The Invisibles #6

In part 2 of the 4-part "Arcadia," the Invisibles send their psychic bodies back to 18th century France to meet the Marquis de Sade while a time-traveling assassin tracks down their physical bodies in the present!

King Mob's Invisible cell has traveled to France during the Revolution. Despite the carnage surrounding them, and Jack's confusion; King Mob first comment is about how bad the people smell. He informs the group that they need to meet their contact, who will lead them to the person they're supposed to extract. Lord Fanny asks who they're extracting. KM replies that they're to pick up Donatien Alphonse Francoise aka the Marquis deSade.

They find their contact, Etienne, performing a spell in a nearby house. He is surprised to find that his ritual actually worked. Etienne loads them into a wagon to take them to the Marquis. He explains a little about the current situation of the French Revolution, and also about some strange events that have been occurring: Lights in the sky, and some "thing" eating the dead bodies in the mass graves.

At another point in time, Mary Shelley rides in a coach with her young children. She is reading a letter from her husband, Percy, when a dark-haired stranger interrupts her. The stranger asks her if she is Percy Shelley's wife and pulls an apple out of his bag; offering it to her.

Meanwhile, King Mob's crew is still on their way in the wagon. Etienne expresses frustration about all the subterfuge necessary for the Invisible College, and remarks how difficult it is to keep track of who's working for which side. Jack is suffering from ill effects due to this being his first trip back in time and feels physically ill. Boy comforts him, and tells everyone that something is wrong. King Mob tries to tell her that Jack can't be ill; his physical body is still in the present, but he catches a glimpse of something hiding behind a gargoyle on the top of a cathedral. He looks again, but it is gone.

In 1995 London, Orlando has been having fun. We see him in a trashed apartment with dead and mutilated bodes. "Pop Goes the Weasel" is playing on the record player. The phone rings. He answers it and the person on the other line gives him the location of the Invisibles' windmill.

Back in Paris, Etienne asks the Invisibles whether other people can see the group. KM tells him that they're able to be seen, but since their "appearance doesn't fit the consensus reality", the viewers brains would probably rewrite the information so that it makes sense. King Mob tells him Etienne that's not important, asks their guide about the other spirits he had mentioned. Etienne tells him that they're mostly just rumors. There are rumors of the graveyards being visited by "things like insects". King Mob curses, and recognizes that he's talking about Cyphermen- humans whose individuality have been suppressed. KM pulls out a small gun, that he calls "the ghostbuster". According to the Invisible, it will disrupt psychic projections.

The Marquis deSade, a small obese man who walks with a cane, is at a nearby hospital. He is berating the custodians for the poor quality of the healthcare; the living are sometimes sharing beds with the dead, and other indignities. The Marquis walks past a door and hears what sounds like something eating. Thinking it may be the rats, he opens the door to investigate. Instead, it is a group of three Cyphermen seemingly dissecting a woman's corpse.

The scene changes back to Mary Shelley and the mysterious stranger. The stranger remarks that he has recently read "Frankenstein", and also Mary's mother's work, "A Vindication of the Rights of Women", and mentions that he had once met her mother in Paris. Mary tells him that he must have been very young when he met her, but the stranger replies that he is older than he looks. The stranger notices her children, and says that such long travels can be hard on those so young. He then asks her if she's ever heard of the Invisible College. She answers that she's heard rumors of a secret society dedicated to liberty, and asks him why he wants to know. The gentleman responds that humanity needs it's dreamers, but they must never forget that change comes with a price. He tells her to take care, and she points out that he never told her his name. The gentleman simply acknowledges that he has not.

25 years earlier, the Cyphermen are asking the Marquis deSade to feed on the corpse with them. The Marquis becomes greatly agitated and tells himself that what he sees cannot be real, but he is sorely tempted. He moves closer, and is about to fall prey to his dark desires, when King Mob comes bursting in with a yell. He uses his "ghostbuster" on the Cyphermen and manages to disrupt two of them. The third is distracted by Boy, and is soon dispatched by KM. The Marquis is stunned.

After a short interlude showing the horrors of the guillotine and the joy of the spectators, the scene returns to the Invisibles. KM is telling the Marquis that they want to take an astral projection of him into their future. When his physical body dies in the past, it will reunite with the projection in the future. King Mob admits that it sounds ridiculous. deSade is still in shock over what's happened, so King Mob shows him that the corpse that he thought was a young woman was actually that of a rat. The Cyphermen were trying to trap him. Ragged Robin grabs her head and tells the group that they need to hurry up and get back to their time. Something is wrong, and Jack is still physically ill. She tells KM that the enemy has shut down their return gate; they'll have to find another way home. He thinks for a second, and pulls out the postcard of "Arcadia" that came from Orlando. He tells the group to concentrate on the original that is still in his physical body's back pocket, and they should be able to return. There's a whorl around the group, and the Invisibles vanish. Unfortunately, they become separated. King Mob, Boy, and deSade end up in a physical representation of the Arcadia painting with no sign of the others.

Meanwhile, Orlando has entered the Invisible's windmill. He notices Jack and smiles. He pulls out a pair of pruning shears and in a series of panels that are intercut with scenes of guillotine decapitations, Orlando snips off Jack's little finger...