Taken : An Illustrated X-men fanfic by Squeekness.

[squeekness]

Later that night, Karen Richards sat at her desk, watching video files on her computer, another coffee cup drained and empty beside her. She had been given a good sized room, fully furnished with an attached private bathroom. She was also provided with all the computer equipment and books she needed to work. It was more than she could have hoped for, she hadn’t been prepared for the Professor’s generosity. She was a student at the nearby University and this room was easily twice the size of her dorm room at the school and she had it all to herself. It was a little staggering, how quickly she had been accepted and received here. She had only met the Professor a couple of times at the school but they had hit it off very well and she was happy he remembered her and had given her this opportunity to do some real work. This job offer was the best thing to happen to her and she was thrilled and eager to begin.

She had decided to respect the generosity shown to her by getting right to work. She was doing some research on Kimble. She was running a playback of the Danger Room file of Kimble and Gambit dancing. She had no real pictures of Kimble and wanted to see what he was like. She smiled, amused by his antics. He was playful and easily pleased, happy to have the attention of his friend. She could see how much he and Remy cared for each other. She loved the sound of Kimble’s laugh.

Henry had also given her some data files of what he little he knew about Kimble. It was almost a story of science fiction and it was hard to believe, but she knew the X-men were real and what they did was quite serious and important. Okay, some of it sounded a little hokey, but she would just gloss over it and do the best she could.

She had read in the file that Henry had given her that at one time, Kimble and Remy had shared some kind of playback of Kimble’s memories. A telepathic link had been used and Gambit had been in a kind of shock afterwards. There was also a note that Remy had been ordered to go see her for an evaluation. Henry had been concerned about some residual trauma since there had been a clear indication Kimble had been misused. Remy had blown her off and never rescheduled. Another shy boy. Funny, he didn’t seem so shy this morning, not with Molly anyway.

Henry had described the strong bond between Remy and Kimble and that it was important to include Gambit in any form of treatment for Kimble as if he was the pilot’s parent or something. Interesting. It was clear Remy was going to be instrumental in getting Kimble straightened out. She played the file over again.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose suddenly and she turned quickly. She startled when she saw Gambit leaning in the doorway watching her. Speak of the devil. She had no idea how long he had been standing there. He was dressed for working, wearing dark clothes and the obligatory, rumpled trench coat. It was now quite late, but he looked like he had just come in from somewhere and he smelled of damp, musty places. He was looking at her with a smile of wry amusement. She couldn’t help herself but laugh at him. “Can I help you?”

“De Professor say you lookin’ after Kimble now, n’est ce pas?”

“When he gets back, yes.”

She paused the file and rolled her chair away from the desk so she could turn and face him. She’d met him this morning but hadn’t been properly introduced. He was an outsider like Logan and was never among the main group of people she saw every day. She was curious why he should seek her out now. He looked her over with his glittering red eyes, that wry grin teasing the corners of his mouth. He was quite handsome and she liked the way he spoke. He lounged against her doorframe as though he owned it, his arms casually crossed over his chest.

She extended her hand. “I’m Karen Richards. We met this morning.”

He stayed where he was, enjoying the view. “I ‘member you well enough. You wit de Molly girl, eh? Now dey got you checkin’ out my Kimble. What dey tell you ‘bout ‘im, ey? Dey tell you what a bad boy ‘e is?” He said this in such a way that she knew being a bad boy was just fine with him, preferable actually to the stiff Inner Circle.

She gestured at the file paused on her computer. It had stopped on a frame showing Kimble’s beaming smile. “He likes you.”

Remy shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, showing off. “Dat’s ‘cause I’m too cool. ‘E know class when he see it.”

“I’ll bet. Logan said he was bisexual. You and him ever...you know?”

Remy laughed heartily, not the least bit put off by the question. She couldn’t help but laugh a little herself at the sound. It was playful, full of fun and passion and she loved the way his whole body shook with it. It was a trait both he and Kimble seemed to share.

“Oh, you real smooth, chere. You all right...you all right.” He wiped at his eyes and then turned serious. “Who tol’ you ‘e was bisexual, eh? Dat fool Logan? Bet he tol’ you all kinda fine stories ‘bout ‘ow Kimble couldn’ control his’self. Kimble jus’ love to f-ck, eh? Too bad ol’ Wolvie never saw past de outside of Kimble. You really wanna know why de Kimble couldn’t hang up here wit de great an’ wonderful, perfect little X-men?” He reached into one of his deep pockets and tossed her a CD in a slim black case. “You be careful now, you didn’ get dat from me.”

“What’s this?”

“De truth. You see ‘im for real, you’ll understand everyt’ing.”

“You going to stay with me while I watch this? I might have some questions.”

“Gambit seen dat already. He knows what’s dere. You look wit your eyes, look wit your heart, you’ll see what you need, bien?” He grinned at her flirtatiously and walked away, blending into the darkness of the hallway as if he hadn’t really been there at all.

Karen grinned, shaking her head, and turned back to her computer. It hadn’t failed to amaze her yet, all the posturing going on this house. First Logan with his big bruiser image, now Gambit as the mysterious thief in the night. Oh, yes. It was going to be so much fun living here.

Karen put the disc in her computer. Remy had recovered the Danger Room file of Kimble playing around with the Jean hologram and had just given her a copy of it. Karen was happy to have this second glimpse of Kimble, she’d never gotten a chance to meet him and it was helpful to have as many chances as possible to put a face to the name. As she watched, she found it interesting that first hologram file Kimble called up was Remy’s. She watched how tenderly Kimble kissed him and knew what that was all about. Kimble had asked and Remy had respectfully declined.

Kimble moved onto the Jean hologram and she now knew what Remy was saying. Kimble was frisky, very open minded in his options. He looked at Jean with the same amount of interest as he had Remy. Karen chuckled as she watched Kimble fool around with this ersatz Jean Grey. Every man’s dream. A fantasy girl that did what ever he wanted. According to some of the paperwork Henry had given her, that’s what Kimble was supposed to be only he was more sentient than the Siskans normally wanted in a hologram. Funny now how Kimble was seeking the same thing here. He must be awful lonely, to want to use a hologram like that. She recalled the notation about Kimble having been mishandled and wondered if it would come into play here.

The Jean hologram wasn’t co-operating. Kimble had gotten her down to the floor and ripped off her clothes. Even though Kimble had snuck in here for his own gratification, Kimble still touched this artificial woman with real care and affection. Interesting.

Karen jumped in her chair when the hologram suddenly changed. Kimble leapt back and she saw his terror. She watched in horror as Kimble tried to flee. She didn’t understand why he kept flying into the walls until she remembered that he supposedly knew how to phase. It wasn’t working now. It also hadn’t escaped her notice that it sounded like Kimble was talking to someone in his panic but he’d supposedly been alone.

Karen was stunned at the ferocity of Wolverine’s attack. She had been told Logan had claws and was a savage fighter. It hadn’t prepared her for what she was seeing. Now she was seeing him at his worst, in full berserker mode. A snarling, bristling killing machine, hell bent on destroying the target. It was horrifying and made her seriously consider her attraction to the man. It was so much like the stories she’d heard about Sabretooth. How would she fare in an argument with this guy? Did he lash out at others like this frequently? She hoped not. He had seemed passive enough the few times they had spoken. Kimble had her full sympathy now as she watched how well this simulation hunted Kimble down with relentless fury.

She started to get an idea. Kimble hadn’t expected this. Someone else had deliberately changed the hologram, setting it to attack him on purpose. She’d been told Kimble was a troublemaker, but what she saw earlier she now recognized as a call for help. Kimble was having trouble integrating and the only one helping him was Remy. Supposedly Remy had even snuck him off the grounds, taking Kimble to get laid in an effort to calm him down. Probably as an apology for refusing him, if she had to guess. That’s not exactly what Henry had put down in the notes, but that’s what he meant. Remy wasn’t supposed to do that and had been punished somehow.

Now, in the file, someone was voicing their disapproval of Kimble’s flirtatious and playful nature. There were no notes on this encounter, only a vague reference to a Danger Room mishap. Henry hadn’t been fully informed, someone had kept this from him. Kimble had stayed overnight in the infirmary, recovering from the shock. He wasn’t quite the same after. There was no mention of who had done this to him. She speculated it must be someone who knew him well, they chose the one person who clearly terrified him most. Kimble had a fear of Logan and now someone had used that fear to make things worse.

Kimble screamed in terror and tacked the artificial Wolverine against the wall. Karen couldn’t help but shiver at his form of self defense. She had to keep reminding herself that the hologram of Wolverine wasn’t real. Kimble’s terror was, though, and she could see him start to break down and go into shock. The doors to the room finally opened. Karen watched as Remy didn’t hesitate to come to Kimble’s aid. Logan did not and didn’t even seem fazed at what Kimble had done. He growled his sharp command to the computer and the file ended.

