Author's Note: … I am ashamed. My update took a disgustingly long time, but I had writer's block, and I only suddenly got hit with the inspiration to write most of this part last night. Don't forget to check out my sites every now and again for updates. Links will be listed on my fanfic bio shortly.

Drakena the Destroyer: Let's hope that Hyde doesn't find out about Tom and Mina's antics then, 'eh?

Iblis: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks.

Sethoz: Glad you enjoyed it, Sethoz. Yes, Marvel is evil. It's in his job description ::grins::

TARilus: You and your taglines… grrr… well, if this were ever made into a mini series with weekly adverts etc, I know who I'd come to for those. Glad you liked the biting. For those who have read the comic, you know it's the other way around, and Quatermain (yes, drastically changed partnership here) actually bites Mina, but… yeah, that wouldn't work. I will – hopefully, if I remember – explain Nemo's attitude, so don't worry about that. As for the Hyde thing… we shall see.

Hiril Moon: Thank you for the compliment. This is the retelling of the second comic, which is why you might recognise Hyde's antics, and even the language of the characters. The Mummy Returns… squeee! And it's a tad early for buses, heh. Sorry to disappoint you. And very sorry I've been spelling your name wrong; d'oh! .

drowchild: Intense? Thanks, I'm glad. I'm happy you found it tasteful. I was really nervous about doing it at all, and in fact, in my chapter plan, that scene ended after she asked him to "come to bed"… but for some reason, I kept going. Glad to be back, though that was a while ago, but thanks anyway.

LotRseer3350: Heh, loved your response to that chapter. I suppose we'll never really know about the whole 'posing as a couple' thing, will we? ::winks:: Sorry for the delay.

INMH: Indeed, indeed, the rating was partially because of that upcoming chapter. ::wink::

i luv tom: Glad you like it. Ah good, you found it tasteful as well, thanks for that. Hope this update was quick enough for you. P.s. sounds like you need a DVD player, heh.

With apologies for the delay, here is Part Ten of Above & Beyond…


The sound of running feet was what awoke him in that room where he had fallen asleep the night before, a liberty he did not understand, nor had he ever been granted before. Edward Hyde had fallen asleep… in body, not just in mind. Though he did not comprehend it, he did not doubt its value, and he appreciated the liberty and freedom with which he was being treated. Was this Henry's doing? No… that was not it. The worm had nothing to do with this… and as he poked his head out the heavy door that closed off the room where the wreckage was being contained – what little of it was left – Edward couldn't help but wonder what was going on… both with his and Henry's bodies and swapping of roles, and the commotion going on in the corridor.

Many of Nemo's men were rushing in the same direction, running quickly and collectively towards the ladders that led up to the decking of the Nautilus. Edward arched a brow, bared his yellowing teeth, and then pushed off to find something to wear. London wasn't exactly warm… he could remember that much. He hadn't been in the city – even the country – for so long… and the last time he had been let out – accidentally – at the common, he had been too distracted by the slug bastards to take in the details and beauty of it all. Dark thought its attraction was, Edward could not deny its allure. Though – by many – he was considered a beast, he understood and comprehended the traits and abilities that lay within beauty.

When he had found what he was looking for, in the form of a large shirt that Henry had requested made just in case Edward would ever – though it had been doubtful at the time – need one, Edward grinned as he pulled it on, fastening the buttons as he went, and then barking out a laugh when he found a jacket to go with it. He chuckled to himself, and slung it over his arm as he traipsed towards the ladder to head up onto the surface of the vessel. It was about time he got to go about his business as he wanted. It felt so gratifying, for a change, to not be on a schedule, and having to follow orders and be bossed around just because they needed his muscle to fulfil a mission every once in a while.

Greedy little bastards… just because they can't do it themselves.

He tossed the jacket over his shoulder after fastening the last button.

Perfect fit. Not bad, worm.

He found it curious that Henry was not responding in any way… before climbing the rungs of the ladder, only just able to fit up the tube leading towards the top of the vessel. He cleared the ladder, and yawned loudly, announcing his presence, even as he looked around, intrigued and darkly fascinated as he started to pull on the jacket. Cocking a brow, he grunted. "Huh. River supposed to be like that, is it?"

