Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

The cellar was filled from wall to wall with a perfect recreation of a Victorian laboratory. Gas lighting shed a cheerful glow over the very best scientific equipment from the period: test tubes and retorts, jars full of herbs and acids and strange compounds, Bunsen burners with dancing flames, and any number of things that were rarely seen outside a museum. Dark liquids pulsed through long glass tubes and distilled off into waiting beakers, while brightly colored chemicals bubbled ominously in the background. There was a definite sense of purpose to it all, even if Daniel didn’t have a clue as to what that might be.

Standing before it all, smiling unpleasantly at Daniel and Tina like the lord of his chemical domain, was Edward Hyde.

“Welcome to Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory, where he first created his famous potion. I came down early to set everything in motion for you, just so you could appreciate it.”

“Why are we meeting here?” Tina said bluntly.

“Because I told you to,” said Edward.

“There will come a time when that’s not enough,” said Tina.

“But until then,” said Edward, still smiling his unsettling smile, “you’ll do as you’re told—won’t you, Tina?”

Daniel was quietly relieved to discover that the cellar was so different from the Frankenstein chop shop, that it was having no effect on him at all. He made a point of studying everything with cheerful interest, and Edward made a point of not noticing.

“Everything you see came from the original lab,” he said fondly. “I had it all transferred here when I first moved in.”

“How were you able to keep something like that secret?” said Daniel.

“Did you have everyone involved in the move killed?” said Tina. “The way the old pharaohs used to kill off all their slaves, to keep their final resting place a secret?”

“You spent too much time talking to those mummies, when you should have been killing them,” said Edward.

“Lighten up,” said Tina. “Anyone would think you were worried they might have told us something you didn’t want us to know.”

“So young, to be so paranoid,” Edward said sadly.

“I notice you haven’t answered Tina’s question about the movers,” said Daniel. “Did you have them killed, to protect your secret?”

Edward smiled easily. “No need. I just gave them a nice bonus, and had them all sign an NDA. Oh, and I had Montague use a bit of magic to wipe their short-term memories. Because not even monsters are monsters all the time. You should be grateful I’m letting you see my little den. The only quiet place I can retire to, to escape the pressures of the modern world. There’s no Wi-Fi down here, no phones, and no one to bother me.”

Daniel remembered the mummies, surrounding themselves with ancient Egyptian artifacts so they could feel at home.

“I thought the police destroyed Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory,” he said. Just to show an interest.

“What they found was just a decoy,” said Edward. “I knew I’d have to leave them something or they’d never stop looking.”

“Why are we here?” said Tina.

“I wanted you to see where I came from,” said Edward. “Where all Hydes come from. Everyone should cherish their roots.”

Something about Edward’s carefully chosen words made Daniel suspicious. Edward was telling him something important, and he was missing it. Edward’s smile widened as he gestured grandly about him.

“This is where I was born—not in blood and suffering, but in chemicals and transformation. One man’s dream, given shape and form.”

“Is this where you brew new batches of the Elixir?” said Tina.

Edward seemed thrown for a moment, as though he hadn’t been expecting that question, but he recovered quickly.

“My real lab is far more advanced. It amazes me Jekyll was able to achieve anything in a primitive setting like this.”

“Then what are we supposed to be celebrating?” said Daniel.

“That Jekyll could do so much, with so little,” said Edward. “He may not have had a lot to work with, but he did have an incredible mind.”

He stood there for a long moment, looking out over the equipment and back into the past.

“Why are we here?” Tina said loudly.

“Because I wanted you to see how far I’ve come,” said Edward.

“From where you were made into a monster?” said Daniel.

Edward smiled crookedly. “I wasn’t ‘made’ anything. This is what I always was, on the inside. Buried in the depths of a small man’s mind. The potion just let me out. Like the two of you: a minor police officer and a degenerate party girl . . . But I saw greatness in you, and unleashed it on the world.”

“You made me strong,” said Daniel. “But I have done questionable things with that strength.”

Edward looked at Tina. “Is that how you feel?”

She met his gaze steadily. “Sometimes.”

“You never used to feel that way,” said Edward. “I think Daniel is a bad influence on you. O my children . . . small emotions are for small people. I freed you from your cages so you could lead bigger lives. Don’t let your future be undermined by your past. I made you strong so you could glory in it!”

“Tell us what we’re doing here or we’re leaving,” said Daniel.