Karen played the file back a few times then paused it on a view of Kimble kissing Remy. She couldn’t help but see the love that was there. It touched her. She recalled the way Remy had laughed at her question. She wondered if Gambit regretted his decision to turn Kimble down and if he’d already given himself to Kimble. There was something there in his eyes. No, she decided. If he had, Kimble would have stayed. Perhaps what she saw was Gambit feeling somehow responsible by refusing him. She’d love to talk to him about it, but she could already see he was someone who kept his secrets. Men were so silly. They never wanted to admit they had feelings and always got squeamish about sex. Not that it stopped them from doing it, she laughed to herself. Maybe she could draw some more details out of Remy given enough time.

She found Gambit intriguing and decided to pull up his personnel file. Henry had given her access to some of the files on his Mainframe. It made for some interesting reading. His powers didn’t interest her so much as his past crime and his once being booted off the team. The Morlock Massacre wasn’t fully detailed, nor was his involvement. All that was mentioned was that Remy was responsible for bringing the killers down there, something he had never explained the reason for. Gambit was never going to be an Inner Circle associate, neither would Kimble. Two peas in a pod, these. Both fun loving, playful, flirtatious (or obnoxious depending on your point of view). It was easy to see why they would become friends. When one is an outcast, there was safety in numbers.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[squeekness]

(Six)

Over the next couple of days with the Kings, Kimble did his best to try and fit in. The group conducted itself in a rigid military style that Kimble simply had a hard time wrapping his brain around. Here Kimble was expected to attend classes whether he liked them or not. If he didn’t participate, he was criticized. He had to wear the uniform and appear on time. He was still not allowed near a phone, but was kept so busy, he wouldn’t have had much time for it anyway. He had classes, classes and more classes. There were academics, Math and English, which bored him to tears, and the political classes which horrified him with their constant display of carnage. There were photos of the camps and worse, video clips and movies. They made him think of the Dognan pens and the misery Fallen had suffered there. He just didn’t want to think about it at all.

The point of all this training of course was to prepare teams for Cameron’s covert activities although that wasn’t expressly said. The idea of going out there and doing things for the mutant cause was stressed and highly praised. Any time the Freedom Kings pulled off some amazing caper, it was spread around quickly and glorified, echoing with promises of glory. Most of the people here were young and had been left on their own, here there was a strong sense of family and it was with this that Cameron Bishop bound all that promising talent to his side.

There were some classes Kimble did like. He had flight class and clinics for telekinetics. He also had regular workouts with Kyle’s team in the gym. This was to build unity on the team and help them work together as a unit. Normally someone as green as Kimble would never be added to such a team, but this time it was under Cameron’s orders. Kimble was getting a crash course so that he would deployed with the team that much sooner.

Today they were running an obstacle course in the huge gymnasium. The course was very physical and they were told not to use their powers, the idea was that they should be able to handle themselves without them. Kimble loved his body and what he could do with it, so he enjoyed this very much. They worked their way through the course easily enough until they came to a big jump. They were going to have to use a rope to swing across and scramble up the other side. Leon looked back at Kimble with a nasty smile. “Who ever doesn’t make it across has to f--k Gail!” he joked.

Gail laughed a little, but her eyes were mad.

“You’re too bad, Leon,” Michael said with disdain, not really approving of the comment. He grabbed the rope and leapt, making the distance easily.

Kimble felt sorry for Gail so he grinned at her with his ususal charm and said, “Sounds like a win/win situation ta me.”

Leon laughed cruelly and sneered. “I suppose it would be if you don’t mind being skinned alive. Her scales can rip your skin off.”

Kimble looked back at Gail and winked, grinning even wider. “I just loves a challenge.”

Gail laughed and gave him a shove. “Well, go on, then.”

Kimble took his turn and missed. It wasn’t on purpose although the guys teased him about it. He caught the edge and scrabbled madly with his toe claws, but couldn’t pull himself up. He fell and landed with a thud on the mat, laughing. Oh, well. He watched as Gail easily jumped across over him. She looked back at him and teased with a wink, “Hope you f--k better than you jump!”

He grinned at the challenge, seeing this as just another form of play. He had grown quite fond of his new roommate and made it quite clear he had no desire to leave for another room. She seemed to welcome his company and they had become fast friends. She helped him out a lot, especially with his school work. It wasn’t that he didn’t get it, he was really quite smart, he just struggled with his attention span. She made work time fun. He knew she was just joking around about the sex, he sensed from her already she had never been with a man. It puzzled him, she was no child. He guessed it was her mutation. Well, there were ways around that if one were clever enough.

Kyle did not teach this class, that had been left to another. The irate instructor came over and shouted. “You there! Kimble! Get your ass moving! This isn’t nap time, boy!”

Kimble got up, grumbling, his good mood dissipating quickly. He was too slow, he wasn’t quite good enough. Hell, he just didn’t give a crap, really. He heard these words all day long. They were so serious here and he didn’t like it. He wanted to play, but it wasn’t going over any better here than it had at Xavier’s.

Kimble used his power to jump back up to the top, bringing another round of complaints from the teacher, but he didn’t care. He tuned the man out and caught up to Gail, coming up quickly behind her and making her laugh. He whispered jokes in her ear, playing around and was happy to see her smile. She had a nice smile, he thought. Her teeth didn’t frighten him, they were a part of her and he just didn’t care about them at all.

“You bad boy!” she hissed playfully. “You get in so much trouble!”

He just laughed and played around some more. He managed the rest of the course without incident and was happy when he saw Kyle come walking into the gym, he was here for Kimble’s flying lesson. This was the one area that Kimble took very seriously. He scampered over and Kyle couldn’t help but laugh at Kimble’s enthusiasm.

They walked over to a special area set up for flyers. This was an areal obstacle course with hoops and bars to weave around. It taught control and cornering. The trick was to see how fast you could fly the course without crashing or knocking all of the hoops down. Kimble was learning quickly and went right to it. They both vaulted into the air and ran the course. Kimble flew through the hoops and bars quickly and easily, remembering well the lessons Kyle had taught him. He was fast and nimble, acrobatic as he moved through the air. They played tag and Kimble had quite the blast.

Kyle enjoyed these sessions, too. Mostly because it was one area where Kimble truly applied himself. He was impressed at the speed at which Kimble learned when it was something he cared about. Kimble could dodge and twist at impossible angles to make the turns, making it clear he was no ordinary creature. He had no real bones and could flex and contort his body to gain precious extra seconds if they tried to race. Kyle was left in the dust, laughing and shaking his head in wonder.

He was aware that Kimble was struggling with the other courses, his biggest foe being boredom and an aversion to violence. This was puzzling. If Kimble was going to be some kind of protector, that was a real problem. Can’t have your heroes go squeamish on you --- tossing your cookies or bawling your eyes out was definitely not a good way to make a good first impression on your opponent.

Kimble laughed and came up behind Kyle, lightly touching him on the shoulders with his hands. Kimble always did this and it took some getting used to. Kimble wasn’t being pushy here, he was just being affectionate, something that came out easily when he was happy or playing around. Kimble liked to touch, to feel. He was very demonstrative in his affection and loved to play around. Kyle had always been a serious man and a little closed off so this was a bit odd to him. Kimble was getting him to relax some, he found himself laughing a lot more than he used to, especially after a fun session like this.

They landed and Kyle toweled off. He was drenched in sweat, but Kimble wasn’t even winded. Man, he was getting old. “So, Kim. How’s it going? You settling in?”

“Guess so. Gail’s real nice.”

Kyle grunted with a smile. It hadn’t taken long for the place to buzz about how well those two had hit it off. “And the classes?”

Kimble just shrugged and looked away. They were horrible, but he didn’t want to talk about it. It seemed like no one understood how boring and useless they were. “S’ all right, I guess. Kin I run the course again?”

“Sure, Knock yourself out.”

He watched as Kimble ran and took off. He really had improved quickly. He could fly unaided through the course and was almost ready for tactics and evasion, both combat courses. This was assuming he didn’t chill out on those as well. Kimble had also done well on shield making. He was adept at controlling the size and thickness of shields, something that was very difficult to do. His progress was uncanny and Kyle figured there had to be some kind of motivating factor behind that, one that wasn’t too difficult to figure out looking at how Kimble’s eyes were always on Gail when they were together.

The one thing Kyle had avoided was the making of and use of spikes. That one was simply too dangerous. It would be a while before that came up. So far, Kimble hadn’t asked about it.

Kimble had also given up on the phone. He no longer asked about it, learning quickly that he would be persuaded to do something else instead. He visited the Club’s many rooms, but still seemed kind of lost or undecided. Kyle knew it was just a matter of time before he settled in all the way. He would get into the rest of the classes, too, once he got his head together.

The best thing to happen to Kimble was having Gail as his roommate. She had taken the young pilot under her wing and was taking care of him quite nicely. It certainly made it easier for Kyle. He hated to babysit and she had taken over for him with ease. Soon enough, Kimble would forget about the places he’d been to before and become one of them.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[squeekness]

------------------------

Kimble lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was so bored here. He found the academic classes meaningless and wanted only to have a little fun. This place wasn’t what he expected. Yes, he could romp around in the Club, but it was quickly losing its appeal. He was becoming more and more aware that he was enjoying himself far more in his quarters with Gail than he was out there with strangers.

The door opened and Gail stomped in, her face tense and angry.

