Disclaimer: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is copyright Alan Moore
and Kevin O'Neill. I'm not making any money off this. Don't sue or I'll
have Hawley Griffin beat you to death with a shovel (and you thought Hyde
was bad...)
Rue Morgue
Chapter 1: terrible things
"You must suffer me to go my own dark way. I have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name. If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also. I could not think that this earth contained a place for sufferings and terrors so unmanning;" - Dr. Henry Jekyll, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson
~~~~~
Henry Jekyll had the most unsettling dream. He had been in London, still a respected doctor. In this dream, he had abandoned his theory that man is two separate beings. In this dream, he had never created the formula that would divide him from his evil half and most certainly never drank it, never turned into Edward Hyde and committed deeds so deplorable and degenerate that any man with a fear of God would cross himself and pray after hearing of them. He had dreamt that he was speaking with two of his oldest schoolmates and dearest of friends. He hadn't committed any damnable acts that would lose him his reputation and his companions, hadn't had to fake his own death and flee the country to escape the gallows.
But dreams must end when one awakens and truth, the cruel beast, devours them, leaving nothing but itself.
He awoke in a cold sweat, near trembling with guilt. One look around his room had broken the illusion the dream had built and he recalled what had brought him to this. Hyde had done many things, abominable things, that shocked and sickened the good doctor and that was why he was here, in Paris
Back in London, Edward had persuaded Henry, in a moment of weakness, to drink the formula. Hyde, however, had been in an unimaginable fury after being imprisoned in the remorseful Jekyll for too long and turned that fury on the first man to cross his path. Hyde killed him, beat him to death with a cane belonging to Dr. Henry Jekyll. But this was no beggar or villain whom Edward had murdered. This was a man who would be missed... a member of Parliament.
It was for this reason that Jekyll had gathered a small amount of his inherited fortune and fled to Paris where he could start over. He rented a flat on the Rue Richelieu, even managed to obtain a job. His medical experience gained him a position at a mortuary just one street from where he resided, the Rue Morgue. It was so named for the many mortuaries it possessed. It was, however, a less than reputable neighborhood, littered with vagrants and prostitutes. But that suited Hyde just fine.
And that was the problem. At first, Hyde had been mostly silent and too in fear of being recognized (even so far from London) to fuss over if Jekyll would release him or not. As time passed, Hyde became more demanding. Edward's thoughts plagued Henry, who spent much of his time praying in repentance with the sound of dark, mocking laughter in his head. It began to effect Jekyll at work.
More than once Jekyll would find himself working late, on an autopsy or embalming, and would glance out a window to spy a pretty whore flirting with passersby. Perverse and base, sometimes violent thoughts would enter unbidden into his head courtesy of Hyde, and he would find himself halfway to the door before coming to his senses. Once this had happened while in his home and he had a bottle of formula half emptied before he realized what he'd done. Thankfully, Hyde had done nothing but drink and flirt with some barmaids for an hour.
The horror of what could have happened that night never left him and, after much thought, he came to a conclusion as to how he could restrain Hyde. Jekyll began to indulge Hyde without actually bringing him out. A few nights a week, Henry would go out and drink or gamble. He even became a regular with the prostitues... Henry had to admit that it wasn't unpleasant, in moderation, but that wasn't enough for Hyde. And after twelve years of abstinence Hyde was very persistent.
Last night had been example enough. He had been weak, tired, and he drank the formula. And this morning, when the fogginess of sleep cleared from his mind, he recalled every detail of what had transpired. Jekyll began to murmur aloud to himself.
"Violence... so much blood..." He looked down at his hands, stained with blood, "My God!"
He leapt from his bed, shaking in fear. Racing to his bathroom, he began to scrub away the traces of Hyde's crime. "Oh Edward! What have you done?" But, from his open window, he could hear the boys selling newspapers,crying it the streets... Murder.
Jekyll was sickened. He poured himself a glass of sherry to calm his nerves.
He remembered everything, could recall every horrible detail as if he had done the deeds himself. Hyde had spotted a pretty, young whore on the street with dark hair and a lithe frame. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to break her neck. He silently followed her and as she arrived home and while she opened the door, he attacked. He forced her to let him inside. Once he had slammed the door shut behind him, he covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. He pushed her to the floor, even as she fought him, scratching and kicking. She managed to rip out a handful of his hair which only angered him.
