Author's Note: Bleh. Sorry. And the end kinda died on me, but I'd hit my chapter plan target, so… yeah. Sorry for the wait. And yes, there is a lot of emphasising in this chapter.
Sethoz: You're probably right about Skinner. Save for the end, I believe this whole chapter is Tom, Mina and Allan – don't worry.
tonianne Thanks very much. Here's the update.
Nimmo Sawyer: I did indeed hurt Skinner. Put it this way, just be glad it's different from the comic; something VERY NASTY happens to the invisible man in that with regards to Hyde's 'punishment'. Thanks, regarding the descriptions. I do try.
Marcus Lazarus: It's all starting to fall back into place… but for how long? He stole the key, btw, to get out of the room, so Hyde wouldn't get a swing at him. Guess I didn't put that in very well.
Drakena: Poor Skinner, indeed. And yes, Marvel should pay. And he will in due time, no doubt. And here's more of those hybrids you so eagerly wanted.
queerquail Group hug might not be too good for Skinner right now, what with the broken arm, heh. Glad you're happy with the rating.
Kame-sama: Gotta make those connections. Plus, I love the idea of Hyde being able to see Skinner. It makes sense. Skinner must feel like crap, with being branded the traitor wrongly again. I feel sorry for the poor guy now. Broken arms are never good.
Raven Silvers: Gah, sorry I made you scream, Rave. I didn't mean to. But yes, at least he didn't get killed, etc.
INMH: I thought the rating was a tad too high really, for the story. I overestimated the harshness of the content. Here's another update.
LotRseer3350: I loved the image of Hyde in that chair in the comic, so it had to be used. Too good to waste. Here's the update; hope you like.
Sorry for the wait. Here's the new chapter of LXG2: Above & Beyond…
Still aching from the blow he had been dealt, Tom walked close to Mina instinctively, with Quatermain not far away. He was standing almost as a guard over Tom, and it wasn't really something the agent revelled in. Hadn't he shown he could – for the most part – hold his own? If one of these big things wanted to strike at him, he'd take it and retaliate accordingly. The gigantic bear that had attacked him and Mina in the first place walked in front, casting a great shadow back behind it, and over the three members of the League. The tiger-like beast was to their right, an eerie bat creation to the left, and a number of others behind. All seemed to have predator attributes, both canine and feline, and even some other than that. But it was the bear that intimidated Tom Sawyer the most, having been the one to down him like a rag doll.
"What have we blundered into?" Quatermain mumbled, eyeing each creation almost with horrified awe. Tom was surprised to see such expressions and dismay in the old hunter's eyes, and then he comprehended that the man had never seen anything like this in his time. Why would he have? There was some kind of twisted nature or science at work in these woods, and it made a shiver run down Tom's spine like an icy finger.
"I thought I was the strangest thing in these woods," Mina mused in little above a whisper, and Tom looked to her. He didn't like it when she referred to herself as 'abnormal', 'strange' or even remotely 'demonic'. She was, truth be told, unusual yes, but in no bad way conceivable to the spy. He wanted to lean over and reassure her that she wasn't exactly strange, when a voice boomed from in front of them, making Tom jump nearly out of his skin.
"Quiet! Not to talk!"
The three looked dead ahead, to see the looming bear-creature had turned his vicious gaze upon them, saliva dripping from his gaping, toothed maw, and it was from this being that the words had rumbled so sinisterly. Mina bristled at the command from what she obviously perceived to be a lower being, no matter its size. Her eyes flashed for just a second, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"Sir, we are sentient beings, and unlike yourselves, we are meant to talk!"
"Not to talk!" the creature bellowed at them, and Tom grimaced as the foul hot breath washed over his face. "Not to talk!"
"Where are you taking us?" Mina demanded icily, and the very tips of her hair curled. Her feminine fists balled, and Tom grabbed one of them quickly, trying to calm her as best he could. Given their recent… 'relations', he wasn't exactly sure where he stood, but he didn't want her to get herself beaten into the very ground for speaking out of place.
"Don't criticise them, for god's sake!" Quatermain cut in harshly from behind, but the woman paid him no heed. Tom glanced to the hunter in a manner that told him he wasn't helping to diffuse the situation.
"I don't see why not," Mina returned suddenly, and she continued to glare at the large mammal before her, who was still baring large, sharp teeth in a dangerous manner. "If they insist on behaving like beasts, they must expect to be treated as such."
Tom tried not to smile at that. She did have a point. Whereas Jekyll and Mina themselves could be considered beasts, they in no way acted like them – unless you counted Hyde, but that was a given – and were looked on by society as just… odd individuals.
