do have an appointment to keep." She stood up and exited their bedroom. Her soft voice could be heard in the hallway, telling Tommy to move his cowboys and Indians war in his bedroom.

Henry smiled to himself and stood up. One boy and three girls… he would have liked it to be a more even split between the two genders, but that did not happen. He remembered the awe and excitement when Tommy had been born. Of course, he had delivered many children throughout the course of his career, but it was much different when it was his own. And now Tommy was five and it seemed like only yesterday he had been born. The lad did not have much time as an only child, because the twins- Catherine and Mary Anne- were born only a year later and Rosemary a year after that. And those four were more than enough.

He quickly adjusted his suspenders and then attached his collar to his shirt. The court summons they had received had seemed fairly random. He was not entirely sure it was customary practice for certain individuals to be asked to be present during a trial. Perhaps, in some cases, the individual would be needed as a witness, but he could not imagine what he and Mina might have seen that would cause them to be witnesses to a crime. His fingers deftly tied his tie. And who in the world did they know that might be on trial? It was not Skinner- the man had been around only yesterday looking for some fiscal assistance. And if Skinner had landed himself in jail- again- they usually received some sort of message asking them to post his bail.

No… it wasn't Skinner. And even though Rosemary was fascinated by the fact that he was invisible, if Skinner had to stay somewhere for the night, it was always across the square with Tom and Becky. Not only did they not have the room here, Henry was not entirely sure he wanted the thief- however much of a gentleman- around his children.

Then who could it be? Nemo was not due for a parole trial for another four years and it was unlikely that the authorities would let him out anyways. The Captain did have a life sentence and he would not be released after serving only six years of it. Henry shrugged to himself and put on his vest and jacket. Quickly combing his hair once more and putting his pocket watch and billfold in place, he left the bedroom, glad the hallway was free of the cowboys and Indians war and the tin and pewter figures that went with it. The tea party appeared to have ended, but the symphony was still in full force.

He walked quickly down the stairs and to the back of the house on the first floor. "Rosemary! Get off the piano!" he called into his study. The 'music' stopped and there was a soft thud as the three-year-old slid off the piano bench. A tiny waif-like figure appeared in the doorway of his study with a grin plastered all over her face.

"Papa," she said in a voice that reminded him very much of the times Mina would roll her eyes and say 'Henry.' With one hand on her hip, the girl even looked like Mina. Rosemary scooped up a doll she had left outside the door to his study and made for the stairs. Henry tried not to laugh, remembering how he had told her she was not allowed to bring her toys in his study. At least she had listened.

"Rosemary, you are too smart for your own good," he muttered, walking into his study and quickly inspecting it for renegade dolls. When he decided that the room was doll-free, he sat down at his desk and opened his appointment book to the next day.

He would be at the clinic all day tomorrow- there were appointments from the time he officially opened to when he closed and that would not include any drop-ins. Pennington- his assistant, a young man fresh out of medical school- would have to take care of any of those. His blue eyes glanced at the unopened letter lying on his desk. It was from the local hospital wanting him to join the staff as their Chief Surgeon. That was a responsibility he did not want as it would drain him of time and energy that could be much better spent at home. He had a perfectly prosperous business with the clinic and between the income from that, his family's money and Mina's job teaching science at the young ladies' college… well, they had a comfortable income on which to live.

Shutting the book, he stood up and left his study, shutting the door behind him. Hasaan was coming in from the back garden and bowed when he saw Henry. Hasaan had been Nemo's butler aboard the Nautilus, but had asked if he could work for Mina and Henry when Nemo was arrested. They had agreed. Hasaan was extraordinarily likable now that he was not something of a housekeeper as he had been on the Nautilus. He dressed in authentic garb from India, bowed to everyone and called them 'Sahib.'

"The carriage will be here in twenty minutes, Dr. Jekyll," Hasaan said, his voice tinged with a slight accent. A large basket was over his arm, indicating that the vegetables in it were going to be part of the menu for that night's supper.

"Thank you, Hasaan," he replied. Hasaan bowed again and left the small parlor to a side door leading to the kitchen.

Hasaan was, for all intents and purposes, Nemo's solicitor. He took care of all the financial assets and property including the Nautilus. However, all of Nemo's accounts were frozen except for the rather generous trust fund that was in Hasaan's name. In fact, the fund was such that Hasaan did not have to work another day in his life, but insisted upon remaining the butler for the Jekylls. The Nautilus- which, it turns out, had co-owners, Nemo and Hasaan- was in dry dock at this moment. Henry did not know where and did not think that Hasaan was going to divulge the information. The idea behind the co-ownership was that if something happened to Nemo- either death or prison- the ship would go entirely to Hasaan and not to the British government or anyone else. And it had worked. No one would be privileged to Nemo's science unless he wanted them to be.

Voices came from the hallway and he assumed that Hasaan had given the cook the vegetables and then had run into Rosemary on his way to attend to a matter upstairs. "Missee Sahib," Hasaan said in a doting voice. "Should you not be in the nursery?"

"Ah," Rosemary started in her small voice. "P-ano?" she asked. Henry smiled to himself. She still could not pronounce 'piano' and insisted not even trying to pronounce the 'i.'

"I believe we have heard enough of your beautiful music for one day. Perhaps you should allow me to accompany you back upstairs?"

Silence came from the hallway. Henry smiled, knowing that Rosemary had gone upstairs with Hasaan and would not be causing more trouble down here.

