AN/ I'm very, very sorry I haven't updated in a month. I've been bad. But I've written most of another fic that I'll post when then one is done. I've also had so much homework it's not even funny. The only reason why I'm able to update now is because I've got a long weekend.

I've just discovered something which amused me very greatly. When I chose the name 'Nikita' for one of my alter-egos I actually stole the name from the title of a show about a femme-fatal named Nikita. I was trying to come up with a wolf character and I thought, "Nikita. That's a good wolf name." I made it one of the Spirit's names as well, and I chose it for this fic because I thought that the League was a bit like a wolf pack. Just now, after doing some research out of curiosity on Peta Wilson, (who plays Mina in LXG as you all know,) I learned that she played Nikita in the show I got the name from! Small world, I guess.

Thank you to my reviewers! (You know who you are.) Please review again!

The day went by extremely fast, which was both a blessing and a curse. At my suggestion, Skinner and I began to steal food and hide it onboard the Nautlioid. Skinner had chosen a secret area by the engine where he could keep warm. I began to get a bit antsy about leaving, but before I knew it night had fallen and the ship had glided into Venice.

Skinner and I waited until after the Nautilus had stopped and the majority of people, including the rest of the League, had disembarked. Then we moved into the exploration pod. Skinner was understandably reluctant to just sit there waiting for Dorian, so I began telling him the what was happening outside as it happened. When I spoke of these events, it was in a distant tone as my thoughts were cast outside.

"'What about Skinner?' Tom Sawyer asked.

'I'd be alert for his treachery,' Dorian warned…

Fireworks going off…false alarm…then the real bombs going off…"

All of a sudden, there was a huge explosion, rocking the ship violently. I continued my blow-by-blow description as if nothing had happened.

"The buildings are beginning to fall, collapsing one on top of another like dominos…a plan to 'interrupt the chain of destruction'…Sawyer in Nemo's car…Quatermain, Dorian and Mina…racing along the canal…snipers above…Dorian blaming Skinner, then jumping out of the car…"

"He's on his way back here now," I said in my normal voice. The invisible man nodded.

"Please continue," he said, fascinated and a bit frightened.

"All right."

"The car with Sawyer, Quatermain, Mina and Serro still in it…"

"Whoa, wait," Skinner interrupted. "Who's Serro?"

Something in me felt like it had been doused in cold water. I had just accidentally given away Serro in a slip of the tongue. I swallowed. No use lying about him now. "Serro is a friend of mine. He's Mina's spirit guide," I explained.

"Oh," Skinner said. "Fair enough. Carry on."

Mentally, I sighed with relief before I cast my thoughts back to the League.

"Tom trying to shoot at the snipers…Mina snarling…'Save your bullets. These men are mine!'"

I must have actually snarled that line because suddenly Skinner seemed even more afraid. I smiled and gave a small chuckle, saying sorry before continuing.

"…the vampire flying up…attacking the snipers…Serro following…people in the carnival panicking…"

The Nautilus began to shake as rubble clanged on the hull outside. Skinner glanced about nervously.

"Quatermain spotting the Fantom and going after him…"

Skinner looked at me. "The Fantom's here?"

"Yes," I said, only momentarily distracted.

"Sawyer getting ahead of the domino effect…Quatermain chasing the Fantom…"

My voice was nearly drowned out by the chaos around us. The ship was taking a brutal beating as Venice crumbled.

"The car flying through the air…Tom firing the flare…the missile launching…and hitting the building…"

A mighty explosion rumbled in the distance, followed by silence. Skinner and I breathed. It seems we were both holding our breaths.

"We should get ready," I said. "Dorian's coming."

Suddenly, the sound of four gun shots echoed their way to us. I clenched my teeth. Skinner gulped and crouched down in his hiding place.

"I'll stay out here," I told him, standing just outside Skinner's little sanctuary. "and report on what's going on."

I began to see flashes of the battle between M and Quatermain.

"Quatermain and the Fantom are fighting…the Fantom's mask has come off…"

There was the sound of approaching footsteps and Dorian appeared. He calmly walked into the Nautiloid and shut the door. He moved to the seat by the controls and sat down. The engine started up and the exploration pod began to move. It dropped into the water and began to swim in one direction. There was a pause, then the pod began to move in the opposite direction. It turned around and zoomed off down the canal.

"The man Dorian shot was Ishmael," I told Skinner. "Before he died, he managed to tell the League who the real traitor is. Everone else has survived. When we stopped, that was just Dorian saying good bye to Mina." I glanced back at my assignment. "You doing all right so far?"

