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Chapter Text

Reports had flooded the news for the past couple weeks. Londoners were coming home, inexplicably shaken and speaking of an "invisible figure". Some recounted being shoved on the ground, others heard a deep, malicious laugh coming from an unseen source. It was only a matter of time before the news reached the Society. And reach them it did.

Nellie Lovett had been sent to gather information, specifically at the Beating Heart Pub. It used to be her relocated pie shop, but she'd since sold it to a couple she knew well. The pub was alive with a nervous, frightened energy among most of the patrons, retelling their personal encounters with whatever was plaguing London. An old man's tools vanishing from his shed, only to be found in the most improbable places. A flower girl having her basket seemingly float, before it got chucked right at her. Amidst the combined scents of food, alcohol, and bark chips, Nellie kept her focus. Something was telling her these weren't merely drunken ramblings, or any sort of hysteria. The way these stories were told, the genuine fear she heard in the patrons' voices, it couldn't be imagined. Not with this many people. With a silent nod towards one of the pub owners, she slipped out into the night.

Her heeled boots gently clicked on the concrete, as she made her way home to the estate. It wasn't too far from the Beating Heart, thankfully, about ten minutes from each other on foot. Nellie couldn't help but notice just how... empty the streets were, which was odd at this hour. It wasn't even 10pm yet. The sight sent a small chill down her spine, as she instinctively clutched the maroon-colored shawl around her shoulders tighter than before.

As soon as Nellie was back in the estate, she was immediately greeted by both Jonathan Harker and Dr. Henry Jekyll. The two men had been intensely focused on the news, with Jonathan trying to make sense of it and Jekyll already having a prime suspect in mind.

"Nellie," Jekyll began, standing up from his seat in the living room, "did you find anything pointing us in the right direction?" His clear, baritone-ranged voice was mostly calm, but an underlying sense of apprehensive tension underscored his tone.

"I remember hearing some people had caught sight of the bugger. Or, well. What he was wearing," Nellie answered, gently nodding her head. "Something about a trenchcoat and glasses, but nothing else I could make out." As Nellie hung up her shawl on the coat rack near the door, Jekyll's memory started going. He put a gloved hand to his chin, his gaze intensifying as he racked his memory for anyone matching the description.

"Griffin." Jekyll's sudden answer was accompanied by a vocal shift, a hint of annoyance coming through now. Nellie and Jonathan exchanged strange looks, with the exact same question. Who the hell was "Griffin"? Jekyll, sensing their confusion, then called for a Society briefing.

Now that everyone had gathered in the drawing room, decorated by various portraits and elaborate furniture scattered around, Jonathan was the first to speak up.

"Dr. Jekyll, you mentioned the name 'Griffin'. Who is he?" Jonathan, sitting beside his love Mina, raised an eyebrow at the doctor. Van Helsing, the other head of the Society sitting across from the Harkers, froze for a moment. He knew the name.

"Claude Griffin was...," Jekyll sighed out, "he was an old colleague of mine in my university days. Brilliant man, don't get me wrong. But he was very much not of sound mind. Griffin had delusions of grandiosity, that he was superior. And when I graduated and he didn't, that set him off on the path he's followed to this day."

Jekyll's words made Victoria, who was now listening intently after being dragged away from her work, visibly flinch. It reminded her of how she let her own pride and ambition cloud her judgement in her own college days, back when she had initially made Ada and brought her to life. She had left those actions behind her, but it still stung.

"... and?" Nellie folded her arms, leaning forward where she was sitting. She wanted to know what happened after the graduation.

Jekyll nodded gently, continuing his explanation. "He made a concoction, one that, if it worked, would allow him to get away with anything he wanted." Jekyll winced at his own words, the memory of his own self-experimentation coming to mind. "And as you all know from the recent reports... it did."

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"Excuse me?" Victoria Frankenstein finally spoke up. Her thin, darker eyebrows were furrowed, one slightly raised, and she had crossed her arms. "How, exactly?"

Jekyll nodded in her direction, a small grimace pulling at his lips. "He turned himself invisible. How exactly the... potion, for lack of a better term, works, I don't know."

"Fascinating," the raven-haired woman muttered, putting one hand to her chin. She was interrupted from the gears turning in her head by a gentle jab in her side, courtesy of Mina. She jolted from the sudden, if soft, impact, meeting Mina's gaze.

"Miss Frankenstein, now is not the time," Mina stated sharply, giving the aspiring scientist a glare from behind her glasses. Victoria simply rolled her eyes, moving over to stand near Ada, her creation and "daughter".