Kimble rolled over to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just the boys being brats. Sometimes I really hate them!”

“They still pickin’ on ya?”

“Of course,” she snapped. Just because they all wore the same uniform didn’t mean a certain amount of teasing didn’t go on. Poor ugly Gail got more than her share. She flopped down on her bed and clicked on the radio, surfing until she found a Rolling Stones song she liked. She sighed, her back to Kimble.

He felt bad for her, knowing her pain all too well himself. He got up and sat next to her. He gently stroked her shoulder, forming a light telekinetic shield around his hand so her scales wouldn’t shred his skin. He was enjoying himself in the rooms of the Club, but something was lacking. He wanted the friendship he had with Remy and the closest he had come to that was Gail. He knew she wanted and needed to be touched in a very real way and so had come up with this idea to help her. He hoped that if he could get her to loosen up a little, they would become even closer as friends.

She turned to face him, startled. “What are you doing?”

“Touchin’ ya. Ya feels bad an’ I don’ like it.”

“No, how can you touch me? No one else can.”

Kimble shrugged casually. “ ‘S easy, really. I jus’ made a shield, that’s all.”

“No one can do that.”

“No. Sounds more like no one else ever tried.”

“You did,” she said softly.

“That’s cuz I hates ta see you in pain. I knows what it’s like when no one likes ya. It sucks.”

“Yes it does,” she agreed, closing her eyes and enjoying the play of his hand on her skin.

“You wants ta dance?”

“Um, I don’t know how,” she said, feeling awkward.

“I kin teach ya. It’s lots more fun than runnin’ obstacle courses, that’s fer shure.”

He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. He surprised her again by putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. He was bare chested as always, but protected himself the same way he had covered his hands. The shield was paper thin and flexible, it didn’t stop her from feeling the heat of his body. She relaxed against him and just shuffled her feet, letting him lead her. He lay her head down on his shoulder and embraced her, giving her a sense of closeness she hadn’t felt since her mutation had kicked into high gear and made her deadly. He chuckled softly when he felt her happiness and hummed along with the song, petting her hair and loving this moment.

“You’re nicer than every one else,” she whispered softly.

“That’s cuz I’m Kimble,” he playfully agreed with his usual humbleness.

She grunted a laugh. “I’m glad you’re my roommate.”

“Me, too.”

They danced for a while and then she left him to get some junk food from the kitchen. She lit some candles and they sat on the floor, laughing and telling silly stories about their lives. They stayed up late and played around, not caring about the next day’s classes. Kimble enjoyed every moment and started to feel better about this place. Maybe he had found a friend here after all.

The two of them grew even closer as the next couple of days passed. They were always together. Kimble daydreamed in class, not even paying attention. He was flunking out according to the teachers, underachieving deliberately, but he just didn’t care. Even comments from Kyle failed to raise his interest in anything other than flying or exploring his powers. He was always thinking about Gail and new ways to make her laugh, to make her happy. The classes with Kyle on shield making had given him some ideas and he was impatient to put them to use.

The next night, when he and Gail were once again surrounded by candles and Dorito chips, he tried to kiss her. The moment was awkward, the magic almost lost because her teeth were simply too jagged for him to get it right. She pulled away from him, upset at her ugly face, but he wouldn’t let her go. He grabbed at her and slid a hand up her shirt, getting her attention another way.

“Stop!” she said, almost crying.

He could feel the heat of her body and read her shine. It was the last thing she wanted. “Not a chance,” he growled and lay over her, making her gasp and shake with arousal.

“You’ll get hurt.”

Kimble used a hand to brush her hair back from her eyes and looked at her deeply, willing her to understand his motivations. “I toldja I loves a challenge. I meant it. You wants me, I’ll makes it happen. I cain’t make ya pregnant, I cain’t makes ya sick from makin' love, none of that. All I kin do is make ya shakes and shivers like nuthin’ else. I kin do it. I wants ta do it. I wants ta hear ya all happy an’ cryin’ out from me luvin’ ya. Just say yes, baby doll. Yer my friend an’ I won’t hurts you, I promise.”

She trembled below him. “All right.”

He said he could make it happen, and he did. He shielded as much of his skin as he had to and did his best. He took his time in exploring her, he wanted to touch her all over and make sure she was really ready for him to do this. She was not his first virgin by far and he employed his empathy to stay in tune to her, falling back on skills he had learned long ago in another place. If he sensed her fear, he would back off. It didn’t happen. He couldn’t stop the sly smile of satisfaction when he discovered there were some places she didn’t have scales.

“Well, what do ya know ‘bout that? I thoughts ya said ya had scales all over, darlin’. Ya gots no scales down here,” he teased.

She laughed in spite of her nervousness. This was all so new to her, things she had only read about or heard other people doing. Still, she was having a blast. “Guess I was wrong.”

“You ever been kissed down there?” he asked with a mischievous smile and cocked his eyebrow at her invitingly.

“Why would anyone kiss me there?” she asked, naive.

He just laughed and showed her why.

Afterwards, when he had showed her that and so much more, Gail lay on her bed, Kimble wrapped up tightly around her. He had made her feel things she hadn’t thought possible. He was like a gift from Heaven, a treasure. Of all the men she had ever known, he was the first to want to do this for her. Not even Kyle had and now she realized he probably had been capable of this all along. She was no longer a virgin, something she had never thought would happen. Her biggest fear had always been that she would be raped for her first time, at least her mutation had kept that from happening to her. This was all together different. It hadn’t hurt at all and was just as marvelous as he had promised. She couldn’t wait for him to love her again.

She petted Kimble’s head gently and heard him growl softly with happiness even though he wasn’t really awake anymore. He had pleased her by making love to her then did something more wonderful than that by simply curling up in bed with her like this. His head lay on her green, sparkling breasts, one hand on her belly, twitching slightly as he dreamed. Even in sleep, he was still protected by a mental shield, his time spent on developing his powers not gone to waste. He was warm and comfortable, drunk on her vibrations of love and joy, thrilled that he’d made her as happy as he hoped he could. She could sense this from him, it was in the smile that still danced across his lips and the low growl that had leaked from him, almost like a purr.

Gail felt a small trickle of fear as she realized that she might be falling in love with him. What if he didn’t want her? She knew he used the rooms in the Club -- all of them. Well, not the ones where people came out all whipped and bruised, but maybe had just hadn’t gotten around to those yet. Would she be enough to satisfy him? To truly love him, she might have to give him some freedom to roam a bit. In her present state of mind, she almost thought it might be worth it just to keep him here with her.

He seemed to sense her thoughts and shifted slightly, holding onto her even more tightly. He didn’t wake, but rubbed his cheek against her and sent her a vibration of reassurance she could feel. She wasn’t sure what it meant, how he had made her feel it, but she relaxed and closed her eyes, ready for sleep herself now. Tomorrow would wait. All she wanted now was him next to her.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[supercheese02]

i made a superhero parody feedback would be nice

http://youtu.be/IGTzL8d25x4

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

i made a superhero parody feedback would be nice

http://youtu.be/IGTzL8d25x4

Dude, you are supposed to start your own thread for these kinds of things. I can't comment on your thing cause I can't get on youtube.

 

[squeekness]

I'm guessing that is spam anyhow, but thanks.

 

[squeekness]

(Seven)

Time passed quickly by with little change in Kimble’s situation. One week bled into two and Gambit was fit to lose his mind. They had spent countless hours gaining little or no knowledge of Kimble’s whereabouts, the Siskan was never once spotted outside of the building for them to nab him. At the same time, Kennedy saw nothing of Kimble at all in Cameron’s public lower levels, it was like the pilot was a ghost. Kimble hadn’t once tried to call and Remy just knew he must have been isolated somehow, he found it hard to believe Kimble would willingly walk away without trying to contact either him or Fallen. His greatest fear was that Kimble’s memory had been somehow damaged during the melting and maybe he simply didn’t remember the X-men at all. It didn’t go along with what Anya had said, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen. Gambit was willing to hang loose until Anya’s two weeks passed and not panic. After that, he was going in no matter what the Professor or anyone else thought about it.

Remy’s forays into the Morlock tunnels to find Jael’s hideout were a wasted effort. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. They now had a detailed map of the area, something Charles had always wanted, but never got around to doing. The Professor watched as Gambit walked silently into his office and dropped off the revised and updated map without saying a word. He knew why Gambit had gone and the pain in the eyes of his thief was enough for him to know the boy was suffering.

The Professor was busy, organizing his teams. Like Gambit, he was aware they were running out of time. If they were going by Anya’s prediction, they now had only two days. Unlike Gambit, Charles, he wasn’t so foolish as to go charging into Cameron’s hideout -- that man’s lair had an unknown number of powerful mutants ready to defend him, it was too big of risk to take with so little information. Charles figured that if Kimble was going to a warehouse, they would set up there. He was already organizing his teams, who would go where.

It troubled the Professor not to include Logan in the teams, he was a core member and always valuable, but Anya had made it clear he shouldn’t be included. The Professor wanted to have all his bases covered and was taking no chances. It didn’t escape his notice that the day Anya predicted Kimble would show up was the Fourth of July. There was sure to be lots of people around and fireworks going off all around. Perhaps this could be used to help cover their operation of things got too rowdy. He just prayed things wouldn’t get too out of hand.