Skinner gave me a thumbs up.

We felt the Nautiloid stop again. The hatch opened and M, still dressed as the Fantom, climbed in. There was a knife sticking out of his back, his thick fur coat having saved him from death. When Skinner saw him, his eyes went wide in shock.

"What happened?" Dorian asked, piloting the Nautiloid away.

"Bloody Alan Quatermain," M muttered. "He knows who I am now."

Dorian set to co-ordinates on the pod's controls and put it on auto-pilot. "Doesn't matter," he said, standing. "I've planted the recording disk and the bombs. In a matter of minutes, the League will no longer be a threat. I've set the pod to go right to the base." He walked up to M and pulled the knife out of his back.

"Thanks," M muttered. "I assume you've brought the samples."

"Of course." Dorian reached into his pocket and revealed a small black bag. I knew that inside the bag was the bits of the League he had stolen.

"Good." A small smile flickered on M's lips. "I think we've earned ourselves a drink." The two men moved to the back of the Nautiloid to share a bottle of sherry. I heard Skinner sigh softly. I turned my black eyes to him.

"Wait until I say, then send a message to the Nautilus. They will survive the bombs, thanks to Hyde," I said softly.

Skinner nodded. He didn't look very happy, but then he had just found out that the man who had promised him the invisibility antidote never really meant to give it to him. It had all been a rouse. This betrayal flued Skinner in his motivation to help the League destroy M.

I waited, flashes of Hyde opening the vents to save the Nautilus and all those on board going through my consciousness. In my mind's eye, I saw the wounded Sword of the Ocean burst onto the surface.

"Okay, go now," I said. Skinner carefully looked for danger, then crept out of his hiding place. He and I tip-toed to the controls and found the device that would send a signal to the Nautilus. Skinner began tapping out a Morse code message. My knowledge of Morse code is extremely limited to the traditional "S.O.S." Even still, I knew what Skinner was saying:

"Hello, my freaky darlings. Hiding onboard little fish with Gray and M. On way to base, east by northeast. Follow my lead."

When he was done I smiled. "Good job. Let's go back." We silently returned to our hiding place.

Once we were safely back there, Skinner fished out some bread he had stored and began to nibble at it. "Don't eat too much right now," I warned him. Then I asked a question that had entered my mind. "Skinner, where did you learn Morse code?"

Skinner grinned and shrugged. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "This isn't the first vessel I've stowed away on."

I smiled. There was a lot about Skinner's past that I didn't know, and would never find out. He was a mystery.

"I always seem to get the mysterious heroes," I thought to myself.

The next few days were very unusual, even for me. Long periods of hiding marked by occasional messages sent out to the League, giving them directions and keeping them on our tail. There were a few close calls when Dorian or M almost discovered Skinner, but I managed to keep him safe and undetected.

At last we made it to Mongolia. Dorian and M seemed glad the trip was over, but not nearly as glad as Skinner and I were. My eyes were killing me from having my 'Skinner Vision' on 24/7. Skinner sent the League one last message telling them where M's fortress was. We could see some rocky mountains jutting out of the snow near the fortress. I told Skinner there was a cave in there and he put that in the message, telling them to meet him there.

We followed Gray and M at some distance through the snow to the huge threatening, castle-like building. It wasn't too long before Skinner started to shiver. The snow and cold didn't bother me so much, but I still sympathised with my assignment. There was nothing I could do for him however. I only hoped and prayed that the League would remember to bring extra gear for Skinner so he could recover a bit before the final battle.

The inside of the fortress was vast, but thankfully warmer. Skinner and I roamed all over, taking note on where things were and what was going on so Skinner could tell the rest of the League. Before too long it was time for us to go and meet them.

"Now I understand why you asked me if I could stand the cold," Skinner said to me as we trudged through the snow.

"Yeah," I said with a slight chuckle. "How are you doing?'

"I'll be okay," he responded. He eyed the rocks holding the cave where the League was waiting. The wind howled and snow fell thickly around us, marking Skinner's outline briefly as it landed on his head and shoulders. He left footprints in the snow, but didn't seem to notice or care that I left none.

"Almost there," I said. "You're doing good. We're almost there."

My eyes were burning. It had been growing worse in the last few hours and finally it became too much for me. I shut my eyes, turning off my 'Skinner Vision.' As I did, I fancied I could hear a tiger's growl on the wind.