The giant's roar rumbled with the turbines. The other members of the League watched as he and the vampiress fought. Adam swung any punch he could at her but Mina was always able to move gracefully out of the way.
El aimed his rifle at Mina as best he could. Aiming at a moving target, particularly one going at supernatural speeds, was bad enough. It didn't help that an invisible person nearby kept moving the barrel of the gun around.
Unfortunately, one of Skinner's jerks caused El to pull the trigger. The bullet sped through the air without hitting any one, but broke into one of the generator's circuits. It took a few seconds before another generator took over. It was enough time, however, for a piercing scream to echo throughout the Nautilus.
"What was that," Tom exclaimed.
"I don't know but it came from…" Jekyll started, beginning to point to the hallway the League had just come from, when he was pushed to the side.
The giant, after hearing the scream, had quickly knocked Mina to the side and ran in the direction of the scream.
"Hey, Adam," Jas yell after him, "wait for us!"
She and her companion ran as fast as they could to catch up. As soon as Mina stood back up, the League took off after them. When they finally caught up to the other group, the trio was in front of one of the Nautilus' janitorial closets, trying to coax something out. The trio didn't seem to notice that the League was hiding behind the corner.
"Hey, Skinner," Tom whispered, "you think you can see what's in there?"
"Let's find out," Skinner voiced back in a hushed tone.
What felt like hours passed as they waited for Skinner to report back. It was hard to guess what could be hiding in the closet. Adam was standing at the left side of door, making comforting sound, something between a pigeon coo and a cat's purr. Jas was in the center of the doorway, trying to convince the thing inside to come out. El was on the right side of the door, facing the corner where the League was hiding, keeping an eye out for anyone coming down the hall. His rifle at the ready and once or twice his glance fell upon various spots on the floor, but not one bullet was fired.
"Hey."
Everyone in the League jumped at the sound of Skinner's voice, though it was just a whisper. The shooter of the other group looked at the corner for a second but continued to check the rest of the hall.
"Easy there," Skinner half joked, "don't want to alert the Calvary."
"What did you discover," inquired Nemo. "Did you see what is in the closet?"
"Yeah, no doubt about it," Skinner replied. "Nothing else in this world has that much color."
The League looked toward the closet to see Adam taking the girl in the rainbow dress out of the closet. She looked far passed frightened as she cuddled up around his shoulder, holding onto the giant's neck like a young child would to their parent. Adam continued to make soothing noises. El dropped his guard to see is she was alright. Jas looked her over.
"She seems fine," Jas noted, "but we should probably get her back to the ship."
"I'm afraid we cannot allow that," Nemo spoke as he came out from behind the corner. The rest of the League joined him, each prepared for the fight that they all knew was coming.
"Thought there was someone there," El muttered.
He looked from his team to the other. The odds were clearly stacked in the League's favor. El looked about the room trying to think of something that would help. His eyes happened to glance up at the pipes on the ceiling.
El shot a bullet at the tubes above before anyone could react. The crack of the gun made the girl grip the giant's neck tighter and bury her face into his shoulder. The bullet broke one of the pipes and hot steam screeched out of it.
The League was startled for a second or so, but it was long enough for El and his group to get a good distance away. Since the steam reached only a few feet down, the League was able to quickly rush off after them. The other group ran down another section where some hallways met. Without taking a second to think, they took the hallway on their right.
"We'll get them now," Nemo commented. "That way leads to a dead end."
As the League turns around a corner, they stop, dumbfounded to what is in front of them.
"You might want to check your blueprints again," Skinner retorted.
The wall appeared to have been pried and kept open by three long poles, which were at the upper corners and at the bottom of the section. On the other side of the wall, instead of the ocean, was another room with metal walls. The League was about to investigate further when they heard a bullet wiz by their heads.
"Ya even try to enter," a voice threatened, "de next bullet goes through someone's head."
The voice had come from El, who had his gun aimed at the League. Adam had taken Ava through a door that led deeper into the area. On either side of El were the other two teammates, the woman the League had met in the church and the woman whom they had been chasing.
"We do not wish for trouble," Nemo mediated. "We simply did not wish to allow our vessel to be trespassed."
"And we simply wished to have one of our teammates returned to us," the woman from the church replied. "Though I must say it is nice to see you all again."
"You're known as Mrs. Keara, correct?" Mina inquired.
The woman did something between a bow and a curtsy. "I am honored that you remembered."