Fallen was quiet and sad these days, saying little as she continued work on Seth’s codes. She applied herself to this end with silent desperation, fearing that she would never have Seth free from the system. Without Kimble as her go between, she felt isolated form Seth and it was breaking her heart. She didn’t drop her drug use as Remy had suggested, but wasn’t so stoned she couldn’t work her shift on the rooftop observation of Cameron’s building. Logan would growl at her with disapproval, but she just looked away not wanting to argue.

The time passed for Kimble as well. He wasn’t settling in as well as Cameron had hoped, growing progressively worse over time as he found new ways to slack off. Kimble had quickly lost whatever residual interest he had in the academic classes, the pictures of dead Jews and mutilated mutants was more than he could bear. He also avoided Joshua whenever the albino came near, not wanting to hear about what a Channeler was or learning about swords. The thought of it filled him with a sick loathing it would take a miracle to overcome.

Having found a new source of entertainment, Kimble skipped class as much as possible and dragged Gail off with him. He had liberated her sexually and it wasn’t difficult to distract her, she was a new person and blossoming under his care. Oh, what fun they were having. They snuck off everywhere, finding new places to hide off in. Broom closets, empty class rooms, other people’s dorm rooms. Nowhere was safe from their playful invasions. They romped and played and romped some more. Kimble taught Gail a great many things and she was an eager student. No charm power was needed here, Gail followed him willingly. He made her feel loved and wanted. He made her feel pretty, something no one else had ever been able to do. It was working, she carried herself with a new grace and self confidence her fighting skills had been unable to give her. She was making up for lost time quickly, becoming quite the bold and adventurous lover.

While Kyle was happy for Gail, he was furious at Kimble’s shameful behavior. He yelled at the pilot about missing his classes but was ignored. All of Kimble’s teachers complained but Kimble just wasn’t interested, he just didn’t see what the big deal was or why he was even required to lean these horrible or boring lessons. In a bid to force the Siskan back into compliance, Kyle threatened to cancel the flying classes with him. All it did was make sure Kimble showed up for the classes he skipped. He arrived on time, but would sit at his desk and lay his head back with his eyes closed, giving up all pretense of caring.

At least the flying lessons were going well. Kimble had accepted the Evasion and Tactic class, seeing it more as playing games than actual fighting. They really did play a lot of fooling about in the class, playing chasing games and tag. It was lighthearted way of teaching serious things and was a hit with the whole group, not just Kimble. In this special class, Kimble was learning to evade an areal predator and how to sneak up into high, out of the way places. Kimble soaked it all up eagerly and was soon one of the best students in the class.

It wasn’t all he was learning. Kimble was told repeatedly not to make the spikes in front of the others, but Kyle had found evidence that the pilot was sneaking off at night and practicing that as well. Kimble had stolen some Marksman’s papers from Michael for shooting practice and Kyle found them scored with huge holes from spikes being tossed through. Kimble’s aim was improving rapidly. Kyle confronted Kimble with it, countering that if he was so eager to learn a weapon, he should take up sword practice with Joshua. Kimble just laughed at him and adamantly refused as before. For whatever reason, Kimble didn’t see them as the same thing.

It wasn’t Kimble really. It was Zander who was teaching himself the spikes. Kimble was giving him more and more freedom when it came to his powers. Kimble would sit back and cruise while Zander fooled around and worked it all out, improving their skill with each new practice session. Whatever Zander learned, Kimble picked up just as quickly. All he had to do was access the files Zander made and memorize it all. Zander saw the Marksman’s papers and stole them. Zander was the one who prompted them to sneak off and start working with the spikes, unsatisfied with Kyle’s refusals. They would learn one way or the other. He was just as stubborn as Kimble when it came to things he wanted. Zander was only concerned with the weapons they could create themselves, anything else just didn’t interest him. He was taking his training one step at a time. He wanted to learn it all, sure, but not all at once. They had only been here just a few days. He had no intention of letting Kimble screw this up for him, so what was the big deal if he waited on the swords and guns?

Kyle vented his frustration, but seemed to get nowhere. Making matters worse was Gail’s behavior, too. Kyle was happy Gail and Kimble were getting along so well, but it was turning out to be a real problem. Now she was slacking off as well. Their little love affair was getting out of hand and Cameron demanded that Kyle take care of it. Kyle had no choice but to obey. He called Kimble into one of the offices that night for yet another chewing out.

Kimble cruised in smoothly, his teasing smile in place and his eyes shining. He had just left Gail after another nice romp and was a little buzzed from their love making. She matched him in endurance and he was finding her both a thrill and a challenge. He couldn’t wait to have her again, she was so amazing. His spirits were soaring. He sat where Kyle told him to and put his feet up.

Kyle got right to the point. “I’m glad you and Gail are getting along so well, but your performance lately in class is inexcusable.”

“Yer classes suck. I don’ wants ta hear no more about hatin’ an’ killin’. I’m sick of it!” Kimble snapped arrogantly. He was in no mood for this, Kyle was spoiling his high.

“It’s a fact of life. You promised to do as we asked. You’re not holding up your end of the deal.”

“You didn’t say nuthin’ ‘bout havin’ ta be so bored alla the time. You said we wuz gonna work on my powers. I don’t want no stupid classes on hatin’ an’ I don’t want no guns. It sucks!”

Kyle sighed. “You are acting like a child and so will be treated like one. You either show up for class on time tomorrow — and participate — or Gail gets a new roommate. That’s final.”

“You ain’t separatin’ us,” Kimble said defiantly, standing up. “We ain’t no kids!”

“Coulda fooled me, the way you’ve been acting. There are things you have to learn. Gail has responsibilities, too. Time to grow up.”

Kimble was about to snarl something else but was interrupted from within. Hold up there, buddy, Zander said, grabbing his attention. Play time’s over, Kim. This guy is serious.

“So what?” Kimble grumbled out loud. “I’m serious, too. I likes Gail. Nobody’s gonna takes her away from me.”

Kyle shook his head in irritation. This was happening more and more as well. Kimble would blank out in the middle of a conversation to listen to one of his two little friends, Zander and Lakotashay. It happened most often when he was stressed out or frustrated as he was now. Cameron had said Kimble was supposedly already like this before he was melted, but Kyle had his doubts. Kimble’s condition was worsening, sometimes he spoke for all of them out loud. It was creepy and Kyle hated it. All those voices coming out of the same mouth like a crowded party line, it was sickening and sad. Kimble was seriously ill mentally and Cameron did nothing but sit back and exploit it.

Cameron had learned early on Zander was the one most interested in training. When Kimble got out of hand, Cameron would actually draw Zander out and speak to him, demanding Zander take some control of the Lover and get him back in line. It worked well enough that Kyle found himself doing it himself even though it made him queasy.

“Kimble ---” Kyle started to say, but was cut off.

“Shut up! I kin handles this!” Zander snapped, making Kyle back up a step. “He ain’t listenin’ ta you nohow.”

In spite of his misgivings about allowing it, Kyle had come to appreciate Zander’s interventions over time. Zander seemed to understand rules and wanted the most to learn. He worked the hardest at shield making and wanted to learn the weapons, something that increased his value. Knowing this, Kyle now believed that Zander had to be the one sneaking off to learn the spikes, but was more concerned about keeping Kimble on track then punishing Zander for his enthusiasm. Zander seemed to know the things to say to get Kimble to work. Kimble was too light hearted and easily distracted by things like sex and Gail and fooling around. Zander was gruff and angry, but he seemed to be the boss of Kimble. He could get the Lover to listen.

“What?” Kimble whined sharply. “This sucks!”

Zander argued back. “We gots ta learn, gots ta train! I’m sick of yer crap an’ I’m sick of havin’ ta slap ya back in line. What’s it gonna takes ta make ya git yer act straight, huh? If gittin’ rid of Gail is the only way ta gits ya ta listen then I’m all for it. Let’s do it right now. I kin makes it happen!”

“Easy, Zander,” Kyle said. “No need to get all rowdy.”

“I ain’t gonna hurt nobody, it’s just that the boy don’t listen!”

“None of yous understands!” Kimble complained, spitting in his rage. “Yer classes is all about people hurtin’ themselves an’ it makes me all sick inside. Gail makes me fergit all that. She makes all the hurtin’ go away. Alls my other friends’re gone, you won’ ever let me calls them on the phone thoughs I cain’t understand why. She’s the only thing decent here!” Kimble whimpered and shivered as he started to cry from all the frustration welling up inside of him.

“Stupid crybaby, Lover,” Lakotashay said next. “We don’ needs no girl nohow. F--k ‘em. Let’s just go to the Orange Room. Plenty of good luvin’ there.”