Nemo did not even turn his back as Hyde stepped up behind him, having finishing donning his jacket – also a perfect fit, queerly enough – and said darkly, "You know that it is not. Do not jest with me now, Hyde." A slight inclination of the head showed the Indian's mood on the matter. He was angry. "I am not of a mood for it."

Surprise, surprise…

There were crewmen everywhere, carrying all manner of sharp and threatening instruments, some of which Edward remembered meeting first hand. Though he could see none of the tripods out in the city beyond, he knew they were there, watching… laughing at him. He growled menacingly, and watched the crew as they hacked, chopped and slashed viciously at murderous, menacing red vines that were wriggling around like a red sea of tentacles. Boats were being steadily crushed with the force of the writhing, pulled under and consumed, and Edward noted all the people were still aboard. He almost chuckled, and then turned his attention away, saying, "It's the space-jellies who've done this, then? All this red muck."

"Yes," Nemo responded bluntly, clearly not amused by the trapping of his grand vessel. "I believe it is some type of anti-submarine weapon." His eyes were dark, and not only in colour, but in mood.

"The effective type, from the look of it." Edward fought not to grin, and stood stalwartly behind Nemo, glaring out at the surging weed as the crew chopped and hacked at it. "Well, I'm not sitting here all day," he added, impatient, and thirsty for some action of some kind.

"We've little choice until the weed is cleared," Nemo reminded him, glancing to him sidelong, as if already fed up with his presence. Edward internally found this deeply amusing; the captain could do little about it being this way around, with Henry submerged for a change. He was no chemist, and knew nothing of the formula. Edward found this knowledge very comforting.

"What, and then we wait for Quatermain, Harker and Sawyer to return?" He grunted, turning and heading to the edge of the ship, calculating the distance carefully. He could leap it, but needed to judge the span accurately. He had had plenty of practise in his time, what with his stint in Paris. "Bugger that," he grumbled, "I'm going into the city, to the museum."

A gleeful idea filled his twisted mind, and he showed his yellowing teeth a little in eager, maniacal anticipation. Then he gathered himself, and looked stern and serious once more. Nemo was watching him, even as Edward backed up a little ways on the conning tower, ready for the leap, every limb poised.

"Hyde, you can't walk through London, even if it is half-evacuated."

"Smithson will take me." Edward shrugged nonchalantly. "Join me for dinner there later if you like."

"Hyde, don't be stupid. We abandoned our museum base because Skinner might infiltrate it. It presents such an easy target for him, and…"

By this time, Edward had leapt the gap, landing squarely on the docks, and flashing a toothed grin at Nemo, before moving off calmly towards where he thought he might find the carriage driver.

Nemo blinked, narrowing his eyes in perplexity and annoyance. "Hyde?"

Edward was gone.


Allan could tell something was 'wrong' the moment he met the other two the next morning. They had decided to skip breakfast, and he was with them on that for some reason, though he noted the way Mina Harker practically forced Sawyer to eat a piece of toast and drink something. He had seemed quite reluctant, though Allan wasn't sure as to why. He had studied the young man's face, and seen the slight paling, and wondered whether or not the agent was ill. Perhaps he was just concerned about the mission and its progress… and the impending doom of the Martian invasion.

Shaking off such pessimistic musings, he walked with them out of the inn, and on their way back to the woods. They had decided yesterday to press further in today, and he guessed their plans had not changed at all. He strode behind the woman and the spy, and watched their body motions and language, studied the way they stood near to each other, and were almost silent.

Then it hit him… like a ton of bricks. It couldn't be, could it? If it was true, then how had that happened? He far from understood it, but it explained quite a few things about the sudden changes in their demeanour today, other than Sawyer's complexion.

Unless… no, that wasn't possible. He shrugged that thought right off for its ridiculousness, and sighed.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Quatermain?" Mina Harker asked somewhat bluntly, obviously having picked up on the noise on the almost nonexistent breeze and choosing to start a conversation because of it.

