Hello, It's Mrs. Hyde

✧ Ch.26: The Lab - The Reckoning ✧

(A/N: I wanted a song appropriate for the scene and this is upbeat and dangerous so for me it fits)

The converted garage creaked with the weight of unfinished work. Beakers steamed gently, machinery hummed in low, ominous tones, and the scent of iron, oil, and old wood hung heavy in the air. Jekyll hunched over a cluttered metal workbench, his fingers trembling slightly as he stirred a volatile liquid in a narrow flask. The formula was nearly there. Nearly.
Grumpy stood guard by the barn door, arms crossed like he owned the place. "You know it isn't just Emma Swan and her band of hero's that protect this town. We were doing it long before they even knew who they were. We're the unsung heroes of this town, you know," he said, puffing his chest a little. "Protectors of the realm. Ain't nothin' we haven't handled before. Queens, beasts, curses. This? This is just another Thursday."
Doc nodded nervously from the corner, adjusting his glasses. "Uh-huh. Right. Brave and powerful, yes, yes, very."
Grumpy gave him a side glance, clearly unimpressed by Doc's tone.
And then...
A low, sultry voice echoed from the shadows just beyond the half-drawn curtain separating the lab from the outside world.
"Well, it's good to hear you say that," purred the Evil Queen. "Because chaos has arrived."
The curtain blew inward with a sudden gust of unnatural wind. Grumpy's bravado vanished as the tall, dark figure of Regina's worst half strolled into the lab. Her black dress shimmered like ink, her smile dripping venom.
Jekyll dropped his flask, glass shattering at his feet as his heart jackhammered in his chest.
And behind her, emerging from the shadows like the night given form, came Mr. Hyde.
Silent. Still. Lethal.
His crimson eye glinted beneath his wild, tousled hair. The glower on his face alone might've been enough to stop a man's heart. But it was his stillness—his restraint—that made him all the more terrifying. He looked like a creature ready to pounce. Ready to destroy.
Doc let out a whimper and immediately dove beneath the workbench with a yelp. "It's the Queen!" he shouted as he disappeared under the table.
The Evil Queen beamed. "Awww. Did you miss me?"
Grumpy stumbled back, drawing a small, enchanted blade from his belt. "Alright, sister," he said, voice cracking. "Let's dance! We're not afraid of—"
He was out cold before he could finish. A flick of the Queen's hand, a spark of purple smoke, and Grumpy and Doc collapsed in a heap, snoring on the concrete floor.
Only Jekyll remained upright. He backed into a shelf of equipment, breathing fast, his eyes ping-ponging between the slumbering dwarves and the two monsters now occupying his lab.
Hyde said nothing. He simply watched him.
Waiting.
Jekyll's voice trembled as he stammered, "H-How did you find me?"
Hyde moved forward, silent steps echoing. He reached the center table where a small glint of pink lace peeked from behind a broken flask. With deliberate precision, he plucked up the object—a delicate necklace, faded and familiar.
Mary Ellen's.
Hyde let it dangle from his fingers, the lace swaying gently. He spoke at last, his voice like smooth gravel.
"Jessica led me to you."
Jekyll swallowed hard, shaking his head. "So... that's why you're here."
Hyde raised his gaze, and what Jekyll saw there made his knees threaten to buckle. No shouting. No snarling. Just purpose. Cold, burning purpose.
"Yes," Hyde said simply.
And without warning, Hyde lunged.
His hand clamped around Jekyll's throat and slammed him backward against a metal cabinet. Beakers rattled. Equipment fell. Jekyll gasped and clawed at Hyde's wrist, face already turning red from the pressure.
"You wanted to see what a monster looked like," Hyde hissed through gritted teeth, his voice a barely controlled snarl. "Let me show you one. One that doesn't bow to status, or gender, or the loyalty you shattered for your own amusement."
The Evil Queen watched with a glint of amusement, arms folded, head tilted. "This is the man Jessica's afraid of?" she said with a scoff. "He looks like he'd faint at the sight of a paper cut."
Hyde didn't even blink. "She endured him because she needed to. To solve the serum. To set me free. That is who she is."
"A noble little thing," the Queen said mockingly. "Such sacrifice. How romantic."
Hyde didn't acknowledge her sarcasm. Instead, he leaned closer, his voice low and venomous against Jekyll's ear. "She took every disgusting thing you did, every violation, and still...she worked for me to stop you. For us. And now I know everything."
Jekyll's eyes widened. "Hyde—please. You... you can't kill me. You know why."
"Oh, I know," Hyde said coolly.
He released Jekyll suddenly, letting him drop like dead weight to the floor. The doctor gasped and coughed, hand at his throat, eyes filled with terror.
Hyde crouched beside him, straightening his coat with two fingers as though politely preparing him for burial. "You'll finish the serum. And when the moment comes, I will take it from your dying hands. Then, and only then, will you get the death you deserve."
The Evil Queen grinned. "Now that's the Hyde I like."
Hyde rose, towering over Jekyll as his fury returned full force. "But in the meantime," he said, his voice cool but dripping with hatred, "a small preview of what's to come...for Jessica's suffering."
And with that, Hyde struck.
The room became chaos.
He moved like a storm—calculated, brutal, unrelenting. Jekyll tried to crawl away, but Hyde grabbed him by the back of his shirt and slammed him into the desk. Glass shattered. A scream tore from Jekyll's throat as blood splattered the floor.
Hyde didn't stop.
A punch to the eye. A punch to the jaw. Kicks to the ribs and legs. Jekyll's screams filled the lab, growing hoarse, weak. The Evil Queen leaned against the wall, smiling like she was watching a play.
"Mr. Hyde," she purred lazily. "You're going to break him before he can finish his work."
Hyde paused, breathing heavily, towering over Jekyll's crumpled, bleeding body. He looked down, hatred burning in his eyes.
"No," he said darkly. "This is restraint."
He turned away, adjusting his coat like nothing had happened.
Jekyll lay twitching, bloodied and moaning.
"I'll be back," Hyde said flatly. "And you'll have made progress. Or next time, I won't be so merciful."
The Queen tossed her hair, humming as she floated beside him. "Such flair. Shall we go now?"
Hyde gave Jekyll one last glance. His voice was a death sentence.
"Tick-tock, Doctor."
And with that, Hyde and the Queen vanished into the shadows, leaving blood and glass and fear in their wake