Kyle shuddered. Kimble’s three fractured selves were powerful and distinct, each in their own way. There was Kimble, the good hearted Lover, Zander the Punisher who only wanted to train and learn and this one, Lakotashay, the little monster child. This one Kyle disliked intensely. She was so creepy with her soft child’s voice. It did nothing to hide her cunning and manipulative ways. Her voice didn’t match this grown man’s body and it was disturbing unlike anything Kyle had ever witnessed before. There was cruelty hidden in there although so far she had done nothing violent. It was like a hint of things to come. She was selfish and always driving Kimble away from things he loved. Kyle often heard her trying to get Kimble to leave Gail behind as used goods but Kimble was stubborn. He withheld himself from the Club, wanting only Gail now, until ‘Shay drove him to madness with her clamoring for the Orange Room.

Kyle had spent almost two weeks now watching the three of them the bickering with horrified bewilderment. He had never seen anything like this and just didn’t know how to deal with it. He almost wished for an X-man or two to show up so he could talk to them and figure out this puzzle. He needed to know how they handled Kimble and where they went wrong. He was floundering on his own.

“I likes Gail an’ I don’ wants her ta leave,” Kimble said softly, ignoring the words of his internal sister. He had gotten better at tuning her out over time.

“Then do as you’re told and she can stay,” Kyle said firmly, hoping to get the last word in here. “This doesn’t have to be as difficult as you’re making it.”

Kimble nodded, miserable now. He was so sick of those words. He had heard them at Xavier’s and he was hearing them again here. His head drooped and his wings slumped, falling back into that posture of aching misery that he seemed unable to escape from. His high was gone, his good spirits evaporating.

He stood up and started to shuffle out. Kyle reached for him but he jerked away with a hiss. “Don’t touch us!” ‘Shay snarled. “You broked the Lover down good. You gots what ya wanted. Now leaves us alone!”

Kyle recoiled from that hateful voice and let the pilot walk out undisturbed. Kyle was shaking, he just couldn’t help it. There was such malice and cruelty there. He feared what would happen if she ever got as much control as Kimble had now. The Lover was dominant, out nighty-five percent of the time. Kyle had no doubt that could change. He covered his face and shook his head. What had he let Cameron involve him in?

--------------------------------

Kimble dragged his feet down the hall with his head low and his wings slumped. He went to his room and found Gail there. He said nothing to her at first, but slowly crawled into her bed and buried himself in her arms. She held him tightly, concerned. She could see he had been crying.

“What’s wrong, baby?” she asked.

“Kyle sez we gots ta be good. I gots ta go ta class and do all the crap he sez or he’s gonna takes you away from me.”

“I’m not going anywhere --- not without a fight anyways,” she soothed. “But we have been bad. Let’s just chill out for a while. Cam and Kyle will cool off and it’ll be all right. Okay?”

Kimble nodded, but he wasn’t happy. He snuggled down against her and lay quiet until they fell asleep. He slept restlessly, whimpering, until she woke and calmed him. He pushed against her and she laughed, happy to take him in, and they made love nice and easy. It never failed to make him smile. Afterwards, he would always shower her with vibrations of happiness and love she could physically feel. She had come to enjoy these vibrations he gave off, they were warm and comforting and made her feel valued and important, something she had been sorely lacking. She petted him gently him and this time he fell deeply asleep, forgetting about his pain and the things he must do.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[squeekness]

(Eight)

The next morning, the very day that Anya predicted the X-men might have a chance at snagging their wayward Siskan, Leon was looking for Kimble himself, it was feeding time. He went through the hallway, making his way to Kimble’s room quickly. He stopped when Gail suddenly opened the door to their room, surprising him. She was dressed only in a skimpy canvas bathrobe. Gail both intrigued and repulsed Leon at the same time. She had a shapely body but he was frightened by her scales. He wondered if they would cut his bare skin if he lay against her. He looked past her and saw Kimble sprawled on his belly across her bed. It was still early and he hadn’t yet gotten up to dress for class. He was naked and unharmed. Guess that answered that question.

Gail saw where Leon was looking. “Morning, rat boy,” she teased without humor.
Leon made a face. “How can you let him touch you? Don’t you know he’s queer? I saw some films Cam made of him from the club. He lets guys...you know...f--k him in the ass!”

Gail just laughed at him. “Poor, Leon. Don’t you know? He’s an alien. He doesn’t have an ass!” She giggled and walked off down the hall towards the small common kitchen that was shared by all the dormers on this level. She was in search of coffee and could care less what Leon was thinking.

Leon snorted in disgust and went into the dorm room. Kimble was almost back asleep, contented from her love and acceptance. They had only finished making love a few minutes ago, a nice way to start the day. He sensed Leon looming above him and opened his eyes. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. You hungry?”

Kimble grinned. “Shure.” He rolled over in anticipation and held out his hands.

Leon looked down on his naked body, his eyes cold and hard. He saw Kimble’s perfect physique—the lean, hard muscles, his glowing skin, and hated it. Kimble was everything he wasn’t and never would be. “Cover yourself!” Leon hissed.

Kimble did as he was told. He pulled the blanket over his legs, trembling. He could sense Leon’s anger painfully but didn’t know why Leon was mad at him.

“You want this?” Leon asked, making a small ball of plasma.

“Yes,” Kimble answered warily. There was something in Leon’s shine, the boy wanted something in return.

“Then say, “I am a pervert, a sexual freak”.”

”Why? It ain’t true.”

“I saw what you do at the club. It ain’t natural. You ain’t natural.”

Kimble cocked his head in confusion. “It’s only f--kin’, it don’ mean nuthin’.”

“It’s evil to let another man be with you like that! Now say the words!”

“It ain’t evil. It’s luvin’. It’s good. I kin shows you --”

”You keep away from me!” Leon hissed, charging up his fists and making the plasma ball really large.

Kimble cowered away, fearing its size. He wanted the plasma, yes, but he didn’t know if he could survive another big hit like the first time. “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean nuthin---”

”Say the words!” Leon demanded again, smiling now that he could see Kimble was cowed.

“I --I’m a pervert. I-I’m a sexual freak,” Kimble stammered, shaken.

“Say it like you mean it!”

“I’m a pervert! I’m a sexual freak!”

Kimble gasped sharply in fear as Leon tossed him the ball of plasma. Leon shrank it down at the last moment, sparing him. It came into Kimble and flooded him with its delicious heat. He swallowed it gratefully with his body, but felt some pain as Leon’s harsh words came inside with it. Leon’s attacks on his sexuality were happening more and more. Combined with Kyle’s criticism, it was stressing him out all the more. He began to doubt the lessons Sheyman had taught him about how all consensual sex was good. This kept happening to him, this aversion to his sexual openness. If it was always happening, maybe he was the one who was wrong and not everyone else. Maybe he really was bad. These thoughts were still in his mind, clouding him, and leaving him open to attack as Leon stood over him.

Leon saw Kimble getting high from the plasma and was disgusted. How dare this freak suggest he needed to be shown that the sinful, lustful horror called homosexual love was something to be enjoyed! He saw his perverted uncle’s face and let his rage take over. The rape he had suffered at his uncle’s hands had been brutal and the man was never punished. Looked like he’d just found someone to take it out on.

Unable to restrain himself, Leon gave Kimble another hit of plasma, overdosing him on purpose. Kimble shivered and moaned, overcome with heat and instantly intoxicated. Leon sneered and punched his helpless prey in the face, sending a fine spray of grey blood from Kimble’s nose across the bed. Kimble squealed, but had so much plasma in him, the injury healed itself right away. The blood shimmered and disappeared as if it had never happened.

Kimble moaned and rolled over, holding his hands to his face in agony, the plasma’s healing capabilities didn’t stop him from feeling the pain. Leon punched him again, this time on his back where his kidneys should have been. Kimble balled up, with a startled grunt, but didn’t defend himself. He was high and hopelessly confused, feeling the pain without knowing its source. Leon hit him over and over again until his hands hurt, his rage fueling his frenzy, until he heard the change in the pilot’s breathing. It was a sudden reality check and finally forced him to stop. Kimble was gasping now in a sickening wheeze, not really moving, only heaving for air.

Leon saw where Kimble’s skin had begun to bruise. Kimble’s body was sensitive to many things and showed its damage quickly. The bruises spread rapidly, growing ugly and large. They were black and in the shape of his fists. Leon was frightened now, knowing he couldn’t possibly hide this.

He made his hands glow and lay them over Kimble’s back where the bruising was the worst, hoping another shot of plasma would make the damage go away. He wasn’t prepared for what happened next. He gasped as he was suddenly sucked out of his body and taken to another place. The damage had been severe enough that Kimble’s body was trying to take him to the Black Room just as it had Gambit that time in the gym. Leon shrieked in horror when he found himself falling backwards through space in an alien place, Kimble’s arms wrapped around him in a loving embrace. He wasn’t capable of feeling the comfort and love the others had felt here in the freefall of Kimble’s mind. He squealed and tried to get away but he was trapped.

“Well, who’s this? A stowaway?” he heard a rough voice growl. He looked around him in fear and was startled when he saw a shadowed image of another man falling next to him. Zander had stopped by to check out the intruder. Inside Kimble’s mind Zander was no mere voice, he was a powerful spirit and had physical form. Leon saw Zander’s shattered mirror face and screamed.