"Whore! Bloody, stinking whore!" He shouted. Then he struck her and she stilled, crying silently. The sight of tears falling from blue eyes and down that heart shaped face had given Hyde a rush of satisfaction. He kissed her roughly, demandingly. Between kisses, Hyde began to whisper to her in his harsh voice about the many ways he could kill her, all the while his hand caressed her face. His touch glided lower and she began to squirm. His hand moved down her youthfully firm body, and under the hem of her dress. She began to fight again, swearing at him in french. She bucked, trying to push him off. It was useless, of course, she could never match his power. He chuckled as her writhing and trashing served only to excite him further. He held her down, parting her legs with his knee. He pushed up her skirts and-
Henry lost his grip on the glass he had been holding and it shattered on the floor. "No! Please God, no..." he whispered to himself. The terrible memory repulsed him. "That poor girl..."
/As if you didn't enjoy it/ Laughed Edward, inside Jekyll's head.
"I didn't. I'm not the monster. You are."
/Tell yourself what you need to, Henry/
Flashes from last night played in his mind, things felt through Hyde's heightened senses; the warmth of her flesh, her chest heaving as she took in great gulps of air between sobs, Hyde's morbid lust as he held her throat and tightened his grip, the intrigue Hyde felt as her eyes slowly dimmed and her pulse slowed, Hyde's grunt as he climaxed inside the dead girl.
No, he hadn't enjoyed it. The whole time, Henry had been trapped inside Hyde screaming at him to stop. It had disgusted him, as it would anyone who had a soul. "That poor girl..." Henry repeated, as if just saying it could undo all of what had been done.
/Girls, Henry. Girls./ Hyde corrected, with no small measure of glee.
Then the screaming started, the girls mother had come home to that gruesome scene. Hyde was angry at the interruption and in a rage, grabbed a razor that had been nearby and slit the woman's throat with such a strength he nearly decapitated her. Blood sprayed everywhere. Hyde again became agitated at this newest inconvenience and began to tear the room apart, breaking what he could, tearing curtains, even pulling the mattress from the bed, cursing loudly the whole while. Someone would have heard the screaming, he had to act quick.
Calming slightly, Hyde realized he had to dispose of the bodies. He grabbed the girl, and shoved her feet first up the chimny. He had gathered up the mother and threw her body out the window to the courtyard. Soon after there was banging on the door. Luckily the woman must have locked it when she came in. Hyde grinned at his good luck and escaped out a window.
Jekyll glanced at a clock, It was not yet nine in the morning. He decided to get ready for work. If he didn't show up, his absence would arouse suspicion. "Hyde, you rash fool!" Jekyll cursed the face in the mirror, the reflection of his inner self, as he dressed.
/You sound upset, Henry./ Hyde remarked sarcastically
Henry clenched his fists as his anger grew, restraining himself from breaking the mirror. "Damn you! Do you mean to ruin me again? What if we're found out?"
/Ah, but that won't happen. I've assured us that./
Jekyll stood stunned as he remembered more of what transpired last night. On the way home Hyde had run into a sailor. He had threatened and intimidated the poor man to confess to the murder with a story Edward had concocted about a pet orang-outang. They wouldn't hang the sailor for that, not for what his escaped pet had done.
Jekyll had grabbed a paper on the way to work, being sure to look congenial regardless of how guilty and sickened he felt. There it was bright as day on the front page of the Gazette Des Tribunaux. Jekyll nervously scanned the article for any mention of witnesses. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon noting there was no description of the culprit. He continued reading accounts of people who had heard the screams and felt his heart leap painfully into his throat as he saw a familiar name in the article, Alfonzo Garcio, the name of Jekyll's boss.
He quickly and nervously translated the rest of the paragraph, "heard the voice of an Englishman-is sure of this. Does not understand the English language, but judges by the intonation." Jekyll's pulse was racing. He thanked the powers that he had decided to go to work. Unfortunately, he would have to try not to be suspicious, a hard task to accomplish when he couldn't stop trembling.
/Oh, get a grip, you great poofter. No one in this whole blasted country knows that I'm you. You're safe./ Hyde sneered
"But for how long?" Henry muttered to himself.