He shook his head and went into the front hallway to wait for the carriage

Wilhelmina Jekyll was entirely ill at ease with the courtroom situation. They had arrived at the courthouse early and were immediately stopped by a police officer. He named the prison that he was a guard for and Mina recognized it as the one where Nemo was.

"We would like to know if you would be willing to take in a prisoner until his parole period is over and his assets are released back to him," the man had asked.

"It would depend entirely upon who the prisoner is," Henry had replied diplomatically, expertly hiding the fact that he would sooner jump off a bridge than take in a hardened criminal.

The officer had nodded respectfully. "It will, of course, be entirely your choice." With that, the man had gone off through a side door in the courthouse. Now, she was sitting on the hard bench next to Henry, wondering why they were here and wishing it was over already. She almost wished she was still a vampire, because then it would have been quite easy to lay the place to waste. But no… she did not want that evil anymore.

The trial had yet to start. Her mind wandered to her job… the girls she taught at the college had all assumed that she was single and had no plans to marry. None of them understood that she loved her family dearly, but would also not give up her work for them. All of the girls had an idea that once they married they were confined to the home and family. Mina knew that society looked down on her for what did, God did she know it, but the results were well worth it. She glanced at Henry's profile. There was no way he would have told her 'no' when she said she was going to teach. He believed in her independence as much as she did. And he was probably afraid of the physical damage she could inflict…

The judge walked into the room and everyone stood. Two guards came in from a side door and a man- presumably a prisoner- walked between them. It was Nemo.

She felt her heart constrict in her chest. Henry grasped her hand and she knew that he was feeling exactly the same thing. What had happened to Nemo in prison? Her mind flashed to the regal, proud captain of the Nautilus- a man who would never stoop to anyone and answered only to God himself. The man looked like Nemo, but something was amiss. He had lost weight. The clothes he was wearing were the ones he had been arrested in six years earlier and they hung off his frame. His dark brown hair now had prominent gray streaks, defining his age that had previously been hidden. The turban had been unfolded and Nemo held it gingerly in his hands as the guards motioned for him to sit on a long bench in front of the court.

The judge sat down and everyone in attendance at the court followed suit. Her azure eyes flicked to the front of the court. There was no jury, no reporters- almost as if someone wanted this covered up. And it was all wrong. No prisoners with a life sentence got a parole trial for the first ten years at least. It had been only six years for Nemo. Something was wrong and she was not entirely sure what it was. Her gaze went back to Nemo. He was sitting straight and tall as though he wanted to prove that something had not been broken within his mind. His expression was calm and his almost black eyes said nothing about what he was feeling.

Mina exchanged a glance with Henry, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. His eyes were darker than hers with specks of hazel in them. Those bits of hazel had not been there when she met him many years ago- as the tormented Dr. Jekyll with his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. The beast had finally allowed the reintegration process after he had helped them to destroy Count Dracula.

The judge picked up a piece of paper and then looked at it again. He then cleared his throat. "Captain… er… Nemo." He paused and surveyed Nemo from over the tops of his glasses. "Please rise."

Nemo stood gracefully, his hands folded behind his back, still clutching the unfolded turban. The bright blue fabric caused quite a contrast from his dark skin.

"You have been accused of piracy…" The judge then went on to list a number of crimes that seemed to go on forever. Mina raised an eyebrow. It was hard to believe that Nemo was a hardened criminal. He was always the gentle humane man in her eyes, not a ruthless pirate. Nemo did not look in the slightest way disturbed by the list of crimes.

The judge finally finished his speech. "Are you guilty of these crimes?"

Nemo inclined his head towards the judge. "I am," he answered simply.

"You have served six years of a life sentence, do you feel that you have been rehabilitated?"

The former captain's expression did not change. "I was rehabilitated for my crimes many years before I was arrested."

The judge actually began to turn red with fury. "Explain yourself!" he sputtered.

The mere fact that Nemo did not seem intimidated or eager to be released seemed to be the main factor adding to the judge's infuriation. Mina felt sorry for Nemo, if that was he had to deal with for six years. She had no doubts that he handled everything in his normal regal fashion, but it couldn't have been easy in any sense. Nemo's expression never changed and his hands remained behind his back, holding the turban.

"I was raised a cabin boy and knew no other way of life. If the Crown could not prevent a small boy from being corrupted by pirates, then I do not know what they can do. The only logical conclusion would be that the government allows criminals to be raised and then punishes them when they know no other way of life. In essence, you create criminals and then punish what you have created." Nemo paused. "I saw the suffering of my fellow man many years ago and when I saw that I decided that I must help others instead of stealing from them and killing them."

The judge was beet red by this time. Mina glanced from him to Nemo. Something was not right. The judge opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Mina followed the judge's gaze and saw a man sitting in the front row of the courtroom. The man had a sharp look on his face and was nodding, almost imperceptibly, at the judge. It was like he was urging the judge to decide something that the judge was disinclined to decide.

"Is that all you have to say in your defense?" the judge asked, barely controlling his rage.

Nemo nodded, pleasantly.

The judge opened and closed his mouth several times, his beady black eyes never once leaving the man in the front row. He banged his gavel several times although it was unnecessary- the entire courtroom was completely silent. Mina exchanged a glance with Henry and knew that he was thinking the same thing as her- something was wrong.

The judge took in a deep breath. "Captain Nemo, I…"

To Be Continued...