Zander just laughed. “Guess that means we won’t be seeing you back here any time soon, ya piece of f--kin’ garbage. Best be keepin’ yer hands to yerself now, boy. You wake me, I’ll rip yer f--kin’ heart out!”

Leon screamed again but was greeted only by a tinny mechanical voice. “Unable to make connection.”

He woke abruptly back in the real world and fell backwards onto his behind, bewildered. He scrambled away, crab walking until he hit the wall and came back to himself. He was here, he was home. Kimble groaned and shook once before passing out from so much plasma being pumped into him. The damage to his body was gone, the only thing that remained was Leon’s terror. Leon was a quick boy and learned his lessons well. “Don’t touch Kimble when he’s really hurt”, that was the lesson here. He scrambled to his feet and fled, hoping that Kimble wouldn’t know what was done to him.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[squeekness]

-----------------------------

Kimble woke when he felt Gail touch him. He was impossibly high, his skin hot and dry. He was achingly thirsty, almost in pain from it. Gail was worried, shaking him. He tried to answer her, but couldn’t. She left him and returned with some water, brining a cup to his face. He drank it down greedily, slopping it all over himself. “What happened ta me?” he asked in a daze.

She touched him gently, careful with her hands. “I was going to ask you the same thing, kiddo.”

“I-I feel like crap....I’m so high....”

She petted him and he shivered, her touch was irresistible to him in this condition. He reached for her, but fell on top of her instead. His body was beyond his ability to control, the movement sent the room spinning and he was instantly nauseated. He vomited, he couldn’t help himself, and Gail scowled when she saw what he sicked up. It was all grey with the thick bands of orange plasma in it. She’d seen this before and understood now what was wrong. Leon had just been here, he must have overdosed Kimble on purpose...but why?

“Do you remember anything?”

“Not really.”

He searched inside himself. Zander?

Yeah, kid?

What happened?

Yer little plasma boy wuz beatin’ on ya so I scared him away.

Why would he do that? He’s supposed to be our friend.

Don’ know. Seems ta me yer so called friend ain’t too cool with ya screwin’ around. Don’ think he’s had the right proper pleasure of bein' with a man. Poor boy, he mighta found it to his liking.

Yer mean, Zander. Cam said he got raped. Cain’t think of nuthin’ worse.

Too bad he’s takin’ it out on us. Maybe we outta teach the boy a lesson.

Maybe we should leave. This place is really startin’ ta suck anyhow. We could go back home, take Gail with us.

Don’ think she’s gonna go. Yer gonna hafta decide. Put up with Leon poundin’ on ya, defend yerself an’ beat him up back, or bail. Best git thinkin’ on it, Leon cain’t be trusted. Don’ know what he’ll do next.

“Kimble? You okay?” Gail asked, spooked by his quiet. She had seen him blank out before like this and it always made her nervous. She was aware of his fragmentation, she was too close to him not to be, but it never really came out around her often. She made Kimble too happy.

“Yeah, still a little high, is all.”

“I’m going to get Kyle, okay? You’re sick.”

“All right...” he slurred and closed his eyes.

She left him and a few minutes later, he heard Kyle’s voice close by. He could hear them talking but not what they were saying. He felt it when Gail came back, though. She eased him down into a comfortable position and wrapped around him. He was hot to the touch, but her scales gave her some protection. She petted him and he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of her.

He slept most of the day, coming in and out. Sometimes Gail was there, sometimes she was gone. His whole body was numb and he could do little more than lay quiet and dream. He could hear Zander whispering to him, offering reassurance that he was going to be okay. They would settle this score and Leon was toast.

It was late when Kimble finally snapped out of his delirium. He was alone and could tell by the light from the window it was almost dark. He got up drunkenly and staggered to the shower. The water revived him and he felt almost human now. He let the water pour over him as his mind went to work.

I hafta git outta here. Gonna take Gail with me.

Fergit it, kid. We’re stayin’. I got Leon’s number, don’t you worry. That little sh-t is mine, Zander said forcefully. He wasn’t going to let this go.

Kimble sighed. All right. We’ll play it your way, but it’s gotta git better’n this. I’m sick of this place already.

He came out of the bathroom, squeaky clean and shiny and saw Gail waiting for him. Her presence made him smile, he just couldn’t help it. “Hey, Gail.”

“You look better. How do you feel?”

“Still a little fuzzy, but I’ll be all right.”

“Kyle was worried about you. He said I have to take extra special care of you tonight.”

Kimble grinned, liking the sound of that. “Whatcha gots in mind, baby doll?”

“There’s fireworks tonight. I made a deal with Barney. I paid him fifty bucks to let us up onto the roof to watch.”

“We...we kin goes outside?” It would be the first time since he’d been taken here.

“Yes.” She grabbed his hand and tugged on him. “Let’s go!”

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[squeekness]

(Nine)

Kimble and Gail ran out onto the roof, laughing gaily. They were both quite drunk and silly now. Kimble’s bad feelings had washed away as they chased each other about and he was happy now, pleased to be outside and with his new lover. It was at least an hour before the fireworks were supposed to start and the roof was empty, they had it all to themselves. Kimble snatched at Gail and spun her around, wanting to kiss her but forgetting that he couldn’t. Her teeth simply made that impossible. Her smile faltered a bit when he hesitated, but he made up for it by rubbing his cheek against hers and licking her neck. She shivered from his caress and felt it when he activated the shield around his body. She knew it meant he wanted to make love to her again and she was thrilled beyond measure to have finally found someone who actually wanted her.

Kimble wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, making her laugh. He did a nice slow barrel roll in the air, doing an aerial dance with her as he ran his hands over her playfully. They drifted slowly to the ground in one of the dark corners by the retaining wall. This area was blocked off from anyone coming up the stairs and was relatively private. Kimble went to work, stripping away her clothes and taking her right out in the open, his desire for her making him reckless.

Gail laughed and laughed, never feeling more alive than she was at that moment.

-----------------------------

“What are they doing?” Cyclops complained. He was so bored.

Jean laughed. “Dancing. Has it really been that long, Lover? We need to get out more.”

The two of them were perched on the roof across from Cameron’s building, keeping watch. Anya had predicted that Kimble would be seen this night and the X-men wanted to be prepared. All the members of the Blue squad had been called out for duty. One half was out here to watch the roof top. Jean and Scott were here with Bobby on one roof, Nightcrawler and Angel were an another lower roof, hoping to get an idea of what might be going on inside. Both teams would report to remaining team members at the Dockside warehouse if anything happened – Storm, Rogue and Gambit were there waiting. Jean and Scott hadn’t expected to see anything out here so soon, much less Kimble romping around with a girl more lizard than man.

Scott Summers was a quiet, serious man. He was really quite sensitive and emotional, but like Logan, had trained himself to a stony resolve. Cyclops’ mutation demanded control, one wrong move and his powerful eye beams could blow a hole in a mountain. The glasses he wore allowed for control of those beams, he could change the size of the blast with a small click of a switch. It didn’t free him from always having to be careful. His biggest fear was a loss of control that resulted in a death. So far it hadn’t happened, but he refused to let his guard down. Jean was free spirited and had gone a long way towards lightening him up, but he was still very stern and rule abiding. It was easy for him to lose himself in the role of group leader and forget that some very real human beings were revolving around outside that world. Seeing Kimble romp with Gail had at once filled Cyclops with a sense of anger and dread. Kimble must be using her, it was all he had ever seen Kimble do. It was going to be difficult to get to him without hurting her.

“Why is he with her?” Bobby asked with false dismay. He was bored as well and only wanted to get out of here. This had been a pretty dull job since the first minute they had arrived and Kimble’s little show had provided him with some entertainment. “I know he’s desperate, but Jeez! She’s not much to look at.” He gave a mock shiver at the thought. He made gagging noises when he saw Kimble start to strip the girl down, Kimble was playing and making a game of it.

Jean was quiet at first as she dismissed Bobby’s antics for the signs of his boredom they were, but finally spoke in a serious manner. She had reached out with her power the first moment she saw Gail and tried to make a link with the girl to figure out what Kimble’s intentions were. She couldn’t read Kimble, but she could tap into the mind of his companion without being detected. She was surprised by what she found. Surprised and happy. “She’s in love with him. They all hate her but him. They think she’s ugly, but he treats her like a queen.” Her voice was dreamy with a female’s sense of the romantic.

Scott and Bobby looked at each other, rolling their eyes.

Jean ignored them, feeling for the first time some appreciation of what Remy found so noble in this pilot. Kimble loved everybody --- the beautiful, the fat, and the ugly. None of that was important to him, all he cared about was the person within. She remembered that first time he had reached out to her with his power. He was using it with Gail, but now she realized that the power was not a trap or lure, but an extension of what he was really feeling. Kimble had reached out to her that first day, not to sucker her in, but as a curious creature appreciating her as a living thing. She felt kind of bad now, knowing Kimble had been so misjudged.

“He’s using his charm power on her, isn’t he?” Scott asked, interrupting her thoughts. After Kimble had fumbled so badly with Bobby and Holly, he thought Kimble only capable of treachery. “The poor girl. He’s using her.”

