Thanks Smyo for my only review…Lady Agnes is an origianl character inspired by Irene Adler of Shrlock Holmes with a dash of Madam Bouvare.
Note: The words in bold refer to characters that will be appearing later in this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own the League, Bond, Angelus or Rayne. I only own Lady Agnes Black and some future characters.
Dr Henry Jekyll cast one final look at the sleeping solider inside the surgical tent, feeling guilty for amputating his leg, a fellow doctor noticed his expression and told him it was the right thing to do, which was why he felt so bad.
Walking to the nearby Inn under the Kenyan scorching sun, he cast a look at the nearby cemetery, and remembered the first time he saw it, a year and a half ago.
After having himself a bath and changing his blood soaked clothes he carried a cloth wrapped book in his hand and headed tot he cemetery, there was the grave of the great late Alan Qatermain, laying next to him was his son; Harry Quatermain. The Auburn haired Doctor kneeled down next to the grave of his former leader and started reading from the bible.
Although they did not get to now each other very well when he was alive, and that he had treated him with disdain on occasions, Quatermain had saved his life. While being sedated with Opium in Whitechappel last year, Quatermain came to him in a drug induced vision dressed as the Grim reaper, and caused his revelations that he had to face the past in order to move on, it had changed his life, and when they were leaving for their next mission Jekyll though he had seen the figure of Quatermain on his stead of hellfire, the form that appeared to him in his vision, looking upon him as the Nautilus left London.
"...for he is his brother's keeper, and the finder of lost souls.(1)" he was reading when he noticed the sound of feet running to him, as he looked back he saw a private approaching with a piece of paper in his hand.
"This just came for you, Sir. With an order of leave from London." said the private.
"Thank you, private."
As the private walked away, Dr. Jekyll read the telegram that read: Bond has been killed, prepare for Departure. Nemo.
After the initial shock, Jekyll went to stuff his possessions into his suitcase, his clothes, his vials of elixir and his journal.
'What will the future bring?' He asked himself as he walked to the lobby carrying his suitcases, on one hand he wasn't too anxious to be thrust into combat again, not to mention being forced to release Hyde, although he did release him once in Kenya to assist in a certain mission; and then on the other hand this did mean that he would reunite with Mina, who was less than pleased when he went to Kenya. His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a bright object zipping through the desert, creating clouds of dust around it as it approached.
"The Auto-Mobile," mused Jekyll, "What an eye-soaring sight!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why should I go get the wine?"
"The rest of us tend to burst into flame in the sun as you know."
Mina got up and head to the door, looking at the two dozens of vampires she was leaving behind, she walked up the stairs and stepped out the cellar door and into the ally, she spotted the shop owner of a nearby boutique looking at her in disgust, she figured she must have got the wrong idea of why three women and twenty-two men would all stay in a cellar together.
She walked over to the nearby liquor store, slightly dazed by the sunlight, and bought a crate that held an assortment of bottles of liquor, that should hold them for the rest of their annual reunion. She hired a shop assistant to haul the crate back to the cellar, which was rather ample and well furnished, several couches and beds scattered through the place, most of them had slumbering vampires on them, several empty vats of liquor and pig's blood were scattered around the place, she ordered the slightly stunned fellow to place the crate by the stairs and leave after she paid a generous tip.
Every year there would be a gathering of those creatures of the night who were unhappy with their nature, vampires who wish they could turn back the hands of time and change their grim destinies, they would gather to tell of their exploits and debate possible means of reversing their conditions, on rare occasions some would be successful, but most of the time it led to more depression for them. They basically gathered to remember the times they were in the sun, alive and meek, and morn he future that lay ahead of them,
The vampires that had gathered varied in age, creed and species. There were some who were less than fifty and there were a few who were approaching their millennium, most were European but there were some from south America as well, they varied in abilities according to species, Mina was the only one of the Dragul species, the only vampires who could walk in the sun, most were of the deathdealers, the rest were mostly individuals representing their species. Of the twenty-five attending, only four were alert, Mina went to join the group with Wine in her hand.
"Didn't you get any Whiskey?" asked a member of the group, a 150 years old Irish Vampire of the soulless, who ironically had his soul restored by a gypsy tribe in Romania.
"They were all out, Angelus."
"Bollocks."