TBC
*****
Author's note: I wanted to write this to give a little background into what the hell Hyde was doing in Paris, maybe even tie into the comic a little more, and to clear up some things that were a little too vague in the movie. Thanks for reading.
Rue Morgue
Chapter 1: terrible things
"You must suffer me to go my own dark way. I have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name. If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also. I could not think that this earth contained a place for sufferings and terrors so unmanning;" - Dr. Henry Jekyll, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson
~~~~~
Henry Jekyll had the most unsettling dream. He had been in London, still a respected doctor. In this dream, he had abandoned his theory that man is two separate beings. In this dream, he had never created the formula that would divide him from his evil half and most certainly never drank it, never turned into Edward Hyde and committed deeds so deplorable and degenerate that any man with a fear of God would cross himself and pray after hearing of them. He had dreamt that he was speaking with two of his oldest schoolmates and dearest of friends. He hadn't committed any damnable acts that would lose him his reputation and his companions, hadn't had to fake his own death and flee the country to escape the gallows.
But dreams must end when one awakens and truth, the cruel beast, devours them, leaving nothing but itself.
He awoke in a cold sweat, near trembling with guilt. One look around his room had broken the illusion the dream had built and he recalled what had brought him to this. Hyde had done many things, abominable things, that shocked and sickened the good doctor and that was why he was here, in Paris
Back in London, Edward had persuaded Henry, in a moment of weakness, to drink the formula. Hyde, however, had been in an unimaginable fury after being imprisoned in the remorseful Jekyll for too long and turned that fury on the first man to cross his path. Hyde killed him, beat him to death with a cane belonging to Dr. Henry Jekyll. But this was no beggar or villain whom Edward had murdered. This was a man who would be missed... a member of Parliament.
It was for this reason that Jekyll had gathered a small amount of his inherited fortune and fled to Paris where he could start over. He rented a flat on the Rue Richelieu, even managed to obtain a job. His medical experience gained him a position at a mortuary just one street from where he resided, the Rue Morgue. It was so named for the many mortuaries it possessed. It was, however, a less than reputable neighborhood, littered with vagrants and prostitutes. But that suited Hyde just fine.
And that was the problem. At first, Hyde had been mostly silent and too in fear of being recognized (even so far from London) to fuss over if Jekyll would release him or not. As time passed, Hyde became more demanding. Edward's thoughts plagued Henry, who spent much of his time praying in repentance with the sound of dark, mocking laughter in his head. It began to effect Jekyll at work.
More than once Jekyll would find himself working late, on an autopsy or embalming, and would glance out a window to spy a pretty whore flirting with passersby. Perverse and base, sometimes violent thoughts would enter unbidden into his head courtesy of Hyde, and he would find himself halfway to the door before coming to his senses. Once this had happened while in his home and he had a bottle of formula half emptied before he realized what he'd done. Thankfully, Hyde had done nothing but drink and flirt with some barmaids for an hour.
The horror of what could have happened that night never left him and, after much thought, he came to a conclusion as to how he could restrain Hyde. Jekyll began to indulge Hyde without actually bringing him out. A few nights a week, Henry would go out and drink or gamble. He even became a regular with the prostitues... Henry had to admit that it wasn't unpleasant, in moderation, but that wasn't enough for Hyde. And after twelve years of abstinence Hyde was very persistent.
Last night had been example enough. He had been weak, tired, and he drank the formula. And this morning, when the fogginess of sleep cleared from his mind, he recalled every detail of what had transpired. Jekyll began to murmur aloud to himself.
"Violence... so much blood..." He looked down at his hands, stained with blood, "My God!"
He leapt from his bed, shaking in fear. Racing to his bathroom, he began to scrub away the traces of Hyde's crime. "Oh Edward! What have you done?" But, from his open window, he could hear the boys selling newspapers,crying it the streets... Murder.
Jekyll was sickened. He poured himself a glass of sherry to calm his nerves.
He remembered everything, could recall every horrible detail as if he had done the deeds himself. Hyde had spotted a pretty, young whore on the street with dark hair and a lithe frame. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to break her neck. He silently followed her and as she arrived home and while she opened the door, he attacked. He forced her to let him inside. Once he had slammed the door shut behind him, he covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. He pushed her to the floor, even as she fought him, scratching and kicking. She managed to rip out a handful of his hair which only angered him.