“No, he’s not. Their feelings are legitimate,” Jean insisted. She hated using her telepathy to spy on the couple like this, but now felt it was justified if she could make Scott understand Kimble wasn’t the threat he believed him to be. “He’s made a big difference in her life. She loves him.”

“Then that makes things worse. He won’t want to leave her,” Scott said, understanding what Jean was trying to say. He had to think of the tactics of this, this operation had just become more difficult.

“Let’s offer to take her with us,” Jean suggested, knowing what Scott was thinking. She could do this without the telepathy, they had grown so close.

“Looks like he’s got other plans for the moment. Let’s wait until he’s done,” Bobby said next, still making playful gagging noises. “That’s one girl I don’t want to see naked!”

“You are so pathetic,” Jean complained affectionately. She knew Bobby was just fooling around because he was bored. He was generally very accepting of new people and was merely being playful to pass the time.

“What are we doing, boss?” came a soft squawk from the radio on Scott’s shoulder. It was Warren who was located across from them with Kurt. Warren’s rooftop was slightly lower so he had no idea what Kimble was up to. The last thing he had heard was Scott telling them to hold when Kimble had first appeared. Angel wanted an update.

“He’s got some company. We’ll give him another minute or two,” Cyclops replied to his teammate, squashing down his irritation. Kimble’s loveplay was more than he wanted to see. Everything had its place, and making love in any form did not belong outside where it could be seen. It was sacred and private, not something to be held out on display. He closed his eyes in exasperation when Kimble squirmed out of his own clothes, exposing himself. Man, he hoped this wasn’t going to take too long.

---------------------------

“You want me to take ‘em now, boss?” Davis asked, looking at Creed with a wicked sneer. He was chewing gum and popping bubbles as he lay with his high powered, long ranged rifle on a stand and pointed directly where Kimble and Gail were having their little rooftop romp. The gun had been outfitted with a silencer, Davis’ pride and joy.

Davis was a long standing member of Sabretooth’s little gang of merry men. Half of that gang was now located diagonally from where both rooftop teams of X-men were situated, each party unaware the other was there. Sabretooth had taken every precaution, his team was large and spread out both outside and in the lower levels of the building, he also had a decent telepath masking their presence. The defense he had put in place to keep the Freedom Kings’ from detecting them had also blocked them from the X-men as well.

Sabretooth grunted at Davis’ question. “Naw, let ‘em finish. It’s the last thing she’s gonna feel anyway.”

“Right, boss. You just want to watch,” Davis teased with an uncomfortable laugh. He was looking up at Creed with a strange light in his eyes. His boss had been acting strangely since he’d started up with the Weapon X people again, doing small side missions for easy money. They had done something to him when they had started up again, but nobody in the gang knew for certain what it was, only that it made their volatile boss that much more dangerous. He was having nightmares and brooding way too much lately, not a good thing in such an unstable man.

It was true Creed had been preoccupied recently. He was happy to be here and working, but found his mind wandering when he saw Kimble with the girl. She was butt ugly, but Kimble was treating her like a precious find, a wonder to behold. Creed had never really seen anyone in love and watching Kimble now filled him with a strange sense of longing he didn’t understand. He wondered what it would be like to be held and loved like that. He saw a fuzzy figure of a red haired girl in his mind, but it was lost in dreamland, another stupid memory he didn’t want. The memories the Weapon X program had restored were coming back to him slowly, making him feel far more human and vulnerable than he had liked. The point of the restored memories had been to make sure he retained the maximum value of all the military training he’d absorbed over the years, all the rest of the memories were something closer to a side effect than something that had been desired.

Creed turned his eyes away from the happy couple making love, feeling stupid for wanting some small piece of that for himself. As if anyone would dare love a sick freak like him. He didn’t need any of that stupid wimpy mushy crap anyway. Nope, not him.

“Why would he f--k such an ugly girl?” Peter asked, breaking into Sabretooth’s wandering thoughts. Peter was the obligatory teleporter on this trip. He was the transportation, the quick in and out. Creed never traveled without one and each team in place was similarly equipped. He was also heavily armed with twin silenced pistols and a belt of grenades around one shoulder. Peter shivered at the thought of Kimble’s new love, Gail was truly hideous to the quick passer by. It was her inner beauty that had drawn Kimble to her like that moth to the flame, something a mercenary like himself would never be able to understand.

“Maybe he’s blind,” Davis offered with another laugh.

“Prob’ly just desperate,” Creed grumbled. “Soon as he’s done, take ‘em out.”

“Look at the moves on that girl,” Davis said, shaking his head. “Yee haw! Ride ‘em, cowboy!”

“She may be ugly, but he’s got her trained real good!” Peter crowed, making snorting noises in his throat.

Sabretooth raised his binoculars. Kimble had used his telekinetic power to flip them over and now he had Gail on top of him. It was easier for Kimble this way, actually. The less contact they had, the less shielding he required. Gail never seemed to mind, she liked the control the position gave her. Kimble’s hands were holding her and sending her vibrations of love she could feel.

Creed, of course, was aware of none of this. He simply watched them a few moments, deciding. That thing inside of him nagged at him again, making him angry. “You gotta lock, Davis?” Creed growled.

“Change your mind, boss?”

“Take her out. Make sure she falls on him. I want him pinned down.”

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2618359/1/The_Three_of_Me

 

[squeekness]

Yup. All the pics are mine.

 

[squeekness]

-----------------------

Kimble made love to Gail and was pleased when he finished her, hearing the thunder of her heart roaring inside of his head. He laughed and laughed with the joy and glory of being able to do this for her. She had been just like him, living as a ghost on the outside of everything, never quite belonging. He had broken down all of her barriers and brought her out into the light, bringing her more happiness than anyone else ever had. Her shine was so bright now, glowing and strong as she felt the rapture of just being alive in his arms at that moment.

“I love you, Kimble,” she whispered boldly, making him shiver from the sound of her words. She wasn’t sure how he would take so bold a statement from someone he’d only just met.

She had nothing to fear. Kimble looked up at her, his eyes shiny with tears of love he was trying to hold back. How much he had wanted to hear those words from someone who truly wanted him this way. Her statement, it was as good as her claiming the position of Mistress. Gambit’s suspicions were correct, Kimble was more than willing to accept such a declaration from anyone he sensed was true. “I loves ya too, girl. Yer the sweetest thing, the most precious spark of light in this whole stupid place,” he said, meaning it. Now that she had claimed him for hers, he would do anything for her, even if it meant going to boring old classes and swallowing down the pain of the hatred that was shown to him each day in pictures and movies. It had taken her a nano-second to pull his loyalty from Cameron to her, it had happened the moment she used him the way he had wanted. Her love would make all the rest bearable. “Keeps me ferever.”

Gail laughed at that, her shine sparkling all the brighter with happiness. She bent down to kiss him, or rub her cheek against his, the next best thing. “Of course.”

He smiled as he saw her come, but then laughed suddenly when he saw a small bead of red light dancing on her forehead. He didn’t know what it was, but it was pretty. If he’d paid more attention in class he wouldn’t have been so calm. He raised a hand to touch it.

“What?” she asked with a laugh, right before her head exploded in blood and gore.

Kimble screamed in horror, covering his face with his hands as her blood and brains poured down on him in a torrent. Her body fell on top of his and twitched, shocked by its sudden departure from the living to the dead. Kimble shrieked hysterically and used his power to clumsily free himself from her trap. He wasted precious time untangling himself from her dead weight and wiping the gore from his face, he still couldn’t quite believe that she was gone, his precious Gail. Shards of her bones cut his skin and he cried out again. He was instantly in shock, too numb to fully register what just happened.

-----------------------------

“Kimble! Oh, my God!” Jean screamed. She didn’t need to be telepathic to see Kimble would be destroyed by that bullet just as surely as if it had struck him itself. She had no idea who had fired the nearly silent shot, but wasn’t about to wait to find out, that she had to get to the Siskan immediately. She snatched at Scott and Bobby and they flew across to Cameron’s building without a thought.

----------------------------

Kimble heard Jean’s scream in a daze and looked around him, bewildered. He couldn’t tell where it had come from. Was he surrounded? He was in shock and saw nothing as he whipped his head around, trying to take in everything at once. He gave up on trying to fathom what had happened and opted instead to run. He vaulted to the air, but screamed as more bullets ripped through his wings, forcing him back to the ground. They made no sound, they just came at him with hardly a whisper, bringing heat and pain. The fine membranes of his wings were shredded by the oncoming spray of hot lead, the pain was enormous and he howled in agony and frustration. Whoever it was that was doing this wasn’t going to allow him to leave by air so he bolted for the door to the lower level. He only got one step before he took another bullet in the knee. The force of it spun him and he crashed to the rough tiles of the roof, screaming in confusion and agony. Were they going to kill him? He tried to crawl, dragging his ruined body behind him, leaving a trail of grey gel blood that shimmered and vanished in the night.

He hadn’t gotten very far when suddenly there was a heavy thud beside him, he was no longer alone. The pilot turned, looking up behind him up into the grinning maw of Victor Creed’s mouth. “Did ya miss me?” Sabretooth chuckled and snatched at him with one of his huge, clawed hands.

