Telling the League was an easier task than Skinner thought it would be. The news that their guest was pregnant and a male had been a bit of a head turner, but suppose when you are in a group with an invisible man, a female vampire with the strength of ten men, and a man who can become someone else, this was not the strangest thing they had seen.
"He's gonna be right batty when he wakes up and sees where he is," Skinner said lightly, tapping gloved fingers against the table; Rodney glad he had gotten the poor sap inside before it started to pour on him and his babe, but now they would have to deal with someone who would be hysterical and might even think they would hurt him or use him.
"He's safe here, with us," Nemo offered a minor quirk of his lip, a signal for calm "We will just need to assure the man that we mean no harm."
"He is running from something or someone; that much is clear," Mina almost hissed, getting an up close and personal look at the poor man had incensed her. She had no idea how someone could do that to another human being.
"Yes, most likely from whoever used him as a medical experiment," Henry piped in, hoping that he would also be allowed to do his own check-over of their patient; gynecology had not been his specific line of work. Still, he had been required to learn some of it, and well, the mystery man might not apply to most of the anatomy, but it would help in his treatment, at least in theory.
"Hopefully, he will be able to tell us more when he wakes up," Allen said. He did not like where this seemed to be going; just who was this man? Quartermain knew human experimentation was an all too real fact of the world and was an evil he wanted no part in, but as usual, the world had once again forced his hand.
Mina shook her head at this. "We can't rush anything."
Jekyll nodded in agreement with her, lightly fussing with his pocketwatch now. "Someone in the condition he is in should not be lifting so much as a paint can, much less have all of us asking questions at once."
"The lot of us might already be a shock," Skinner said before he gave a crooked smile and shrugged his shoulders.
Mina nodded, sighing a bit before continuing, "Perhaps Quartermain should enter first. He is the least...you know, out of all of us."
"You look normal, and I'm a Doctor," Jekyll said, tilting his head.
"I'm a woman, and that might make him uncomfortable on a first meeting, and you might be a Doctor, but he won't know that at a glance and could see you as a threat; Quartermain is an older man who, if cleaned up a bit, might possess enough grandfatherly air, the least threatening thing anyone could imagine."
"So it's just because I'm old..." Alan looked very much like someone had grabbed hold of his beloved gun and spit down its barrel.
"Take it as a compliment," Mina said mildly.
"I'm not sure that's possible considering..." Jekyll started, only to be silenced by Mina's raised hand.
"Let's just get this done."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Looking good there, Alan!" Skinner complimented, grinning as the hunter shot him a look almost as deadly as his aim.
Quartermain had been dressed in a powder blue sweater, washed, pressed pants, and even had his hair fluffed to look soft, wipe the sour look off, and he would look like a grandpa.
Now, if he could play that part still remained to be seen.
Warm
He was warm
Soft
Was this Heaven...
Victor Frankenstein groaned, and hazel eyes blinked open; looking around, he was lying in what appeared to be a hospital room. Crisp, clean sheets and a warm blue blanket covered the exhausted man's body.
The soft light from an oil lantern flickered and drew Victor's gaze to it, and he saw a man sitting on the same side; he was white-haired, with a white beard to match, dark blue eyes sharp, focused on the book in his lap, something about the man, well in appearance he was just an old man, his aura was strong, some strange spell seemed to emit from him.
That sharp gaze was soon leveled at Victor, who felt the urge to curl up like a bug under the sheets to avoid it.
"Good, you are awake," the man spoke in a thick accent, Scottish, lower voice, gentle words but something hidden under the tone.
Victor tried to sit up, his body heavy and uncooperative to his commands making him grunt with the effort begging for some strength.
"Easy now, you were not in the best condition when you were found," the old man said, getting to his feet, voice now more genuine with its softness, and helped Victor sit up by piling a few thicker pillows behind the exhausted scientist.
Victor's hands flew to his stomach the moment his eyes laid upon it and earned the unhappy shifting from inside from this jolt of action, and the man breathed a sigh of relief. "Alive.." was all he could say.
"Yes, our main Doctor and two other friends who are also Doctors said the child looked alright."
Victor offered a crooked, tired smile. "Good...what is this place?"
"The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen HQ, well, one of them anyway, you seemed to have gotten lucky, as our transport planned on having us move out in another couple of days," Alan informed; he was more of a fan of the land than Nemo was, so well as much as the captain wished to return to his beloved ship and seas, he was not so selfish as to leave Victor in the hands of whomever Mycroft picked out.
The fact he had earlier insulted the British intelligence own team via saying they would not know a starfish from a squid proved this enough.
"So we are safe here?" Victor asked, looking around a bit more as if making sure there was indeed nothing harmful waiting in the shadows.
"Yes, you are both very safe here," Alan confirmed
"Good, I'm glad."
"My name is Alan Quartermain."
"Victor Frankenstein"
"That name sounds familiar," Alan asked; he remembered seeing it somewhere...the newspapers? Something about a brutal murder of a child.
"I'm just glad a good Samaritan found me," Victor said, obviously trying to avoid an uncomfortable subject, but Alan chose to let it go for now and fought back a small chuckle at the phrasing.
"Yes, Mr. Skinner was entertaining a group of children when they stumbled upon you," Alan said, leaning back into his chair and allowing himself a moment to relax.
"I-I did hear laughter before I...you know."
"He does seem to hold a soft spot for children" Quatermain smiled a bit, which drew one out of Victor; as much as he and the invisible man did not get along most times, the hunter had to admit the ex-thief did have his moments.
Rare as they were...
"It is almost dinnertime," the hunter mentioned peeking at the clock before a slight rumble sounded next to his ear, and an embarrassed sound drew his attention back to a red-faced Frankenstein and drew out a bell to signal for supper to be brought in.
A crew member entered the room, a tray with some light soup and a small dish with colorful fruit in their hands and gave a friendly smile and a polite wave once their hands were free once the server had set the tray on the table, this was also when the rest of the League chose to enter as well.
More introductions were made as Victor felt a bit overwhelmed by these strange people with odd clothing and mannerisms but knew that they were a far better option than the streets.
"Your presence has definitely piqued our curiosity," Alan said, having chosen not to move from his seat as his fellow teammates moved about the room to find a proper spot without crowding each other or Victor.
"Because of...my baby," Victor said quietly, slowly sipping his dinner, the first proper meal in what felt like years.
"And the fact I found you passed out on the streets like that," Skinner piped up; he would have done the same for anyone. No one deserved that fate.
"I walked a long way," Victor said, feeling comforted by his rescuer's presence, even if he did look rather odd with his choice of garb and makeup.
"Your shoes have been definitely worn out by it," The Indian, Nemo, chimed in, and Victor could sense this man was also one of a sharp gaze that could split rock. However, the ill man managed to not feel as violent a reaction as when he first awoke, the warm soup helping him to relax and the taste of sweet fruit still lingering on his tongue.
"I have been wandering for...erm...what month is it?" Victor slowly asked, somewhat scared of the answer.
"We are in November now, the twelfth," Nemo said
"So five and a half months," Victor sighed as the rest of the League looked at him and each other in shock.
"You must be exhausted, but do not worry; we will care for you until you are well and make sure you are both taken care of," Nemo said, stepping forward with a subtle smile.
"Thank you all very much, and I'm not sure when this baby will arrive but...I am thankful for your help," Victor said, scared about what was coming up quicker than he would like, but at least it would be someplace safe, warm, and clean.
The League had three Doctors? Things seemed to be looking up for them both.
He could only pray it would last.