"That's all very well. But we have to catch him somehow, before someone gets killed." Jonathan shot up, determination clear in his expression. After all, he had already faced and completely humiliated Dracula, a much more severe threat than some allegedly invisible man causing mayhem. Well, to him, it was like that.

"Hm... not a bad idea, Mr. Harker. Erik, Victoria. You two are responsible for setting a trap for Griffin." Jekyll had that gleam in his eye, a plan of action already forming in his mind. Hearing this, Victoria visibly smirked. She'd been waiting for an opportunity like this.

"Understood, Doctor." Erik stood back up from his seat. Already, he was coming up with intricate, detailed contraptions that wouldn't easily be detected, even by someone like Griffin. He and Victoria set off towards his chamber, underneath the estate.

Nellie scoffed, crossing her arms. "You're gonna need bait for a trap, even if it's for somebody like him."

"Exactly. That 'bait' will be the locket around your neck." Jekyll nodded, locking eyes with Nellie as he said this. He gestured to the necklace she wore, or rather, the chain of it around her neck, as the actual locket was hidden underneath her dress fabric.

"... what? Absolutely not." Her body twisted away, clutching the locket in one hand. "Doc, do you know what's even in that? I'm not losing it to him." 

"We'll make sure you get it back. None of us will look inside the locket either, I'll make sure of that," Jekyll reassured, holding his hand out. With a resigned sigh, Nellie unclipped her necklace and handed it over to him. Jekyll gently slipped it into his waistcoat pocket, before leaving the drawing room with Van Helsing right behind him.

Nellie was soon left with just the Harkers, Lawrence, & Elsa, a slight sense of longing washing over her for a second. That locket had been fiercely guarded by her since the disaster back on Fleet Street. She hadn't ever said what was in it, and she had good reason not to. At least Jekyll had promised to safeguard it, and keep it away from prying eyes. That, along with Elsa's calming presence, brought some comfort to her.

Chapter Text

The hunt had officially begun. Lawrence Talbot kept his hands in his overcoat's pockets, staying on high alert. Near him, Elsa, the Bride, seemingly glided along the pavement, staying as close to Lawrence as she could and gripping onto his arm. They'd wandered into one of the more run-down parts of the East End. Her eyes darted around the place, still wary of the people passing by. Thankfully, all she got from them were brief, surprised looks, not any real sense of danger.

"Elsa, stay near me, okay? Don't want you getting hurt," Lawrence huffed out. He was perfectly aware she was capable of defending herself, but knowing her? Violence was generally the last thing Elsa had on her mind.

The two abruptly halted. Lawrence smelled something, reeking strongly of various chemicals. Elsa, on the other hand, caught on to a darker presence nearby. A being with causing chaos on its mind. They exchanged a knowing look of dread at each other, Lawrence glancing up at Elsa's face.

"Griffin," he snarled. They'd found the Invisible Man's hideout, or probably more accurately, one of them. Both of them turned on their heels, speedwalking back towards Jekyll's estate.

-- --

Once inside, they both saw Victoria & Erik planning out their assigned task in the sitting room, making a disorienting trap of some kind. Victoria, seeing her daughter's partner, excused herself and strided over.

"Elsa, are you alright?" Victoria set her hands on Elsa's arms, a slightly concerned expression forming on her face. "You weren't hurt by anybody?"

"... no, Victoria." Elsa shook her head sharply, her loose, reddish-brown curls bouncing from the quick movement. Elsa didn't often say much, only what was necessary.

"We found him," Lawrence began, a brief growl escaping him as he remembered the exact spot. "He's in one of the abandoned houses, over by the East End." His hands clenched briefly, then released after a second. That distinct stench of chemicals was still fresh in his mind.

Erik thought for a moment, getting up from where he was seated. "Then we catch him in one of the alleys." A smirk was forming on his face, it always was at least a little unsettling compared to his usual scowl.

"Yes, but we have to block off the area so nobody else gets caught in it by mistake," Jekyll stated, walking in from overhearing the conversation. "Ada-?"

In response to her name being called, Ada hurried in, stopping in the doorway. "Yes?" She kept her hands in full view, tilting her head.

"We found Griffin, or at least think we have," Jekyll explained. "You will be responsible for making sure nobody else ends up in where we're putting our trap for him."

"Got it." Ada gave a nod, heading back down the hallway.