El fired a bullet in the left side of his view. The bullet went straight and met its mark in Skinner's left shoulder. The invisible man had been trying to sneak into the ship. Skinner took a few steps back in shock, giving Jekyll close enough get over him without having to worry about being shot. Though the damage didn't seem to be bad, the bullet was still inside the shoulder and it was hard to see what was nearby.
"Damn," El swore as he reloaded, "hate having to be a liar."
"It's not polite to swear when women are present," Jekyll said, half scolding.
Ms. Keara looked at him with a smirk. "The damn bastard can swear as much as he bloody wants to."
The expressions of every member of the League were mixtures of shock, disgust, and embarrassment. Jekyll, his own face turning pink, could hear Hyde laughing. Ms. Keara's teammates looked more annoyed.
"Really," the other woman sighed, "can you try being civilized for once?"
"Hmm…conform to society and be welcomed with all the other phonies," Ms. Keara mocked back, "or be myself and have fun as I run around the world."
"Be an improvement," El muttered, with his rifle still fixed on the League.
Right after this, a roaring sound, much like the rumbling of machinery, was heard.
"Sounds like de engines have kicked in," El observed, taking a few steps back. "I'm 'fraid dis is where we take our leave."
The poles that had been holding the walls began to fold up so that the walls were closing like doors. The League, except for Jekyll and Skinner, raced toward the entryway before the wall completely closed. Seeing this, Ms. Keara reached into a pocket of her dress and took out a glass ball. The orb was a little bit larger than a baseball and had what appeared to be smoke trapped inside. She threw this ball at the League, which shattered and released the vapors.
Despite being a small, the ball had contained enough smoke to fill the room in a haze. The smoke wrapped around the League, making Skinner easy to see. It caused coughing fits from everyone it reached. The League watched through the haze as the wall closed, leaving three cracks where it had been torn apart.
Even after the smoke had faded, the determination that the League felt was even greater than before. Without uttering a single word, they ran to the bridge of the ship. Jekyll's heart was pounding so loud that he was having a hard time hearing Hyde's comments about the other group, though knowing Hyde this was probably a good thing.
As soon as they got there, the League could see the other ship in front of them.
"They're making for the surface," Jekyll observed, gripping the side of the table so hard his knuckle were almost white. His heart was still pounding from all the running.
"Then we shall catch them," Nemo growled.
The engines on the Nautilus were heard squealing as Nemo ordered the crew to have the ship go forward full. The other ship may have been smaller and lighter, but Nautilus had more power and was going to reach them. At about twenty meters below the surface, the other ship opened some sections on its sides and produced some large fins. Though this did make the ship look cooler, it also slowed it down.
"What are they doing," remarked Skinner, who had become invisible again once he had left the smoke.
No one responded as everyone watched the other ship reach the surface just seconds before the Nautilus. As soon as the Nautilus surfaced, the wave of shock flowed through the bridge.
"Should they still be rising," Skinner asked, joking slightly.
After reaching the surface, the other ship had activated rockets and continued to ascend to the clouds.
Taking only a second to think, the League rushed to the outside platform of the ship. There was nothing to be seen but the starry sky above them. They searched the sky as hard as they could, but the ship had disappeared.
Except for Skinner, every member of the League showed extreme signs of anger and annoyance. Mina was scanning the skies with a look of bloodlust. Nemo was squeezing the railing so hard that it wouldn't have been surprising it became misshaped. Tom had smashed his fist against the side of the ship, not noting any pain that had come with it. Jekyll was gripping his head, almost pulling out his hair. Skinner stopped looking at the sky and casted worried glances toward his teammates.
Within a few seconds of being on the platform, Skinner watched as everyone appeared to calm down. Mina shook her head as she got control of her vampiric instincts. Nemo's grasp on the rail loosened slowly. Tom began to clutch his hand; the realization of agony finally reaching his brain. Jekyll backed into the wall and skid down it as he collapsed on the floor.
As Jekyll's heart stopped pounding inside his head, he began to hear Hyde again.
You certainly had some interesting reactions there.
Jekyll was too exhausted to even think of a response. He rested his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, not quite sleeping but still getting a good rest. The other three seemed to be drained as well. Skinner called for some of the crew below, who came as soon as they heard the summons. With their help, Skinner got his teammates to bed before getting to his own. Everyone fell asleep as soon as they hit their pillows.