"Not beasts!" Needless to say, the bear was far from pleased with the title Mina had thrown at him viciously, and his hackles shot up along his shoulders and spine. Tom's brow furrowed with concern for a moment, his hand still over Mina's, and he swallowed dryly. He wasn't sure how much good his pistols would do him in this instance. "You not to talk!"
It still amazed Tom that these creatures could comprehend and achieve a human level of speech. Obviously – it didn't take much to notice – the vocabulary was crude, and somewhat limited, but the bear certainly understood everything they were saying, enough to bellow orders at them, waving one giant clawed paw in their direction for further emphasis.
Tom turned his head slightly to the right, intimidated even by the dark gaze of the bear itself, and… saw the tiger. Which was on all fours. Lapping water from a large puddle. He quirked a brow, and cocked his head. It was odd even to see these 'animals' do animal-like things, let alone human ones.
"You come with us, see Master! You…"
It took a few moments, but the bear seemed to hear the noise, and turned his great white and grey head towards the spectacle. All the other creatures seemed taken aback, drawing away almost nervously, eyes blinking feverishly in… was that dismay, or disgust? One or two hissed in displeasure. Tom glanced back at the bear, whose black eyes narrowed angrily, and he snarled, stalking towards the thirsty tiger-beast. His claws flexed, and Mina sucked in a breath. She, like Tom it seemed, obviously thought the large monster was about to tear into its fellow, but it simply clubbed it around the back of the head with a roar of, "No, Tim! Bad! Bad!"
Tim? Tom cocked a head, both disturbed and fascinated. The vampire and hunter beside him were likewise transfixed, watching the odd scene play out before them like something from a drunken nightmare.
"Not to go on all fours, Tim!" the bear persisted in a controlled rage, bellowing down the feline's ear, and it cowered instinctively, a very peculiar reaction for something so clearly powerful. "Not to lap up water!"
Tom's expression twisted into one of nausea, as he looked around at the beasts surrounding them. There was no way out… at least not alive or in one piece, anyway. He could always try and distract them whilst Mina went for help; maybe… after all, Prendrick had seemed aware of these things. It was evident that these were what he had been talking about. 'The Doctor's creations'. It all fit, like pieces of a queer puzzle.
"We go them see Master!" the bear was saying to the now-irritated tiger. It was standing up halfway on its hind legs, tail swishing furiously back and forth. Tom had had a cat as a youth… he recognised the signs of anger. That big cat was not a happy one. "See, Tim! Green one is come take us!"
Tom's brow furrowed at that 'revelation', even as the tiger growled distastefully with a lifting of large jowls to expose equally large teeth. Quatermain stepped closer to the pair, who – Tom realised – were still joined at the hands.
"Green one? What on Earth are they…"
A slight noise from behind them made them turn on their heels to their right, and all three pairs of eyes shot wide open; their jaws dropping in unified dismay and disbelief. Behind them, something was moving up in what appeared to be a miniature version of Nemo's automobile, except more squat and… frog-sized.
"Oh… my god," Tom managed, swallowing the lump in his throat. He had tightened his hand in Mina's without realising, and she actually reached down with her other to ease his fingers away. She stroked his arm once afterwards, far from giddy about the new creature herself, as it pointed with one green and warty hand back the way it had come. The little engine in the small car puttered and wheezed, but definitely worked.
"I-I think I'm gonna be sick," Tom mumbled under his breath, but managed to hold down the queasiness. He was certain he had paled though, and Mina touched his arm again, comforting him to a degree. "It's wrong. It's just all so… wrong," he persisted, and glanced to her, before a large paw grabbed his other arm, making him wince, closing his eyes as the bear snarled down at him. He felt the foul breath ruffle his hair, and he grimaced, not moving so as not to displease the creature. After all, all that the bear would need to do would be to tighten and twist his grip slightly, and Tom's arm would snap like kindling.
"Quiet you now! Follow green one!" the bear roared at him, and Mina snarled at Tom's side, even as the agent's breathing quickened slightly, eyes still closed and head bowed a little in submission. There wasn't much room for competition. "He go Master."
With a slight tug, Tom was thrown forward a little, but kept his balance. His eyes opened, and he glanced back at the bear briefly, seeing the baring of the pointed teeth in a silent warning. Mina strode up beside him, asking him with her eyes if he was okay. He nodded a confirmation, straightened himself up, and moved forward again with Quatermain and Mina.
As commanded, they followed the tiny car with its tiny, amphibian driver. Tom's nausea wavered and lessened as the trudge through the dense trees progressed, still shadowed by the creations as they paced along as guardians. There were one of two flitting through the foliage itself, he noticed, hearing the slight rustle and seeing the slight shifting of the leaves and branches.
When it seemed the woods were endless, and Tom's feet – along with his head – were actually starting to ache, despite training and past exertion that surpassed such a trek, the little car rumbled to a half, and the little frog – which actually carried a small cane – started to clamber out.