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Griffin had found it. A silver locket necklace, lying abandoned in an alleyway. He let out a chuckle as he picked it up, turning it over in his hand. How stupid was the person who had left this behind? Sure, it was rusted slightly, but it was ultimately still in decent condition.

"And... now," a voice whispered just above Griffin, to his left.

Within moments, the alleyway was filled with a thick, fog-like smoke. Griffin couldn't see what was around him, even as he tried to feel his way out of the small space. Strong, hair-covered hands gripped the skinny man's arms, pulling him back from the way towards the street. Griffin jabbed his elbow into his captor's stomach, yet the grip remained strong. Inhumanly strong. A tall, imposing figure blocked the way out, her golden eyes glowing bright in the darkness. Griffin glanced up at her. He didn't budge, or even flinch.

"Seems you finally decided to step in, Doctor," Griffin spat, directing his gaze towards the dark space behind him. Lawrence let go of the man, dropping him onto the pavement and on his back carefully. Out from the shadows stepped a short, pale, and hairy younger man. He looked enough like Dr. Jekyll. But... wrong. His eyes burned a deep, nearly red color, and there was something just. Off about him. 

Griffin chuckled, looking straight at the smaller, dark-haired man standing before him. Even being caught in Erik and Victoria's trap, his confidence didn't waver.

"And what the hell are you gonna do, runt?" If he wasn't invisible, he'd have had a smug grin across his face.

CRACK.

With a single, swift blow, Hyde swung his cane down onto the concrete, right near Griffin's head and damaging the stone hit. He had no reason to be this inhumanly strong. In an instant, Griffin's initial taunting halted entirely. In place of his usual arrogance, an intense and unfamiliar sensation gripped him. Fear. Primal, legitimate fear.

He couldn't even scream. All he could muster up was a terrified whimper, as Hyde moved closer and gripped Griffin's overcoat, yanking him up.

"Wanna say that again...?" Hyde broke into a sadistic, toothy grin, his face right up close to Griffin's. The invisible man didn't attempt to fight back, or even say anything. As soon as Hyde let go of him, Griffin scrambled to his feet and fled... only to bump right into Ada at the alleyway's exit.

With a small smirk, Ada finally moved out of Griffin's way. Scotland Yard was already there, having been contacted by Jonathan & Mina right before the trap had been set in place. As soon as Griffin stepped out into the street, he was arrested on the spot and taken away, all the while ranting about "that inhuman thing of a man".

Satisfied with his and Victoria's trap and how things had gone, Erik climbed down from his hiding spot on the roof. He let out a small laugh, his arms crossed. "Good riddance", he muttered to himself.

Chapter Text

"Well? Was he caught?"

Nellie stood in the drawing room, once again surrounded by the other Society members. The locket was safely returned to her, back around her neck. She'd taken it back almost immediately after everyone else returned, though it was Hyde who had given it back without a word, not Jekyll. He'd slinked back into Jekyll's study, Hyde wasn't really much of a social man anyway.

A quick nod from Lawrence confirmed it, Griffin was locked up. For now. A weary Jekyll stumbled back in, holding his pounding head in one hand and slumping on one of the unoccupied velvet couches. His glasses were slightly askew, his neat hair was a mess, and his body was sore all over. He would have preferred not using Hyde at all, it always took a toll on him. But Erik had specifically requested it.

-- --

As the rest of the week passed by, Erik wandered through London's underground. About 20 minutes into his exploration, he heard footsteps approaching. Freezing in place, Erik turned to look behind, paranoia starting to creep up on him. Whatever, it was just his mind playing tricks. 

He heard it again. Someone was down here with him. He knew the underground system inside and out by now. Nobody else knew it better than he did. Cursing to himself, Erik rushed right back to Jekyll's estate, his cloak billowing out behind him. He shut and locked the trap-door in his private chamber after returning, covering it back up with the rug and heading back upstairs. His heart was pounding now, yet he couldn't figure out why.

Elsa almost immediately picked up on Erik's brief panic, and went to go confront him. She found him, hunched over his desk and holding his head. "Erik...? What happened...?" Her bright blue eyes stared right at him, concern flashing in them.

"Nothing, Elsa," Erik snapped. He normally didn't act like this. Not unless something had actually shaken him.

"... someone was down there with you, wasn't there?"

"... fine. Yes." Erik sighed and slowly stood back up, holding his head with one hand. "I don't know who it was, nor do I want to know."

~ END OF EPISODE 1 ~