Chapter Two (Written by Jin Satoshi)
The door slammed shut as Rodney Skinner removed himself from the House, and Dorian felt a sly smirk drawing itself across his thin lips. The Invisible Man wouldn't be back to the House in a while, Dorian was sure of that. He glanced down with an arched brow at the book, wandering who in God's name would have put such a disgusting, yet intriguing thing in his library. It obviously had been there since he'd bought the place- strange, he'd read all the books in his library, and yet had never found this one. Wait, why was he getting so interested over a Karma Sutra book of all things?
Oh, you know why.
Dorian scoffed slightly, and put the book to rest on a small table as he passed it, walking back down the stairs to come to his painting. Maybe he would send the book to Skinner later, he didn't need it, he had talent without reading a book. But standing in front of his portrait, pangs of pain shivering up his spine, he couldn't help but seem amused that Mr. Skinner had actually wanted him to demonstrate. Poor Dorian wasn't aware that it had only been a joke.
Lifting his cane once more into his hands, Dorian stretched a little to unhook his precious picture, and as soon as it was in reach, he grit his teeth, and pulled it into his chest to keep it safe. He stood there for a while, panting with the effort of being near the one thing that could cause his downfall. After minutes passed, he slowly took in deep breaths, and edged tentatively down the stairs.
A day later, he wrapped the Karma Sutra book, signed it as 'Anonymous', and sent it off to Mr. Skinner, but not before he checked to make sure his painting was safe and sound beneath a trap door, wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string.
These are a few of my favourite things!
Marth: You are NOT putting that there. How embarrassing.
Sirius: I agree. Shoot her. –twitch-
Qurin: o o I think it's actually quite sma- -shot-
Sitting with his feet propped up by the fire, a small pair of glasses resting on his nose, Dorian Gray read silently. It was night outside, and unfortunately, Gray continued to read the same line over and over again. It was strange how he had settled back into his normal life so easily, but something was different inside. No, it wasn't the fact that the Vampire had left a mark, or it was painful to view his painting, it was something deeper than all that. Dorian sighed, and removed his glasses, resting his head back into the plush red chair. Getting off the subject of feeling different, Dorian pondered on why he hadn't gotten a response from Mr. Skinner yet. It had been almost a week now, and with a smirk, Dorian was sure the Invisible Thief would have run off to his teammates whimpering about how Dorian was a perverted Englishman. Then they would be totally shocked that Dorian was back, except for the Vampire- she already knew. Gray felt his smirk growing, and he tapped lightly at his chin, staring into the flames. Poor Mina. Yeah, right.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mister Dorian Gray, his book had fallen into the hands of the worst kind. The hands were young, and yet pure- pure sin. The mind was naïve, the thoughts unperverted. The form of the most malevolent evil, was, of course, American.
Agent Tom Sawyer arched both brows, picking up the small package on the doorstep, and carrying it inside. A package for Skinner? It was probably something stolen. Tom looked thoughtful for a moment, before he carried the present to his room, throwing it on his bed for later investigation.
Days later, and still, still Dorian had found no evidence that the remaining League members knew he had ... 'returned'. The Immortal sighed, standing at his window and staring out at the little, foggy dock, slender brow lofted imperiously. He pursed his lips after a moment, tapping his cane against the floor, and he finally decided. It was awful boring to hang around his 'pad' all day, he should be setting his plan to action. With or without the help of Mister Skinner.
"Skinner? Skinner where are you?" Mina stole through the hallways of the League's Headquarters, a warehouse somewhere on the east side of London, since Nemo had left on another exploration, and had... 'Forgotten' to invite them. She disregarded the fact that Rodney was probably naked and wandering, but she needed to talk to him. Even if it meant the Invisible Man would cop a grope or something of the like, Mina was just too furious with him. Seeing as she had become sort of a mother hen for Tom Sawyer, it had been a horrifying moment when she had found him staring intently at the pages of a Karma Sutra book. First she had thought it was Nemo's fault for leaving something like that around, but when Sawyer explained that it had been addressed to Skinner from an anonymous sender; Mina's last nerve broke.
"Skinner?! Dammit you perverted IDIOT! Get here NOW!" That had been the first time Mina had actually screamed when the other League members were around, poor Doctor Jekyll and Tom hovering awkwardly behind her, having no idea of what to say. Skinner, however, did not appear, for he wasn't even in the HQ.
Dorian walked silently down the cobblestone street, his top hat tilted with just a bit of attitude, the sexy beast.
Marth: x x' Was that very relevant?
His cane was replaced with a black umbrella, and he seemed unaffected by the soft pattering rain above. Though, slowly, a small smirk was drawn across his lips, and he stopped suddenly, tilting his head just to the side so he could look back from the corner of his eye.
"Now Mister Skinner, don't take me for an idiot. I know you're following me." Silence greeted him, for a few long, expanded moments, and he gave a small inkling of a shrug, and continued walking, soon disappearing in the mist. A sigh au revoir-ed the Immortal's exit, seemingly coming out of no where, when suddenly a cane came down, knocking the Invisible' man's shoulder.
"Only a fool makes a sound, Mister Skinner. You're a little rusty, aren't you?" It felt kind of strange that he was talking to mid-air, but that didn't seem to matter. Skinner went to move the cane away, but Dorian simply knocked his shoulder again.
"Hey- ... hey! Easy!" Rodney flinched a little, and turned suddenly. Dorian blinked, and before Skinner could leave, he reached out, managing to grab his arm. Well, he hoped it was his arm.
Qurin: AHHH!
Sirius: It isn't what you're thinking, you perverted idiots.
"Let go." Skinner demanded, but Dorian did nothing, except smirk in that usual smarmy, cold way.
"No... but I think you should listen to me." He lofted his brow again, pulling Skinner just a little bit closer. "If it isn't too much trouble, you should keep a closer eye on Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde from now on." Dorian chuckled softly, finally releasing Skinner's arm, the man stumbling back a little. Once Rodney regained his composure, he slipped next to Dorian, quickly giving him a good thump over the head, before he disappeared completely. Dorian grunted a little, readjusting his hat, and straightening his back once more. However, poor Skinner couldn't resist his natural instinct, and came back a few seconds later. Dorian wasn't prepared, and unsheathed his sword too belatedly, Skinner grabbing a grope and fleeing again. Gray spun around, blade out, hoping to cut the feeler's throat, but it sliced nothing but air. Dorian sighed just slightly, brows furrowing a little. Now he knew how Mina felt.
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Despite the fact that Mrs. Harker had put Tom in time out and taken the book off him, he had always been able to pull things back. After all, he was American, and almost as sneaky as Rodney Skinner. Now, he lay on his bed again, the little red book above him. Jekyll blinked, peering in.
"Tom? What are you...?" He began, spotted the book, and becoming intrigued, stepped in the room to have a peek as well. Both sat side by side, staring down at the pages, all innocence gone.
"Whoa." "I didn't know that was physically possible." "Whoa." "Incredible." "Whoa."