"Never mind him, pour me some, Dear Mina, tell me something, would you ever consider..."
"You French have egos that astound me, NO! I'm spoken for, Christian, give it a rest."
"I don't see a ring on your finger, which makes you any man's prize. And anyway, there is always Rayne(2)."
"Not if you were the last undead man on this earth. Serve me Mina." said Rayne, the bastard daughter of the King of Vampires.
Mina preceded to pour wine in the glasses of Angelus, Rayne and Christian, and asked the bald headed vampire laying on his back smoking something with a pipe if he wanted anything, when there was no answer Angelus chuckled grimly and said, "Never mind Viktur, he's so intoxicated by what he's smoking he doesn't know which one runs in the vain, blood or wine."
Viktur didn't say anything and just kept smoking.
"Speaking of which Mina, who is he you are spoken for?" asked Rayne.
"I've told you about him before."
"No you haven't, why hadn't he come? Or isn't he one of us?" asked Christian.
"No he isn't, and he is in Kenya right now."
"I love mortals, so predictable and ordinary, what joy would it be find a mortal to claim as my own, and have her live by me if for a few years. Immortality sounds like a good idea, till you realize you're going to spend it alone."
"I wouldn't call Henry ordinary."
"What is he? Warlock? Immortal? Demon?"
"He's a scientist who has divided his good from evil, and now has a brutish self that represent his pure evil."
"You Brits are a rather amusing people in an askew sense."
"There is a man in your room right now," said Viktur in his trance, "He is dropping an envelope in your room, it contains work related news, the man is walking down the stairs, he is having impure thoughts about Brenda the whore who lives in the building..." Viktur went on speaking what ever he was getting. Viktur was one of a few vampires who when intoxicated by some substance or another were able to receive images form distances away, which varied from a few storys as in this case, or from across the oceans in some other cases, she got up and went to see what nature was this letter about.
"See if you can do something abut Whiskey." called Angelus.
Upstairs Mina walked into her room, which she had checked in a few weeks back when she arrived early for the gathering, she opened the envelope that was on the dusty ground and read.
'Bond is dead. Head to London Immediately. M'
M? Who's M? It had been a custom to regard the head of MI as M, although when Bond took over he preferred to go by his actual name, so a new head of MI has been assigned.
Strangely she neglected to give much thought to the first sentence, it suddenly came as a shock to her that Bond was dead, killed perhaps, and that was why a new M was assigned.
Bothered and Bewildered she started to stuff all her things into her suitcase, she would leave to England at once, it would take an equal time for her to arrive there as for Nemo to round up Skinner, Jekyll and Sawyer.
"Viktur, if you're seeing me then tell the others I had to leave." she mumbled as she dragged out her suitcase.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mina stepped out the busy train station, Bond's funeral was in less than n hour, as she pulled the heavy suitcase along she felt someone giving her a hand, as she turned she saw a dark suit clad Skinner, pince-nez and top hate included.
"'Ello Mina, since it isn't the nighttime and you're not in full bloom, why not give you a hand."
"Thank you, Mr. Skinner."
After all they have been through together, she would still call him Mr. Skinner, and after al her rejection and threats he would still make failed attempts to woo her, some things never change, nor should they.
"Any news from the others?"
"No, I arrived by myself, Nemo and the others have beat us here apparently. There is a coach that'll take us to the funeral."
"That's great. How was Morocco?" she asked, dreading to know what he may have done.
"Wonderful." he said, not wanting to alarm her.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's a typical gloomy day in London, foggy and slightly brisk, a great crowd of well tailored men and women have gathered to send off Bond, an overweight and lazy looking man that would make Bond look starving stands by the grave and commences a speech with the most boring voice you could imagine.
"Gentlemen, Ladies, we have gathered here today to send off one of her majesty's most loyal children, Sir Campion Bond, who had fought in India for years as well as other wars, a highly decorated man of the state, and it's a great shame to say that he had done things we could never tell you about. A loyal father and husband, this great man was untimely brought to his death a few days go, but fear not for the culprits have been arrested, and they shall be punished justly in time. Sir Campion leaves behind his wife Susane and his young son James(2), may time heal your wounds, and may you be reunited with him in the Kingdom of Heaven. So long dear comrade, so long dear brother."