"Whore! Bloody, stinking whore!" He shouted. Then he struck her and she stilled, crying silently. The sight of tears falling from blue eyes and down that heart shaped face had given Hyde a rush of satisfaction. He kissed her roughly, demandingly. Between kisses, Hyde began to whisper to her in his harsh voice about the many ways he could kill her, all the while his hand caressed her face. His touch glided lower and she began to squirm. His hand moved down her youthfully firm body, and under the hem of her dress. She began to fight again, swearing at him in french. She bucked, trying to push him off. It was useless, of course, she could never match his power. He chuckled as her writhing and trashing served only to excite him further. He held her down, parting her legs with his knee. He pushed up her skirts and-
Henry lost his grip on the glass he had been holding and it shattered on the floor. "No! Please God, no..." he whispered to himself. The terrible memory repulsed him. "That poor girl..."
/As if you didn't enjoy it/ Laughed Edward, inside Jekyll's head.
"I didn't. I'm not the monster. You are."
/Tell yourself what you need to, Henry/
Flashes from last night played in his mind, things felt through Hyde's heightened senses; the warmth of her flesh, her chest heaving as she took in great gulps of air between sobs, Hyde's morbid lust as he held her throat and tightened his grip, the intrigue Hyde felt as her eyes slowly dimmed and her pulse slowed, Hyde's grunt as he climaxed inside the dead girl.
No, he hadn't enjoyed it. The whole time, Henry had been trapped inside Hyde screaming at him to stop. It had disgusted him, as it would anyone who had a soul. "That poor girl..." Henry repeated, as if just saying it could undo all of what had been done.
/Girls, Henry. Girls./ Hyde corrected, with no small measure of glee.
Then the screaming started, the girls mother had come home to that gruesome scene. Hyde was angry at the interruption and in a rage, grabbed a razor that had been nearby and slit the woman's throat with such a strength he nearly decapitated her. Blood sprayed everywhere. Hyde again became agitated at this newest inconvenience and began to tear the room apart, breaking what he could, tearing curtains, even pulling the mattress from the bed, cursing loudly the whole while. Someone would have heard the screaming, he had to act quick.
Calming slightly, Hyde realized he had to dispose of the bodies. He grabbed the girl, and shoved her feet first up the chimny. He had gathered up the mother and threw her body out the window to the courtyard. Soon after there was banging on the door. Luckily the woman must have locked it when she came in. Hyde grinned at his good luck and escaped out a window.
Jekyll glanced at a clock, It was not yet nine in the morning. He decided to get ready for work. If he didn't show up, his absence would arouse suspicion. "Hyde, you rash fool!" Jekyll cursed the face in the mirror, the reflection of his inner self, as he dressed.
/You sound upset, Henry./ Hyde remarked sarcastically
Henry clenched his fists as his anger grew, restraining himself from breaking the mirror. "Damn you! Do you mean to ruin me again? What if we're found out?"
/Ah, but that won't happen. I've assured us that./
Jekyll stood stunned as he remembered more of what transpired last night. On the way home Hyde had run into a sailor. He had threatened and intimidated the poor man to confess to the murder with a story Edward had concocted about a pet orang-outang. They wouldn't hang the sailor for that, not for what his escaped pet had done.
Jekyll had grabbed a paper on the way to work, being sure to look congenial regardless of how guilty and sickened he felt. There it was bright as day on the front page of the Gazette Des Tribunaux. Jekyll nervously scanned the article for any mention of witnesses. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon noting there was no description of the culprit. He continued reading accounts of people who had heard the screams and felt his heart leap painfully into his throat as he saw a familiar name in the article, Alfonzo Garcio, the name of Jekyll's boss.
He quickly and nervously translated the rest of the paragraph, "heard the voice of an Englishman-is sure of this. Does not understand the English language, but judges by the intonation." Jekyll's pulse was racing. He thanked the powers that he had decided to go to work. Unfortunately, he would have to try not to be suspicious, a hard task to accomplish when he couldn't stop trembling.
/Oh, get a grip, you great poofter. No one in this whole blasted country knows that I'm you. You're safe./ Hyde sneered
"But for how long?" Henry muttered to himself.
TBC
*****
Author's note: I wanted to write this to give a little background into what the hell Hyde was doing in Paris, maybe even tie into the comic a little more, and to clear up some things that were a little too vague in the movie. Thanks for reading.