A/N: First of all, thanks to all who read and reviewed the first chapter. I hope that the story lives up to your expectations. Second, please be warned that the rating on this story has gone up to PG-13, mostly for cursing. The League's descendent does a bit of this, and though I try to keep it to a minimum and don't use really bad words, if you are easily offended, you may not want to read. Just wanted to let you know.
Disclaimer: Forgot to put one in Chapter 1, I think. Anywho, no one belongs to me except for Jessica (Tru) Rose. I make no claims otherwise, please don't sue me.
One more side note: When it comes to Jessica Rose, think Eliza Dushku playing Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Or really, Eliza Dushku in any role. My girl's full of that attitude and confidence, and I wanted to make sure it's read the right way.
Now, on with chapter 2!
Chapter 2- Blast from the Past
The League opened their eyes to see that they were standing in front of a strange-looking building on a busy sidewalk. Interestingly enough, no one seemed to notice that six individuals had appeared out of nowhere as though they had been dropped there from the sky. People simply kept brushing past them, hurrying on with their lives.
The group stood there a moment, taking in their surroundings, the fact slowly sinking in that they were in the future. Cars whizzed past them on the street and to their mild surprise, there wasn't a horse and buggy in sight.
"Well Nemo, it seems that your automobile idea is quite the fad in the future," Skinner remarked, causing a slight hint of pride to enter the captain's eyes. Though these automobiles were vastly different from Nemo's, it was clear that they were of the same relative design.
"How much time do we have?" Tom asked, causing Quatermain to pull the timer from his pocket.
"Uhhh…two hours, if I'm reading this thing right," the hunter responded, sticking the odd device back into his coat.
"Great. We've got two whole hours to find a person we don't know in a city we've never been to in a time that's not even our own!" Skinner complained.
"Well, I'm not quite sure that we've never been to this city, Mr. Skinner," Mina said, pointing to a familiar shape in the cityscape as bell chimes that they knew well rang through the city.
"Big Ben?" Skinner questioned as the chimes died away.
"So this is London in the 21st century then," Jekyll commented quietly.
"Well, I suppose that helps us a little," Quatermain said. "Although there's no telling how much the city may have changed over the years."
"Okay then, I guess the only thing left to do is to start asking around," Tom remarked, ready to get down to it.
"We can't just start asking random people on the street if they know this girl, Agent Sawyer," Mina replied crisply. Tom shrugged his shoulders slightly and Quatermain silently turned from the group and walked into a shop not far from where they had landed. The others followed him without comment.
A bell tinkled over the door as they entered. Quatermain looked around, observing the empty shop for a moment before approaching the lone cashier standing behind a glass case.
"Umm, pardon me, miss," he asked. "I was wondering just how one would go about locating someone in this city. I'm trying to find a friend of mine and I'm not certain of the address."
The clerk looked at him oddly, raising her eyebrows at the question. "Did you try the phone book?" she asked slowly, obviously thinking that he was slightly deranged. Quatermain looked over his shoulders to his companions, then back at the clerk.
"No…do you perhaps have one I could look at?" The girl rolled her eyes and pulled a thick book from under the counter. She plopped it down on the counter.
"Knock yourself out, gramps," she said. Quatermain slowly opened the book and flipped through its pages, trying not to look as confused as he was. Mina came up beside him and peered over his shoulder, but was just as mystified as the hunter was.
The clerk observed them for a moment before rolling her eyes again and sighing heavily. If there had been any doubt in her mind of the mental capabilities of these people before, there certainly was none now. "It's arranged by last names, in alphabetical order," she said slowly. Quatermain and Mina glanced up at her, then continued to flip through the book.
"Ah," Quatermain said. "Here we are." He pointed to a name in the book then ran his finger over to the address. "1321 Birch Street, Apartment 2B." He looked up at the clerk and tapped his finger on the page. "Where might we find this street, miss?"
Again, the girl's eyebrows rose slightly as she peered at him. "Art district," she said, sounding somewhat bored. "Near the river front." Quatermain closed the phone book and pushed it towards her.
"Well, I thank you for your services, miss." With that, he nodded to her and exited the shop.
"No problem," she answered. As they left Quatermain thought he heard her mutter "Freaks," under her breath, but he supposed he couldn't blame her.
"Any luck?" Sawyer asked as Quatermain, Mina, and Jekyll exited the shop. He, Skinner and Nemo had decided to stay outside.
