First of all, let me just say wow! I've written fanfics in different genres and headings, but LXG fans are great! Thank you so much, guys! I've never finished anything past a chapter 3 or something cause I didn't think anyone was reading it!. Shoutouts to Sawyer Fan, Silent Bob 453, Faust, and new reader Samyo.

Also, there may be longer gaps between chapters, since I'll have to go back to University soon, but fear not! I shall try to get something to you every week or so, so please don't give up!

Nautilus swept along the Channel, silently. The inky night seemed to flee before it and the sea had no choice but be cut by the mighty Sword of the Ocean. The trip would only be two hours across, but the team would take any rest handed them at this point. The captain had fallen asleep in his chair on the bridge, Rad and Nathoo taking the watch. Nemo had not been feeling well lately, and removed himself from the party. The ship needed him to be at his full potential. His first mate, Ishmael had been lost to him through the treachery of that fop, Dorian Gray. Ishmael had been with him since the beginning, since his escape from admiralty laws, almost twenty years ago.

Skinner was surprisingly asleep as well. He had taken to skulking about the passageways at night, lifting what little trinkets the crew had squirreled away. The novelty had worn off somewhere rounding the Cape of Good Hope. The thief was floating in that dream again, the one where he could see his reflection again not painted up like a death mask. He hated that dream with a passion.

Mrs Harker had retired before the others. The man's blood tasted like the cheap drinks he had been buying and it made her feel slightly woozy. She could feel the world spinning around her, even in her sleep. Red eyes watched her as she walked in her garden at night. Johnathan was beside her, holding her around the shoulders.

"Mina, you're chilled to the bone." He undid the buttons and draped it over her.

"Thank you Johnathan, dearest." Even for a woman of her stature, she has to look up to meet her husband's eye. His face was as lovely as ever, those eyes she could get lost in. The stars in the night skies were jealous, throwing themselves from their lofty position to the earth below.

"Mina, darling, I have something to ask you," he whispered.

"What is it?" She could see a flash of fear in his face as he waited for her permission to ask it.

"Wilhemina, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" She blinked, confused. Johnathan was biting his lip, afraid of her answer. The wedding band was missing from her finger, she could feel its absence now. Not again. Please God, not again…

"Yes Johnathan. I will marry you." Mina could feel everything slowing down. The small band of gold slid across her finger agonizingly slow. Harker's smile widened like a crack in a dam about to burst. The low rustle came from behind the ancient yew tree once more. This time, she knew what was coming.

Henry was still awake, staring at the ceiling of his apartment, sweating profusely. The case of the terrible vials sat open taunting him a short distance away.

"Let me out, Henry," Hyde's voice whispered in his mind. "You remember Paris, don't you?" Jekyll screwed his eyes shut, trying to escape it. The smell of blood came back at full force, causing him to gag slightly. He tried to place it with some innocuous operation he had performed, but came up with none.

"No! I won't do it again!" he screamed. The doctor turned over and put a pillow over his head, a small boy hiding from the monsters in the darkness. But now, he was the monster in the darkness. He was getting weaker, he could feel it.

"Such restraint. I wonder how long it will last."

"No, Edward, never again!" The feather pillow seemed to bear down on him, slowly sending him into unconsciousness.

Just let go. Never.

Sawyer was resting peacefully, a welcome change. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the big beautiful sky. He was in his own private Arcadia, the river lazily carrying steamboats down past the big oxbow. The fishing pole was in the water, bobbing slowly from his seat on the pier. It seemed a lot smaller now.

"I always wanted to see the Gulf," he said aloud, watching the boat disappear from sight.

"Why go there? There must a hundred more places better than that." Tom looked behind him, wondering if the heat had finally dried up his brain. There he was, lying on his back, feet black as mud from running around barefoot all the time, hat down over his eyes.

"Huck, you're alive!" he gulped.

"Well, a' course I am, you knot head. Why go to the Gulf o' Mexico?" he repeated.

