Disclaimer – Here's the obligatory disclaimer. I don't own any type of legal rights to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Period.
A/N: Seasons Greetings! I've decided to devote a good portion of this chapter to Tom Sawyer, though I wasn't planning on this at first. I've also decided to write this chapter with the Spirit of Christmas in mind. Consider it my Christmas present to all of my readers.
"Aunt Polly! Aunt Polly!" Tom Sawyer called cheerfully, nudging his aunt. He was a teenager now. He was far beyond childhood innocence. But on this December morning, something miraculous was happening. Something more miraculous than flying reindeer or jolly old St. Nicholas.
"It's snowing!" said Tom. Aunt Polly grimaced. She was ready to scold the boy, well aware of his tendency to fib, or at least stretch the truth. But even Aunt Polly was not immune to the joy and magic of the holiday. Noting the sincerity in her nephew's expression, Aunt Polly ventured to a window.
"Praise the Lord!" she exclaimed. "Bless my soul! It really is."
Indeed, little circles of white were falling slowly to the ground. Banks of the same white had already collected beneath them. White like innocence. White like purity. White like life.
Tom Sawyer groaned as he awoke from his dream. The pain rushing through his entire body reminded him that he had come from a very pleasant dream to a very unpleasant reality. Something about the dream had been so real. The snow hadn't, of course. It never snowed down the Mississippi. Sawyer had always hoped it would, though. He had only heard such words as snowflakes and blizzards, and he had always wanted to see them for himself. The last time Sawyer had actually seen snow was in Mongolia, and that only brought back more unpleasant memories. Memories of hatred. Memories of death.
Sawyer's memories were interrupted by the entrance of the hunchback.
"Heeerrre's yo-o-ouuur foooooood," groaned Quasimodo. He set a plate piled with steaming food down on the cold cell floor. Two of Frankenstein's monsters removed the shackles from Sawyer's wrists.
"Thank you," said Sawyer. He shoved his hands into the tray, bringing his ice cold hands back to life with the hot food.
As his hands began to burn, his mind journeyed back to that Christmas past. He remembered sitting at a feast, Aunt Polly, the preacher, the judge, Huckleberry Finn, and Becky Thatcher all seated at the table around him. There were other faces as well. Faces he'd never be able to put names to.
Sawyer's mind went back to that morning. There hadn't been snow. But he and Aunt Polly had been excited about something. What was it? It seemed he had given Aunt Polly a spectacular Christmas gift. But Sawyer, for the life of him, could not imagine what it had been.
What was it?
> > > > > >
Dr. Jekyll looked with disgust for the first time at his mysterious host. The man was gaunt and pale but with a handsome, boyish face and jet black hair. He gestured to one of the strange creatures that were surrounding him. The creature quickly pulled a chair to Jekyll and invited him to sit in it. Jekyll refused.
"Dr. Jekyll, I presume?" said the man. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Victor Frankenstein."
"You're no doctor," spat Jekyll.
"I'll admit it's a self-appointed term. It was no use waiting for those fools at the university to hand me the degree."
"You're a kidnapper. A murderer. A fiend."
"Let's not resort to name-calling. Besides, there are a few accusations I could throw back at you, Dr. Jekyll. Or should I say, Mr. Hyde?"
"Why, you…!"
Jekyll felt the rage burning up inside of him, setting his whole self on fire. He could almost see his skin turning orange. Two of Frankenstein's minions quickly restrained Jekyll as he lunged for Frankenstein.
"Calm down, doctor. It is not Hyde I'm interested in. It's Jekyll."
This quickly calmed the doctor. Even before he had invented Hyde, he could not recall a time he had been wanted. There had always been more respected doctors in his field. Some had even called Jekyll a quack. After he created Hyde, it was the brute that received all the attention. Edward Hyde made newspaper headlines. Edward Hyde was wanted by at least three of the world's police forces. Edward Hyde, in the end, was who the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen had come seeking in order to join their ranks.
Now, at Frankenstein's last words, Jekyll's rage disappeared completely and was replaced by utter curiosity.
"You've always been an idol of mine," said Frankenstein. "Truly the man I wanted to be when I grew up. I have a scientific project I've been working on. The ultimate breakthrough in medical science. And I would like you to observe my experiments and offer your expertise."
"And if I refuse?" queried Jekyll.
At this, a distinct threat appeared in Victor Frankenstein's eyes. It was soon repeated in the eye of every other creature in the room.
"Things will be much to your advantage if you don't," said Frankenstein.
A faint smile crossed Jekyll's lips.
"Why not?" said Jekyll. "I am completely at your service, Dr. Frankenstein."
> > > > > >
Tom Sawyer closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember that Christmas morning.
As hard as he tried, he could not remember the special gift he had given his beloved aunt. But there were so many details he could remember as surely as if they were happening right now.
Huckleberry Finn looked at Tom Sawyer and laughed. The two chuckled as they recounted the adventures they had shared during the year gone past.
"So," drawled Tom. "What ya reckon you're gonna make for your New Year's Resolution?"
"Do you even know what one of them things is?"
"I reckon I do. Aunt Polly and the preacher sure speak of it often."
"So, Mr. Thomas Sawyer, what do you have in mind for one of these resolutions?"
"I reckon I'm gonna start rememberin' to say my prayers before bedtime. How about you?"
"That's a pathetic resolution," said Huck. "You need a resolution more like mine. My resolution is to join a pirate crew."
"A pirate crew?"