"1321 Birch Street," Quatermain answered. "Apartment 2B." With that, he started walking down the street. Sawyer exchanged impressed looks with Skinner as they followed him.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived outside of a slightly run down building in a crummy part of town. "Reminds me of some of my old haunts," Skinner said as they climbed the stairs to an apartment on the second level. Quatermain glanced at him over his shoulder before raising his fist to knock on the door they were now in front of.
The sound of locks turning could be heard just before the door swung open to reveal a striking looking girl in her early twenties. She was dressed in a tank top and ragged jeans, her long dark curly hair falling off her shoulders. She looked at them with mild confusion. "Yeah?" she asked, her accent most definitely not British.
"Miss Jessica Rose?" Quatermain asked. She stuck her chin out slightly and looked him over.
"Who's askin'?" she said defiantly. Quatermain's eyebrows rose and he glanced back to his companions.
"My name is Allan Quatermain. May we speak with you?" The girl stared at him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.
"What the hell," she said and turned, walking back into her apartment. She left the door open for them to enter. Quatermain paused for a moment before entering, slightly taken aback by the girl's behavior. As the League filed in, he saw her slip a long dagger into a side pocket of her pants. He glanced around the apartment, which was really more of a loft, and immediately noticed the collection of swords and knives that decorated one wall. Sheets of music were scattered over a table, and a guitar lay on the couch against one wall. The apartment was rather messy, but had the feel of the controlled chaos of an artist's studio.
"So," the girl said, turning to face the League as Jekyll closed the door behind him. As they spread out she got a better look at their clothes and raised the glass she had picked up. "You guys aren't from Deirdre's theatre troupe, are you? Cause I swear, I know nothing about a pig in the dressing rooms."
Quatermain glanced around with amusement, before trying to figure out how to explain to the girl their situation. "Miss Rose, are you willing to believe the unbelievable?"
She looked at him suspiciously. "Well, I guess it depends on whether or not the unbelievable is the truth," she answered. "And don't call me Miss Rose."
Quatermain looked a little uncomfortable at the idea, but continued nonetheless. "Alright then…Jessica…"
"Tru," she interrupted. He looked at her, confused. "Nobody calls me Jessica. I go by my middle name, Tru."
"Tru," Quatermain repeated.
"Right," she answered. "Now, you were saying something about the unbelievable?"
"Yes, well, Miss…Tru, we have reason to believe that you are in immediate danger."
Tru laughed. "I can take care of myself, thanks. And besides, who exactly are you people? I mean, names would be nice."
The League exchanged glances, unsure of how to proceed, not knowing just how much the girl knew of her ancestors. Deciding to break the ice, Tom stepped forward.
"Tom Sawyer," he said, extending his hand. She shook it, looking him over, still a little confused.
"Nice to meet you," she said, glancing over to the rest of the League.
When no one else ventured forward, Tom started introducing them. "Henry Jekyll, Mina Harker, Rodney Skinner…"
At the last name, Tru's face darkened, and she pulled the dagger from her pocket. "Get out," she snarled, staring at Skinner. Everyone was taken aback as she pointed the knife at him and gestured towards the door. "Get the hell out of my flat!"
"Hold on now," Skinner objected, holding up his hands in a pacifying manner. "What did I do?"
Tru however, wasn't listening. She waved the dagger around as she spoke heatedly. "If my father sent you band of freaks out here to try and get me back to New York, he can forget it. I don't know how he found me, but I swear, you can tell him to kiss my…"
"I can assure you, Miss Rose, your father is not the man who sent us," Nemo said calmly. She stared at him for a moment before lowering the dagger to her side.
"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.
"I am Captain Nemo," he answered in his usual calm manner. She cocked an eyebrow and looked at him strangely.
"Nemo," she said slowly. He nodded slightly. She walked over to stand in front of him, staring into his calm deep eyes.
"If this is Deirdre's idea of a joke…" she started.
"It's no joke, Tru," Tom said. "You're in real danger." Tru turned and looked at him for a moment, then looked back at Nemo. After a moment of silence, she turned her gaze back to Quatermain.
"Start at the beginning," she said. "Speak slowly. Use small words." She crossed her arms across her chest and waited for him to begin.
A/N: Any Slider fans out there catch the reference??? Hmmm???