There was no real emotion in the obese man's voice, yet a decent applaud broke, then eight coffin bearers lower the coffin into the deceased's final resting place, and earth is pushed in the grave to burry the coffin, as the widow started to weep and held her infant son close.
Skinner spotted Nemo and head towards him, bumping along the way with a tall man of his early thirties, blonde haired and handsome, the refined man snobbishly cursed at him as Skinner went n, feeling that the man was vaguely familiar, moments later he though he saw Jekyll, when he went to him it turned out to be just another man with red locks of hair, strangely grinning deviously.
Finally he bumped into Sawyer, who was standing out with his casual appearance.
"Quit the crock shooter, Right?" said the Americana gent.
"What?"
Sawyer indicted the overweight man trying to dodge anyone attempting to speak with him.
"Yes he is, have they already caught the killers?"
"Evidently."
Jekyll himself was searching for his Mina when he was caught off guard by a reporter looking for an interview.
"Your name, Sir?"
"Ehhh, Jekyll, Henry."
"Well, Mr. Jekyll, how did you know the deceased?"
"We... we.. eh, we worked on occasion."
"What was your impression of him?"
"Well..." mumbled Jekyll, not one for interviews.
"Mr. Barnes, must you terrorize the bereaved?"
The sentence was uttered by a sophisticated femenine voice, very alluring, it came form behind Jekyll who froze and wondered why it sounded so familiar.
"I'm sorry Lady Agnes." apologized Barnes the reporter.
"Quit alright, you're just doing your job, just do it somewhere else and more sensitively might I add?"
The women then confronted Dr. Jekyll.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." she said, "Lady Agnes Black."
"Henry Jekyll, MD."
"Yes I've heard."
For the first time Jekyll sees her, the most elegant and mesmerizing woman of her mid forties, dressed in a black gown, a fair completion with gray eyes and sandy brown hair. Just then, her memory came back to him.
"You must be the son of Dr Jekyll, Sr. I learned about the stunning resemblance, but I had to see it for myself."
"You haven't eh slightest Idea who am I, do you?"
"Actually, I do. How do you know me?"
"I first learned of you when you were arrested for suspicion with the Ripper murders, needless to say I was very surprised to know Henry Jekyll had a son."
"My parents divorced when mothers was pregnant of me, he didn't know of my existence till I was... Eleven. We never had much of a relationship. That was all before he met you by the way."
Jekyll remembred about the lie he had told Scotlanyard during the second Jack the Ripper cirmes, when he explained his resemblance to the long gone Dr Jekyll for him being fathered by him to a French mother.
"So how did you know Sir Campion?" asked Jekyll.
"I was one of his consultants; I'd very much like to continue this conversation in a more suitable time."
'Still as bold as ever.' thought Jekyll, "Fine," he said, "I'll contact you in a few days."
"Henry, I've been looking for you."
Jekyll turned and saw Mina, obviously glad to see him; she suddenly took notice of Lady Agnes.
"Emmm, Dr. Jekyll?" said Lady Agnes.
"Oh! How rude of me, Lady Agnes this is my associate Ms Wilhelmina Murray, Ms Murray, this is Lady Agnes Black."
"Lovely to meet you." said Lady Agnes kindly as she shook her hand.
"Likewise. I'm sorry, I'm not very clear who you are?" said Mina.
"I was almost your associate's step mother."
Mina was surprised by the answer, "I was once engaged to Dr. Henry Jekyll Sr."
Knowing there was no person as such, Mina looked at Jekyll who was smiling awkwardly and blushing, and when she looked way she saw that Lady Agnes was gone.
"Henry," started Mina.
"Oh look, here's Nemo, Hello Captain." said Jekyll as he shook the hand of the arriving Captain Nemo, who accepted the strange greeting from a man he just saw a few minutes ago.
"Hello, Ms Murray, Mr. Skinner and Agent Sawyer are in the Automobile, we must head to meet the New M."
Wanting to escape the awkward conversation with Mina about his fiancé which he had neglected to mention to his lover Mina, Jekyll almost sprant to the Automobile which attracted a considerable amount of attention.
Author's Notes.
(1) from (Ezikeil 25:17)
(2) Angelus is from Joss Whedon's 'Buffy' while Rayne is from the video game 'Blood Rayne', Christian and Viktur are my creations.
(3) Yes, that one.