AN/ Sorry about the delay. Exams. Enough said. Thanks to Samyo, (You can get both one disk and two disk special addition DVDs In Australia. I have the two disk version.) ToTaKeKe13, and Jinxeh (Please update 'Mockingbird Syndrome' ASAP!) for reviewing the last chapter. I don't know when chapter 8 will be up, but hopefully as soon as possible. Enjoy and please review!

It was a nice day. That's what I decided as Skinner and I stood on the black deck of the Naulitus. The Sword of the Ocean glided through the Mediterranean waters at an impressive speed. It was a very smooth ride. If you didn't see the hull of the ship cutting through the water you wouldn't know you were moving at all.

Skinner was all done up; hat, make-up, the works. We gazed out over the ocean and I allowed myself to enjoy the calm, peaceful moment. I knew that Mina and Serro were over on the other side of the deck out of our view. Sawyer and Quatermain were also out in the sun. Quatermain was checking his rifle's sights. Tom only had eyes for Mina. I put all of them as far out of my mind as they would go. Instead, I forced myself to focus on the future. It wouldn't take us long to get to Italy. It was my job to make sure Skinner was in that exploration pod when Dorian left. And then there was the trip to Mongolia, and the Fantom's Fortress, and the snow and the fire…

"Nikita?" Skinner said quietly. I blinked, snapping out of the trance I had put myself in.

"What?"

"Are you…okay?" Skinner asked.

"Yeah. I was just…thinking about the future."

"Doesn't look too bright, eh?"

Careful not to give anything away, I responded "Well, that depends on how you look at it."

I might have said more, but at that moment Dr. Jekyll walked up to us. He looked pale, but smartly dressed.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," Jekyll said to Skinner. "Doctor Henry Jekyll."

"Rodney Skinner." The two men shook hands.

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you wear that face paint?" Jekyll asked hesitantly. I wondered how long it took this normally shy man to work up the courage to approach Skinner.

"It's because I'm invisible," my assignment said without hesitation. To the doctor's amazement, he took off one of his gloves to demonstrate.

"Incredible!" Henry said, his eyes wide. "Uh, how did you achieve this?"

"I nicked this potion from a Mr Griffin, the original invisible man, in the hope that it would improve my business."

Jekyll frowned. Skinner pulled his glove back on. "What business would that be?"

"I'm a thief by trade. The only reason why I'm here is so that I can receive the antidote for my invisibility as a reward for being good," Skinner confessed.

Doctor Jekyll seemed extremely put off from Skinner now. Aside from Hyde, Jekyll would consider himself to be a respectable gentleman. If the situation had been different and he were to bump into Skinner on the streets of London, he would try to put as much distance between himself and the thief as possible.

"I see…" Jekyll said, breaking eye contact with the invisible man. "Well, I…" he looked down, and noticed to his dismay that his ever-present pocket watch was missing. "Where's my…?"

Skinner grinned and held up a hand. Pinched between two of his fingers was the chain of Henry's pocket watch. My jaw dropped. At no time had I seen him steal it. Jekyll was just as amazed. He reached for the watch.

"Ah, thank you, Skinner. I must have…"

At the last second, Skinner snatched it just out of Jekyll's reach in a non-verbal refusal to return it. There was a tense moment as thief and doctor stared at each other, neither of them wanting to back down.

"Skinner," I said, my voice firm. "Give it back."

The invisible man slowly, mockingly, brought his arm close enough for Jekyll to grab his watch. "Thank you," he said stiffly, returning it to it's place. I glared at Skinner just was Captain Nemo passed us.

"The solar panels are fully charged," he announced to the League. "We'll be diving in a moment."

Jekyll seemed all too glad to get away from Skinner. He walked with his hands behind his back, acknowledging the captain as he passed through the hatchway after Quatermain. Skinner tipped his hat to Nemo as he passed him and entered the Naulitus. Nemo was the last one in, closing the hatch securely behind him.

"Why did you do that?" I hissed to Skinner. "You don't need to give them any more reason to suspect you might be double-crossing them."

"I wasn't going to keep it," Skinner mumbled. I sighed in frustration.

"Just don't do anything like that again while I'm here, savvy?"

Skinner blinked curiously at the word 'savvy.' The word had sneaked into my vocabulary after my adventure in the Caribbean.

"Okay, okay," my assignment said. "I won't do it again."

I noticed vaguely that the ship was tilted downwards and I remembered we were in the middle of a dive. "Come on," I said, and Skinner and I walked off down the corridor towards his room.

A few hours later and I was pissed off with Skinner once again. He had snuck off on me while he was completely invisible and I had no clue where he was. I barely had an idea as to how I managed to lose him in the first place. He had crept away as quiet as a hunting fox while I didn't have my 'Skinner Vision' on. I spent about half an hour looking for him. I stormed through the Naulitus cursing under my breath and calling Skinner's name. Eventually, I ran into Serro. Well, I was looking around Mina's room for the allusive invisible man and Serro came out and confronted me.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

"Skinner got away from me," I growled. "He snuck off and now I can't find him."