Tom turned away and looked out across the river, tears in his eyes. "There're pirates there, I hear." There came no response, just the creaking boards shifting as his friend rolled over. A few minutes of silence passed between them. The fish weren't biting today.

"Well, don't that beat all," Huck said breathlessly.

"What is it?" Sawyer looked up from the water to see. It was snowing. At this time of year? The Mississippi began to freeze and crack. A chill swept across his face. "C'mon, let's get outta here." He got to his feet to leave, but his friend wasn't there.

"Get him, boy! He's getting away!"

"Quartermain?" He knew what was going on again. The sunny southern day had become the frozen expanse of Mongolia again.
"Shoot him!" the adventure wheezed, falling backward onto the rubble. Sawyer's fishing pole had become the weapon that would take down the figure running across the snow drifts. He raised the rifle to his eye and cocked it. "You've got all the time in the world."

Sawyer closed his eyes. "I know."

There was a shrill whistle that sent him hurtling backwards. His room. The American looked about for a second before realizing his hands were still holding the imagined rifle. A tear was caught in his eye. "I know." He got out of bed and wobbled to the washbasin to splash water on his red face. He stared at himself in the mirror, trying to see what was wrong with him. A steward knocked on his door.

"We've arrived, Agent Sawyer," he called through the door.

"Thank you," he responded, clearing his throat. Whatever awaited them on this journey was going to get it. In spades.

When he reached the cargo bay, the others were already there. Sawyer put on a smile and swallowed a yawn.
"G'morning, everybody," he said, catching his beleaguered league members off-guard. "Are we ready to get this done?"

Jekyll, pale and wan, looked up from his pocket watch. "I certainly hope so, Agent Sawyer."

"Looks like some woke up on the right side of the bed today," Skinner joined in.

The American nodded, not about to reveal his dream. Nemo shouted the command to open the cargo bay door once again. The sun hit them right in the eyes. Mina was forced to open her umbrella quickly as a shield. Paris had not changed much, but it was only a year since they had seen it last. The smell of the channel flooded the deck as they exited. A crew member revved the engine of Nemo's automobile and drove it down to the pier. It had been rebuilt from the original schematics, the first vehicle lost in Venice. Nemo remembered he had never forgiven Sawyer for that, but now was not the time for holding grudges.

"I'll drive, " he announced before the young agent had a chance to pipe up. The rest of the team climbed into the car, Mina took Nemo's usual passenger-side seat up front. The auto carriage roared again as they began their way to the prescribed rendezvous.

Skinner squirmed in his seat. "So does anyone know anything about this Clerval character? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one fed up with surprise appearances."

"He's a scientist," Henry ventured warily, as if he didn't like the sound of another scientist joining the group. "Main field of experience was electricity, I think." The gentleman thief held his tongue, saving his barbs for introductions.

It was just now eight o'clock, and the city of lights was already wide-awake it seemed. Carts were crawling along tortuously slow, horses and mules already tired from pulling the heavy wares and good behind them. Nemo wrapped his hands around the turning wheel and clenched his teeth. "There will be a day when common animals will not be fit to be on city streets, but machines like this," he muttered rather loudly.

Sawyer looked sideways. "Yeah, and Man will fly."

"Some of us already do," Mina purred, not turning her head. The boy opened his mouth to fire back, but opted against it. Skinner chuckled to himself quietly.

"Where are we meeting him?" Nemo asked.

Sawyer leaned forward and pulled the ledger book from behind his back. "The Eiffel tower."

"I haven't seen it. It wasn't finished last time I came here," Mina said.

Jekyll sighed, staring at the back of her head. "It's beautiful."

"Especially when the bodies hit the ground below," Hyde added, unnoticed, except by his host. The watch came out of its seclusion once again.

Nemo made a left and followed the road to the iron wrought marvel looming over the city. It was enormous even from a distance and seemed it would topple over at any given gust of wind. "Why would he meet us here, out in the open like this?" Sawyer said getting out of the auto when it stopped. Women and children were laughing and running about in shadow of the tower.