"No, nothing at all," Allan quickly lied, trying to find someone else – anything – to focus on other than the two in front of him. He had expected the attraction, but never suspected they would actually ever do anything to act on it. He found himself oddly wondering whether it was because of the invasion that they had done what they had.

"Very well," Mina confirmed, and the three descended once again into silence. Allan allowed his senses to wander pensively, and he narrowed his eyes, that same hunter's instinct kicking in to alarm him to the presence of potential game. Though, when he looked around, there was nothing in sight. Only trees… just trees. But wait… not even a bird, or a rabbit. That was odd.

Furrowing his brow, he felt his Webley at his waist, and suddenly felt comforted by its presence. It was odd that he would feel this way when there was nothing obvious the matter, but he couldn't shake the feeling that eyes were watching him… them… eyes of a predator.

Perhaps he should investigate… it couldn't hurt. It might sate his curiosity at the least. If not, it might stem his concern.

"I'm going to take off in this direction; see if I can find anything. If not, I'll meet you back at the inn at midday."

Sawyer and Mina looked to him in confusion and intrigue, but both nodded. They said nothing, and Allan took that as his cue to leave, heading off in the direction he had indicated, his hand poised and ready to snatch at his trusty pistol if anything arose for him to need to use it.


Mina felt the awkwardness hanging between her and Tom, and quickly decided she did not like it. It did not suit them, to be this uncomfortable, and she did not want the events of last night to affect them… both professionally and personally. She liked Tom Sawyer. She really did. Perhaps in more ways than she had ever admitted, which had been evidenced last night by her outburst of intimacy and passion. That was when she recalled practically forcing him to eat something before they left the inn, and turned her head to him. He had eaten it at least, albeit reluctantly, and perhaps – she thought – only to please and sate her.

Turning her clear and calm gaze upon the young man by her side, she noted his colouring, and felt her guilt swim and swell at once. Damn her thirst, she shouldn't have done what she had, regardless of his consent. "Are you–"

"It's fine, Mina," he told her, his gentle eyes meeting hers, and she saw his sincerity there. There was no deception in his gaze, and that both comforted and concerned her, as odd as it seemed. She was comforted that he seemed all right with what had happened, but concerned that he wasn't at least worried about the injury on his shoulder. She had checked it whilst he had slept, ensuring it wasn't too badly damaged, but after she had bitten him, he had weakened obviously, and she hoped she hadn't taken too much. But it had just been the initial shock of being bitten, she knew. She had seen it before in her life, and knew he would recuperate well on his own. But still, she wished there was something she could do for him, other than stand beside him, silently.

"It does not pain you?"

"No," Tom replied tranquilly, shaking his head and looking back to the path. "Not now, anyway. It did… before." His eyes met hers after a moment, and it was in a rather intense moment that they did so. "But you needed it, Mina. You can lie to me, and say you didn't, but I don't know when you last fed. You'd seemed… off, for a few days, but now…"

Mina felt the vaguest of smiles touch her lips before she could stop it, and let the slightest of laughs pass from her. "Perhaps you are right." The smile and laugh died, never to have really been. "And I am grateful for your consideration. I only wish…"

"Hey," he cut in, not abruptly, not forcefully, but insistent in a kind way, to set her mind at ease perhaps, "don't worry about it, all right? I said I was fine with it, and I haven't changed my mind. Just… let it be a while before you need to do that again, huh?" He smiled his trademark mischievous smile, lopsided and youthfully handsome, and Mina regarded him.

What was it he meant by his comment? She had a feeling she knew, but jumping to conclusions in a time such as this was not the wisest action. Her head cocked just delicately to one side, and she knitted her brows. He seemed to sense her confusion, and appeared awkward for a moment, turning his head to the side, his eyes obstructed by his blonde locks of hair.