"Well, have you checked…" Serro stopped. I noticed he was staring at my eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"What did you do to your eyes? They're black!"

"Oh!" I had to chuckle a little bit. "This is my 'Skinner Vision,'" I explained. "It allows me to see Skinner when he's completely invisible." I had forgotten Serro hadn't seen my eyes when they were like that, and I hadn't told him about it before. His own eyes were now fully deep green. "Your eyes have turned green," I said.

"Yeah." Serro shrugged. "I thought it was time for a change. Anyways, have you checked Quatermain's room for Skinner?"

"Yeah. I did before. He wasn't there," I said, turning grumpy again.

"Try it again," Serro suggested. I bit my lip in uncertainty. Serro smiled at me and I felt my insides melt and freeze at the same time. "Just a hunch."

"Yeah, okay. I'll go check it again. Thanks." I gave Serro a smile and a little wave. "See you around."

Serro returned the wave. "See you."

As I neared the hunter's room I felt more and more sure that Serro was right that Skinner was there. Each step I took set in me the resolve to set Skinner right, or at the very least, to get him to respect me. I knew that he didn't hold a lot of respect for the rest of the League, but if he didn't respect me then he wouldn't trust me and then he would surely die.

I reached the door to Quatermain's room just as it swung open. I stopped in my tracks, crossing my arms and taking on my best 'ticked off' pose.

"Skinner!" Alan said to the struggling invisible man. I had never heard him sound more irate. "I want you dressed at all times!" He shoved Skinner out into the hallway. The momentum thudded him into the wall opposite the door. "Or it's my boot up your ass!" And with that threat, Alan slammed the door. As humorous as the scene was, I didn't laugh. There were serious issues to deal with here.

I watched Skinner brush himself off and jump when he saw me. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, hi!" Skinner whispered cheerily. The muscles in my right arm flexed as I resisted the urge to smack him. Instead, I put that energy into grabbing Skinner by the arm and dragging him down the hallway, much to his protest.

"Ow! Hey! Let me go!"

"Shut up!" I snapped. We passed Mina's room and Serro poked his head out, grinning.

"Catch him?" he asked. I looked at him and winked.

When we reached Skinner's room I yanked him in and locked the door. Now he was trapped. Now I could scream.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" I demanded, my black eyes blazing. Skinner flinched and suddenly found he couldn't make eye contact with me. "Don't you ever run off alone like that again. In a few days, we're going to be entering more danger then you have ever seen in your entire life. I will not tolerate you disrespecting me like that again, or I swear I will leave you, and if I leave you, you will die. Do you hear me? You will die a horrible, painful death."

I dragged the last three words out, making sure they sunk in. I took a few deep breaths and continued the lecture. "I'm not kidding, Skinner. I would not have been sent here if you didn't need my help. I want to help you. I don't want to leave you. I want to save your life. But you keep making it difficult for me. The rest of the League…the rest of the League don't trust you. They think you may be a spy for the Fantom. Or they will think that soon at least."

"But I'm not," Skinner said weakly. For the first time, I realised how harsh I had been. I must have been radiating anger like heat, making my potential power palpable in the room. I had never yelled like that at an assignment before. I softened my voice a little.

"I know that, Skinner. But you've done nothing to prove them otherwise."

"I'm sorry, Nikita," Skinner said softly. I was compelled to believe him.

"I forgive you, but the rest of the League won't find you so redeemable right now."

"What can I do?"

I bit the inside of my lip thoughtfully. Dorian was going to photograph key areas of the Naulitus tonight. Time to put Skinner's stealth to good use. "It's time for you to become a spy for the League," I said.

"What?"

"They all suspect that there may be a spy amongst them and you are the most likely candidate. They are correct in that there is a spy here sent by the Fantom…and you are going to follow him back to the Fantom's hideout and lead the rest of the League there and I am going to help you." I told Skinner. He was quiet for a moment.

"Who is the spy?" he asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," I said. "He'll be down in the control room sometime tonight. You and I will spy on him, if you want. There is one thing though," I took a step closer and hardened my voice again. "As difficult as this might be, you can not breath a word of this to anyone. Let the others think you're against them. They'll be proven wrong soon enough. But until I say so, you do not speak to a single soul about this. Are we clear?"

"Yes," Skinner said. "But why can't I tell anyone about the spy. Wouldn't it be better if they knew?"

I swallowed. "Now you know how I feel," I said quietly. "You can't tell them about the spy just like how I can't tell you about the near future."

Skinner and I sighed. I noticed the invisible man's eyes flicker to the drinks cart in the corner of his room and back again, as if the bottles of alcohol were calling his name. "Do I have time for a quick drink before I turn into a hero?" he asked hopefully.

A small smile crept onto my face. "As long as it's a small one."