"Look," Quatermain began irritably, turning on the large bear in a manner that made Tom's heart constrict in his chest, "I've had enough of this."
"Quatermain…" Mina began, moving to stop the hunter, whereas Tom merely stood and watched with deep concern.
"No. Either these beasts tell us where we're going, or I'll fight them right here."
Tom highly doubted Quatermain – or indeed Mina and himself along with the hunter – could make much of a dent in the creatures, but before he could say anything contradictory to the man's threat – hollow as it was – another voice permeated the air.
"That will not be necessary."
The voice chilled Tom for some reason, and the way the creatures around them took on a wary posture, even reverent… it didn't help to improve his mood. He turned his head hesitantly, along with his two companions, to see the speaker, who continued by saying, "Welcome, sirs and madam, to my humble sanctuary."
Tom's jaw dropped again, and he mouthed words that took on no sound. How they had failed to notice the building or its surrounding 'pedestrians', he couldn't fathom, but they were everywhere. From tiny mice that scuttled here and there, to a small giraffe that had a kind of collar device pushing its head up for it to stand on two legs… all manner of altered beats roamed. Dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys, a swan… and a rabbit that was… eating a chicken's head. Tom's stomach did an acrobatic flip, and he felt the bile rise into his throat with a dangerous swiftness. He managed to force it down, and shuddered slightly.
"I am Alphonse Moreau," the man said, wiping his bloodied hands on a filthy rag. "How may I help you?" The man himself looked to be nearing sixty, if not there already, with a mostly bald head. White hair rimmed his scalp, hanging down around his jaw and neck rather neatly. His clothes were presentable, of somewhat formal attire, almost. The white shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, had a starched tall collar, buttoned right up to the man's throat. He wore brown pants, black shoes and a black waistcoat. Over this, was a stained apron, brown-red splotches covering it here and there, and Tom recognised the tint of long dried – and even a little fresh – blood.
"I-I take it you are the doctor we seek?" Mina inquired, acting as the voice when the two men could not find their own. She seemed to be having trouble finding hers, actually; something that unnerved Tom. He looked around at the menagerie of altered creatures, and lifted his boot when a small clothed mouse tried to climb onto it.
"Sir, we are agents of the crown, and…"
"Yes. So I had gathered," Moreau interrupted, though not rudely. For his 'zoo', he seemed like a somewhat polite individual, and as Tom carefully set his foot down when the mouse scampered away, he wondered what reasons a man could have for creating things such as these. "That is why I had H-9 and his men bring you to me."
"H-9?" Tom asked, his curiosity running his mouth for him. "You mean that bear-thing?"
Said bear-thing did not seem very pleased with his unofficial title, and grumbled in irritation. Tom actually threw him a wary apologetic gaze.
"Of course," Moreau agreed rather cheerily. "The 'H' stands for hybrid. Didn't our masters tell you?"
Our masters?
"H-11, bring our guests some food, would you?" Moreau asked of a peculiar looking dog creation to his left.
It replied gruffly, "Yes, Master, Algy get food now." It seemed the animals had given themselves and each other names. After all, the tiger had been referred to as 'Tim' by 'H-9' back in the woods.
"A pug-dog," Mina murmured. "Incredible."
"Look," Quatermain began, striding carefully forward, stepping over the smaller creatures as the frog drove away in his miniature car once again, "Moreau, or whatever your name is, how did you know we'd been sent by the government to find you?"
"H-9 overheard you talking about me," Moreau offered, crossing his arms patiently. "His English is quite good." With that, he turned and waved for them to follow.
The three League members hesitated only a moment, and then realised their unwillingness to remain out in the opening with the creatures; the hybrids. Quatermain was first to move, striding briskly to the door to be free of the animal company, with Mina and Tom close on his heels. As Tom passed the ape-like hybrid, he saw clutched in its hands a copy of 'The Iliad'. Eyes widening, he hastened inside the door and didn't look back.
He found that Moreau had continued speaking as he drew inside the opening, "As for the government, who else knows I exist? They repositioned me here when there were… difficulties… at my previous establishment." He had not ceased walking, and the three followed the eerie man. It was either that, or go back outside to the madness. "Please come through," he urged politely. "H-9 tells me that you met with Prendrick yesterday."
"Yes," Mina responded, nodding slightly, and her nose wrinkled in disgust at a smell that assaulted her senses, it seemed. Tom watched her face carefully, before glancing back to Moreau. "He seems obsessed with you."
They entered what appeared to be a laboratory or workshop, and a smell hit Tom as well. He pulled a face not unlike Mina's, though with more masculine lines obviously.