"Perhaps it's safest here," Nemo offered, but he didn't believe it either. The League members didn't have to go far before-

"Henry! Henry Jekyll? Is that you?"

He saw a man waving him arm trying to attract his attention. The doctor's first response was to run. There was not a good history here either. But when he saw whose arm it was, he calmed down a bit. "Henry Clerval?"

The man nodded to the affirmative. Clerval jogged a little ways to where the Team stood. "Christ, Clerval, why don't you try shouting a little louder, I don't think America heard you," Skinner spat.

The liaison stared at him curiously. "Nice to not see you either, Mr Skinner. Come I will show you to our chambers."

Mina glanced around her. "But Mr -excuse me- Doctor Clerval, there are nothing but fairgrounds here.

He smiled to himself and raised a finger. "Up there, Mrs Harker. Our meeting will commence at the top." All of them looked up, shielding their eyes from the sun's reflection off the steel frame. "If you will all follow me please, we can get underway." There was an elevator masked by one of the legs. Clerval ushered them all aboard and the wrought-iron screen closed. Sawyer drew in a breath as the small cage was propelled upwards along a track under the sloping base rocking with the wind.

"Are you alright, Agent Sawyer?" Clerval asked.

The lad nodded, closing his eyes briefly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh good. Don't worry. This lift to the top is safe," Clerval added, surmising Sawyer's nerves were being played by the heights. The rooftops of Paris were soon visible and then entire neighborhoods were seen. They passed the observation deck and continued skywards.

The journey ended with a sudden jolt as the lift came to a stop. Clerval opened the gate and let them out. All stood for a moment trying to get a bearing on where they were. The tower creaked below their feet and Nemo swore for a moment he felt it sway. "Right here, if you don't mind," he said, herding them into a small office. It was well furnished, no bigger than one's drawing room parlor. Seats had evidently been brought up for the meeting since they did not exactly match the décor.

"May I offer anyone a drink?" he said, spinning a globe around, revealing it was a rather well stocked cocktail cabinet.

"Sherry, if you've got it, Clerval," Skinner announced, rather liking this man already. Their host smiled and fished out a decanter and a snifter. He looked to the rest, who did not want anything at the moment.

"Well," he sighed, handing off the sherry, "let's get down to business. Richard Gevaudan is on the verge of a very large breakthrough and a very large problem for the rest of the world. He and a team of scientists have managed to make some kind of deadly compound that when inhaled or even coming in contact with human skin, causes a slow and painful death. Our agents investigating the scene-"

"We saw the pictures, Clerval," Jekyll broke in, trying to get him not to continue. The memory of throttling that poor girl just outside that window was beginning to choke him as well.

"Then you know how dangerous this is for you. We haven't been able to determine what it is exactly. Mrs Harker, Dr Jekyll; your efforts will be life-saving should you be able."

"So what about the rest of us? Are we just supposed to sit and wait while these two play with chemistry sets?" Skinner huffed.

"Really, Mr Skinner, are you so keen on seeing action?" Mina gravely warned.

"You will have plenty to do, all of you," Clerval quickly added. He did not need a division in the team so early on. "Tonight you'll have to infiltrate his house and bring back the plans. Once Gevaudan knows you are inside, you will have little chance of escape, so stealth is paramount."

"Oh goody, I'm useful again."

"Shut up, Skinner," Nemo bit.

"Should you come across Gevaudan, eliminate him immediately."

"We'll do all we can, Dr Clerval," The American vowed.

"Does this chemical," Jekyll began, "or whatever it is, I'm sure someone is wanting it produced, correct?"

Clerval reproached him. "Of course! What man produces something so deadly for no purpose whatsoever?" Hyde's reflection was staring at his alter-ego from the bottle of wine, grinning slyly and raising his brutish hand. The doctor sucked in his cheeks and turned away.

Nemo looked out the window to the world below. Why must Man use science to destroy others instead of using it for the greater good? Such knowledge should have never come down from the heavens or up through the earth.

"Time is of the utmost importance," Clerval lowered his voice. "The world is counting on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

"Again," retorted Skinner reaching for the sherry.