Frowning slightly, she realised she might have offended him somehow. She felt terrible for that, and reached out with a hand, touching it under his chin, and turning his head to hers. Their eyes met, and their feet ceased in their movement. Delicately and gently, she leaned forward, and kissed him on the lips, her fingertips running back along his jaw after moving out from under his chin. He barely moved, simply reciprocated softly, and his scent filled Mina. She realised now that it had an almost musky edge to it, and she supposed that was from his work with guns. She did not know for certain, but there was a hint of it to his scent that almost pleased her. It was so very different to what she was accustomed to. Jonathan had been so very unique, with his faint and delicate aromas of the places he had travelled to. Dorian Gray… had always overwhelmed her. She wasn't keen on reliving the experiences in her head, and quickly forced them aside, especially when Tom's hands lifted to gently cup her face, almost embracing it as their kiss deepened.

She tried to tell herself that not only was this not the time, but neither was it the place. It was hardly an optimum setting, and she could only imagine what would happen should Quatermain return. Whatever would he think? That was when she realised she didn't care for the opinions of others, and had not for many years. They affected her very little, and she had long ago learned to shun and ignore them.

She soon found her back leaning up against a tree behind her, with Tom in front of her. Mina clutched at Tom's waistcoat, pulling him closer, and she felt him brush against her, breathing sharply as she did, hungry for him, but only in the metaphorical sense, not the literal, luckily. She had had her fill the night before, thankfully. She breathed deeply into him, and she heard his heart rushing in his chest.

One of his hands ran down her neck to her collar, caressing the fabric there, and the skin beneath. One of her own coursed up his chest to the unbuttoned shirt at the top, and her fingernails just scraped at his skin, but not enough to harm him. He did not recoil, only drew closer to her, if such a feat was possible.

That was when she smelt it. It was no longer the intriguing scent of the man before her, but rather, something else… something daunting and approaching, and she almost recoiled, but Tom was too close, and her back was against the tree, preventing her from doing so. The only thing she could do was open her eyes to gaze towards the other trees, and it was then that she saw it. Despite all she had ever seen, she almost wanted to scream.

Looming towards them was a huge, towering white monstrosity of a creature; covered in course white hair, save for the chest, which was shockingly akin to that of a muscular human. Its elongated limbs bore talons at the ends, amidst shaggy hair that covered a mixture between hands and paws. The maw on the brad skull dropped open slightly as black pools for eyes stared, and fangs dripped almost eagerly with saliva.

Unable to do much else, Mina shoved against Tom roughly, pushing him away from her. It took him only a moment to figure out something was wrong, especially when he saw both the expression in her eyes and the shadow cast over them, and he whirled at once, drawing and aiming a pistol.

Mina gasped and panted, shocked and amazed – and annoyingly intrigued, due to part of her being a scientist – as she stared at the creature which towered at – at least – eight and a half feet tall. It gave a bellow and struck out, slamming the pistol to one side, before barrelling the other limb down, and practically crushing Tom beneath the blow.

With a growl, panic flooding her senses, Mina moved forward to help, but Tom was already recovering as much as he could, dazed clearly but instinct fought through the dizziness, and he kicked out at the legs of the upright bear-like 'thing', connecting but not making much of an impact.

Wildly, his hair in disarray, he yelled to her without diverting his attention, calling, "Run! Find Quatermain!"

Mina was reluctant, but Tom cried out again, even as one of the clawed limbs reached for him graspingly, "Go!" The beast roared again, and grabbed a hold of Tom, roughly, by the back of his clothing, hauling him around, and the young American fought viciously against him, to no avail, the size and strength of the bizarre creature far outshining his own. He yelled, telling Mina, once again, to run whilst it was occupied with him, and though she did not understand why, she actually turned her head to consider it. Perhaps she could have ambushed it from behind in her flock or –

"No," grumbled a husky, growled voice from the bushes as they started to shift. "You come."

Mina's gaze tore immediately to the sound of the disturbance, and a small cry escaped her lips at the sight of more of the hideous monsters stumbling towards her, bearing freakish likenesses to animals such as tigers – the creature in front was one such beast – leopards and the like. There was even one with great black wings and ebony feathers covering its torso… a raven-creature, with red eyes and an intense gaze, hauling Quatermain by the scruff of his collar, with a panther-like thing behind him, snarling warningly.

Oh god… what hell have we come across?