"Yes. Join a pirate crew. And sail off to Zanzibar. There's a great treasure that's buried there, and I'm gonna go dig it up. Not that I'd have to dig it up in the next year. Just that I'd have to join the pirate crew next year."
"That's a silly resolution," said Tom.
"It is not so," said Huck. "And if you think so, then it's just more treasure for me."
"I didn't mean nothin' by it, Huck," said Tom. "I'll be a pirate, too. It sounds like fun."
"All right, then," replied Huck. "How about the two of us be a crew? Just you and me?"
Tom Sawyer pulled a parcel out of his pocket and handed it to Huck.
"This might come in handy when we're pirates," he said.
Huck pulled back the old newspaper away and found a small box. Inside was a brand new pocket knife, the blade still sharp and shiny.
"Why, Tom Sawyer, how did you ever get a hold of this?" asked Huck.
"I earned it."
"And how did you earn it?"
"White-washing fences."
The two laughed again. A merry Christmas laugh, jollier than Santa Claus himself.
"I got somethin' for you, too," said Huck. "It ain't wrapped up fancy or nothin'."
Huck pulled a small black object out of his pocket. After he handed it to Sawyer, the other boy realized it was a bullet.
"I pulled it outta an old tree. I reckon' it came from the gun of that insane outlaw, Puddin'head whats-his-name. It's not as expensive as your pocket knife or anything, but it's a whole lot more interesting."
Carolers slowly gathered nearby. The joyous chords of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" began to fill the air. Sawyer and Finn just looked at each other conspiratorially, already plotting their first voyage as pirates.
Tears began to form in Sawyer's eyes as he remembered his past. By comparison, his future definitely looked bleak.
> > > > > >
Henry Jekyll gasped as he looked at the vast stone chamber around him. This great room was Frankenstein's laboratory. After he was through with the great width and depth of the lab, Jekyll began to look at the doctor's strange equipment. Blue volts of electricity were surging in strange generators overhead. Tall, clear tubes were filled with a strange formula of chemicals. All around the room were stone slabs.
It was with great horror that Jekyll beheld what the slabs were holding. The smell of burning and chemicals just barely covered the sour stench of death. Corpses were lying in a meticulous pattern around the laboratory. Jekyll felt shock and terror as he gazed upon what was once human life.
The bodies were all at different stages of decay. Some had been buried in cemeteries for months. Others had just recently been pulled from morgues and mortuaries. Others hadn't even had a chance to see those. They had been brought to this place immediately after death. Despite the amount of carnage Jekyll had already seen in his lifetime, he now felt nauseous.
Frankenstein looked around the room and began shouting orders. Monsters in each corner of the room began turning cranks and pulling levers. Outside, thunder crashed and lightning filled the sky. Electricity shot from the ceiling to the slabs below. After minutes of just the roar of electricity, the bodies seemed to move. Jekyll thought it was just the force of the electric shock, but then he though he noticed a nearby set of fingers flexing…
"Stop! Stop!" he shouted. The roar ended. The bodies were motionless once again.
"Don't listen to him, you idiot!" shouted Frankenstein. "Obey my orders! Start the machine again!"
"You're insane," gasped Jekyll.
"I thought you'd have something more scientific to say about my work," said Frankenstein. "You know, from one doctor to another."
"You're not a doctor," said Jekyll.
"I thought we'd already been over this," said Frankenstein. "Whether you like it or not, you're part of this project now."
"Never! I'll never help you!"
"You will, doctor. You will or more people will die. People you care about. Like Mrs. Harker, for example."
"No!" cried Jekyll. He lunged forward, letting all the rage and hatred he felt inside overtake him. His skin began to change color. His face contorted. Muscles bulged and grew over his body.
A dart struck him on the back. A monster lowered its blow gun and looked at Jekyll's unconscious body, still in an only half-transformed state.
"Take him back to his cell," said Frankenstein. "If he won't give us his cooperation, I'm afraid we'll just have to take it from him."
As a small group of the monsters carried Jekyll/Hyde away, Frankenstein looked around him, at his life's work, and at the one thing he feared more than anything else.
> > > > > >
Tom Sawyer looked up into the beautiful face of Becky Thatcher. The couple could hear the sound of carolers singing their sweet tunes someplace nearby. Their sweet strains were "Silent Night." Tom put his hand out and brushed away Becky's fiery red hair. He caressed her soft, fare forehead.
He slowly brought out her parcel.
"I want you to have this," he said.
The wrapping was cheap. Again, just old newspaper. Underneath was an ornate box. Becky opened it and gasped.
"Tom! You shouldn't have!"
Inside the box was a thin golden chain, a shining heart hanging to the end of it. Tom took the necklace and clasped it around Becky's pretty neck.
"How could you afford it?"
"That doesn't matter," said Tom. "All that matters is that I did."
She reached out her slender arms and took Tom by the shoulder, bringing his face close to hers. Her red lips pressed against his waiting mouth. It was slow and beautiful. A Christmas kiss.
"Merry Christmas," Becky whispered in Tom's ear.
"Merry Christmas," he whispered back.
Though Sawyer knew it couldn't have snowed that day, he couldn't help imagining the white flakes falling around him and his best girl. White for innocence. White for purity.
Sawyer felt a bright, shining hope deep within him.
"If I ever make it out of this alive," he muttered softly, "I'm going to find Becky and tell her I love her."
A/N: I'm really much more cheerful than this chapter might indicate. Honest. Anyway, that's this chapter. May all your dreams and wishes come true for you this holiday season.