"He is a former acquaintance who has unfortunately gone mad," Moreau sighed almost nostalgically, shaking his head whilst removing his apron. He cast it onto a desk chair at the side of the room, and Tom watched Quatermain pace away somewhat. Trusting that the 'doctor' would not be stupid enough to attempt to cause harm towards Mina, Tom followed, his foolish inquisitiveness winning him over easily.
"My creations keep him under discreet observation. He poses no threat." Moreau's casual nonchalance was evident in his voice, even as Tom cast a brief gaze over at the gentlemanly yet relaxed demeanour, before his eyes strayed back to Quatermain, who was cautiously lifting a white sheet from a bundle on a tabletop.
As the object beneath became painfully clear in its horror, Tom turned away at once, paling again, and feeling perspiration spring up in little beads on his forehead. He forced his feet to move him away, and he practically stumbled into place beside Mina as Quatermain gasped in disgust, "Good Lord. What on Earth's this?"
Moreau turned, apparently disturbed only slightly. Tom kept his face turned from the horrible sight, and he was surprised – though didn't react to such – when Mina's hand came up to grace over his cheek; her attempt to calm his racing and trouble heart and mind. He closed his eyes, and took a deep, shaking breath. She ran her feminine palm and fingers down the side of his face once more, before lifting his chin slightly with the same hand.
On the table across the room, where Quatermain had begun to back away, was a body. Though it wasn't human, it still carried a terror in its small presence, it's hairless and deformed body twisted to horrible proportions, the legs gnarled out of shape. The tongue had lolled out of the mouth, the eyes closed to mere slits in the large wrinkled head, with hanging ears that tumbled on either side of the skull.
"This was to be H-126," Moreau divulged, pulling the sheet slowly and carefully back over the lifeless and cold form. "But dogs are always difficult. Surgery is required on the limbs, so they can stand correctly." He placed the sheet back properly so it completely covered the form, and faced his 'guests'. "It perished under the anaesthetic."
Tom realised now where the blood had come from on Moreau's hands and apron. He simply stared, Mina's contact from moments ago having helped to steel his nerves. The covering of the body had aided in his calming also.
"We are here," Mina began quietly, almost as if hesitant, "to transport something called H-142 to London…"
"H-142?" Moreau turned from the table even as the small canine hybrid from before came along, some kind of tray in its frighteningly human hands. His inquisitive and beady eyes bore into the League members as Moreau continued, "You are sure of this?" A simple nod from Mina urged the man to persist, "Then I take it that London is in grave danger."
"It's been invaded by… things," Quatermain said, lost for how else to word such a proclamation. "From another world. Perhaps Mars…"
"Look," Tom said, surprising even himself as he found his voice, and heard the subtle pleading behind it, "whoever you are, you've got to help us." Mina twined her fingers through his own, and their hands locked once more, gently and comfortingly. Tom hated himself for his desperation at that moment, and even hung his head a fraction, inwardly scolding his interruption.
"I see," Moreau said in consideration, rolling up the sleeves on his white shirt as the hybrid dog placed down the tray. On it were arranged some fruits… along with some dead birds and mice, and while they were 'nicely arranged', Tom's appetite did not lift. "Then we must discuss this over dinner, yes…?" He chuckled quietly as he waved to three other seats around the table, taking his own at the head. "Like civilised beings…"
"Skinner, please keep still, I'm almost done."
Rodney Skinner took no delight in those words, wincing openly again as Jekyll shifted him awkwardly so as better to apply the sling he had ascertained would be needed with the obvious break in the thief's arm. Skinner gave a yelp when Jekyll bumped the affronted area, and the doctor mumbled an apology, even as the door from below sounded.
"Ah!" Jekyll blurted, and his already wide eyes opened into saucers. He scrambled to his feet, his pants thankfully staying up with the makeshift belt he had fashioned from a curtain tassel. He started for the door.
"Where're you goin'?" Skinner complained, knowing he shouldn't, but he just couldn't help it. It hurt, and Jekyll was going to hear that, whether he liked it or not. If the big idiot – Hyde, that was, not Jekyll – had just stopped to listen for a second, then Marvel would be the one in pain, not Skinner.
"That'll be Nemo!" Jekyll called as he skidded out the door, shouting the captain's name.
Bloody fantastic, Skinner grumbled internally, in a most cynical fashion. He shifted against the chair where Jekyll had braced him, and heard the muffled conversation, and the hurrying of footsteps. It wasn't long before the door pushed open all the way, and Nemo, Jekyll and a carriage driver stepped inside. Skinner recognised him, but he couldn't put two and two together at that moment, and simply let his head thump back against the cushion behind him.
"Are you certain, Doctor?" Nemo asked as they moved over, and Skinner had no doubt what the Indian was referring to.
"Yes, he's bloody sure," Skinner grumbled, even as Jekyll nodded confirmation. "You were blamin' the wrong bloody invisible man!"
