The Curious Case of the Angel of Death

A light drizzle was coating the streets of Washington D.C. In a deserted alleyway on the outskirts of the city, a somber-looking man was standing near a dead body. His companion was a gruff-looking man with wild white hair and a matching beard.



“Such a shame,” the first man said sadly.



“What’s his name?”



“He was Edward Chagny, a cousin of the Chagny’s of France.” Several more people joined the two men: an Indian man wearing a turban, a white-faced man wearing a trench coat, a woman in a long red dress with an umbrella, a quiet man wearing his Sunday best, and a young man with curly blonde hair.



“Where’s my granddaughter and the other Sawyer,” the second man asked.



“Sam and Christie chose to stay behind,” the woman said.



“These are my associates: Rodney Skinner, Wilhelmina Harker, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and Tom Sawyer. Samantha Quatermain and Christine Sawyer chose to stay behind on the Nautilus.”



“I’m Gilbert Grissom.”



“What happened to this poor fellow?” Skinner asked.



“It appears that he was strangled by some sort of rope. His neck was cleanly snapped. But, a strange symbol was engraved onto his arm. Gilbert peeled back one of the man’s shirtsleeves. Engraved onto his arm was a skull with wings behind it. Mina began to sketch a picture of the symbol. Jekyll’s eyes grew wide in what appeared to be shock.



“It’s the Ghost,” he whispered.



“Who?” Gilbert asked eagerly. But Jekyll’s mouth remained clamped shut.



“Jekyll, you must tell us if it can help,” Mina said gently.



“The Opera Ghost,” Jekyll said.



“Rubbish!” Allan said. “The Opera Ghost is just a myth, a story told to prevent intruders from breaking into the Opera House.”



“That’s not true,” Jekyll stammered. “I saw him with my own two eyes. It was the debut of Faust that night. The young soprano Christine Daae was singing on the stage when the Ghost abducted her right off of the stage. In the process, the Ghost dropped the chandelier onto the audience, causing the Opera House to burst into flames. Jekyll sighed after he had finished his story.



“Well then what are were doing ‘ere then?” Let’s go to Paris!,” Skinner exclaimed. The League headed back towards the Nautilus.



“Sammy Q!” Skinner called out. A scowling woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes came out onto the dock. Following her was a woman with blonde curly hair to her shoulders and brown eyes.



“We’re off to Paris!” Skinner proclaimed joyfully. Mina then launched into the details of the mission.



“May I see your drawing?” Christie asked. Mina slipped it out of her pocket and handed it to the other woman.



“What is the Opera Ghost’s other names?” Christie asked with a peculiar look upon her face.



“I haven’t heard of any others,” Jekyll said.



“This is the same symbol that the Angel of Death used,” Christie said. “I was stationed in Persia to report on the illegal dealings of the Shah of Persia. One of his most prized “possessions” was a man by the name of Erik. He could do spectacular magic tricks but that wasn’t his purpose in the court. He was to build a torture chamber for the Shah. After he finished it, the Shah ordered for him to be put to death. But, the Daroga didn’t carry out the sentence and helped Erik escape Persia.



The League entered the Nautilus after their little history lesson. Sam immediately went to her bedroom to smoke a cigarette. Mina and Christie began to talk strategy, Allan and Sawyer were cleaning their guns, Skinner was muttering something about French whores and was clutching a bottle of scotch, and Nemo was talking to his first mate. Many hours later, the Nautilus arrived in France.



“We must go and inform the Comte de Chagny of his relative’s death,” Allan said. Everyone piled into Nemo’s automobile. Minutes later, the League arrived at the estate of the Comte de Chagny.



“Very fancy,” Sawyer muttered. They were received immediately by the Comte himself. The Comte was a rather small man with blonde hair and a thin mustache. He had rather girlish features and was wearing the latest fashion.



“So, what brings the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to Paris?” the Comte asked. “I had heard that you were in America.”



“We were, for a while,” Mina said mysteriously.



“I’m sorry to inform you this, but your cousin, Edward Chagny, was killed yesterday morning,” Allan said. The Comte’s face darkened.



“Who did it?!” the Comte snarled.



“We’re not sure, but we do have a suspect,” Nemo said.



“Then why aren’t you in America tracking him down,” the Comte asked.



“Because, dear boy, he resides in your fair city,” Allan said.



“Who is it?”



‘It’s the Ghost,” Jekyll whispered, (A/N: He’s taken Meg’s position, hasn’t he?)



“It can’t be, he’s dead,” the Comte said.



“Well, apparently not,” Sawyer said. The Comte called for a servant.



“Bring the Comtess here,” the Comte said.



“But-,” the maid started.



“Now!” he roared. The timid servant ran off to fetch her mistress. Moments later, the servant returned with the Comtess. The poor woman looked extremely grief-stricken. Her curly blonde hair lay wilted just below her shoulders, and her blue eyes were clouded with unshed tears.



“Christine, our guest brings some interesting new. It appears that the monster, you’re ‘Angel’ lives.” Christine straightened up.



“He is not a monster!” Christine said coldly.



‘Are you Christine Daae?” Jekyll stammered.



‘Why, yes I am,” Christine said.



“Was,” the Comte cut in.



“I saw you perform,” Jekyll said. Christine smiled at him kindly. Jekyll began to blush violently. The Comte cleared his throat.



“We must him!” the Comte said.



“Do you know where he resides?” Mina asked.



“No. We searched his home beneath the Opera House, but he was nowhere to be found.”



“Does anyone know of his whereabouts?” The Comte’s face lit up.



“The Persian might know,” he said slowly.



“Well, then, shall we go visit the Persian?” Allan said.