Kimble gasped in fear and reacted instinctively -- he phased down through the roof, never seeing the bright red blast of energy that hit Creed square in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Cyclops had let fly with a good sized blast the moment Jean had set him down, not taking any chances. He knew Creed could heal quickly.

Scott and Bobby had landed neatly from Jean’s arms and gave chase. Iceman went into full combat mode, icing up his body and making protective icicles stick out like barbs all over his body. The ice covering his skin could act as a shield, allowing some projectile weapons to just skid off of him without hurting him. He also had the ability to use the ambient moisture in the air to cause the ground to freeze, tripping up his prey on small slicks of ice. He did that now in the hopes of adding to Creed’s faraway flight.

Creed’s buddies had come across with him, courtesy of the Peter express. They opened fire but Jean was quick to shield herself and her teammates from the oncoming spray of bullets. The silenced bullets hit her barrier with odd thwicking noises, not loud enough to alert anyone below that the Kings’ territory had been invaded. That was fine with Jean, she didn’t want to have to fight on both fronts.

Bobby was doing his best to help out. He had slicked the roof quite nicely with a fine layer of ice, but cried out as he passed over Kimble’s small slick of Gail’s blood and tripped. He cursed in mid-air for falling for his own trick, but he simply hadn’t realized the blood was there. He had no way of knowing that Kimble could only phase himself, not the bloody remains of the girl who had once loved him. Bobby went down hard, scraping his elbows painfully. He shrieked in horror when he found himself covered in frozen, slushy gore, but the others paid him no mind. They were in pursuit of Creed and his men, they had bailed when they saw the X-men weren’t going to go down easily.

Sabretooth, meanwhile, had been tossed by Cyclops’ blast and skidded quite nicely thanks to Bobby’s little ice slick. He had come to an awkward stop, but rolled neatly to his feet, a smoking hole now burning in his chest. He coughed once, only once. The blast had been powerful, but the one shot hadn’t been enough to put him down for good. He just grinned and showed Scott his teeth with a laugh. Scott was about to fire again when he saw the man blow him a kiss and then wink suddenly out of view. His crew had vanished as well.

“He’s got a teleporter!” Scott shouted in frustration.

--------------------------------------------

Kimble phased and tumbled down several floors before he finally was able to control his descent. He was still screaming, still stained with the blood of his murdered lover, though he left most of the larger chunks of her up on the roof at Creed’s feet for Bobby to slip on. He came to a stop on the floor where the dorms were, a good choice since Kyle was close by.

Kyle heard his racket and came running, shocked at Kimble’s condition. The Siskan was naked and stained with blood, he was shrieking hysterically and he was flailing his arms around. Kyle grabbed at him and shouted, “What happened?”

“G-Gail! They shots her! They shots her!” Kimble wailed, his voice trailing off into an incoherent rant as hysteria robbed him of his senses. “On the roof! They shots us!”

Kyle dragged Kimble to his feet, but stopped when the pilot howled with pain. It was only then that Kyle saw Kimble had been wounded, his leg had been seriously damaged, probably in an attempt to keep him from going too far. It looked bad, but Kyle knew Leon would fix it easily enough. He never saw the terrible rents in Kimble’s wings, there was no time.

Kyle ducked down when there was a loud explosion from above and more screams. Stealth was no longer an option as Creed’s team arrived and were now doing a sweep of the floors, still seeking Kimble out in spite of being in a den of super powered mutants. Kyle wasn’t about to wait to see of the building could handle the structural damage that was sure to follow. He grabbed Kimble and dragged him along, unmindful of his pain. They had to get Leon and get out of here now. He paused to grab a blanket from one of the bedrooms and wrapped Kimble up in it. Kimble was leaking gel everywhere and flopped about, not being helpful at all as he sobbed and sobbed.

Fortunately, Leon came running along himself, frightened by the noise. He had been hiding out all day, fearful of being punished for what he had done to Kimble that morning, but now came out when he realized the team was under attack. Kyle didn’t hesitate, but snatched at Leon and took off out the nearest window, leaping out into the sky.

----------------------------------------

Scott blew the door to the roof and they bolted down the stairs, but judging from the noise down below, they were woefully outnumbered here. The building shook with human created mortar fire and explosive blasts. He looked up at his wife who was right behind him on the stairs. He could see she was game to join the fray, but it was much too dangerous. He paused and halted his team, reaching for his radio. They would call for reinforcements, Kurt and Warren were right there just waiting for orders if they weren’t on their way over here already, alerted by all the racket.

As he spoke, he received a transmission from Warren and Kurt who had been watching the building from their lower vantage point. They hadn’t teleported over, they had news instead -- Kimble had left the building, Kyle had carried him out with another man and they were following him. They weren’t heading to Dockside, they were going somewhere else.

To be continued in Secrets.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2627803/1/Secrets

 

[squeekness]

(One)

“I ‘tought Anya say Kimble gonna be ‘ere, man. Dere ain’t nuthin’ ‘appenin at dis place,” Remy complained. It was getting cold and he was damp out here on the boat.

The X-men’s resident thief was currently located just outside of the warehouse Anya had predicted Kimble would be located at this night. It was only minutes after the big fight at Cameron’s hideout and Gambit had not yet been notified of its outcome.

The X-men were a large team and had many assets. They had come out to the harbor in a medium sized fishing boat, one of a few boats Charles had purchased for various purposes over the years. It was full dark now and the only good thing about all this is that they were sure to have a good view for the fireworks. They were due to start any minute now.

“It’s still early,” Fallen said softly. She didn’t want to be reminded of what the old woman had foretold. Her whole body was tense, sensing trouble in the air. She had a terrible nagging feeling that clung about her all day. She was still groggy from the drugs she had used recently and her spirts couldn’t be lower. Remy was good, Remy was strong, yet she took no comfort from his presence.

Gambit looked up and scowled when Rogue and Storm dropped down from above, landing on the prow and rocking the boat a little. They had been circling the warehouse in shifts, looking for any activity, so far everything had been quiet. Remy tried to keep his balance as he said, “Easy, easy, girls. Dis ain’t no night ta send de Cajun fo’ a swim!”

“Didn’t anyone tell ya ta keep your radio on, Sugah?” Rogue complained.

“Damp got to it. Dat’s Scott’s job, maintainin’ the boat. Complain to ‘im.” He saw their excited eyes and went to work. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Saby jumped Kimble at Cameron’s hideout. Kyle flew him out and took him to some rich guy’s house. They jumped in a limo with Cameron and they’re headed here. Should be pullin’ up any minute.”

Kurt and Angel had tailed the retreating Kyle Franks to a large house nearby, keeping a steady radio contact with the rest of the team. Cameron had gone visiting some friends and Kyle crashed the party, demanding they all high tail it out of there. They all piled into Cameron’s large limo and came here, a safehouse for the Freedom Kings. Supposedly no one knew about it and Cameron considered it safe from prying eyes, in this case incorrectly. The X-men were watching it very closely.

Gambit turned with his binoculars back to the warehouse. He smiled with satisfaction when he saw Cameron’s long stretch limo pull up and a very disheveled looking Kyle Franks got out. He reached into the car and eased Kimble out, lifting him up into his arms like a child. Kimble was bundled up in a blanket and his poor condition was obvious to all. He was still in shock from Gail’s horrible murder and lying still and lifeless against his team leader.

Remy swore and put the binoculars down. “Didn’t say nuthin’ ‘bout Kim bein’ ‘urt, chere!” he snapped at Rogue who only sneered at him. The tension between the two of them was palpable.

“You didn’t ask.”

“What ‘appened, Stormy?” Remy asked, no longer bothering with Rogue. She clearly was too immature to handle the job and her mouth at the same time.

“Jean said that Kimble was with a girl on the roof. Sabertooth shot her. She died right in front of him.” Her report was a stiff statement of facts, but her eyes showed that she was sympathetic. Words and emotion would come later, right now, they had work to do. “She didn’t know if Kimble himself was actually injured, only that he might be in shock.”

Remy’s face contorted in pain and rage, but he said nothing, not daring himself to speak as he thought of Sabretooth’s cruelty. That f--king monster. Some freaks just never changed.

“Stormy, you an’ Rogue check out de buildin’. Give me one of your radios, s’il vous plait. Don’t do anyt’ing, not till we know fo sure what’s goin’ on, comprenez?”

Storm nodded and tossed him her radio. She watched as Rogue took off without saying a word and lagged a moment behind, wanting to say something, anything to take that look off of Remy’s face.

He saw her there and his face softened. “Je suis bien, chere. Really. We gonna get my Kimble, bring ‘im ‘ome an’ put all dis to rights.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek to let him know she really cared and took off, making him step back a pace from the gust of her winds as she lifted off into the night. She was truly beautiful to behold, an ebon goddess in every sense of the word and he loved her. She was still one of his closest friends and he was glad she was here. She had a cool head unlike the tempestuous Rogue. Storm would help him through this. He would not let Kimble down.

-------------------------

Logan prowled through the alley, coming up on the warehouse from the back. He knew he had been ordered to stay away but his arrogance wouldn’t stand for it. He was an in control kind of guy, he chuckled to himself, f--k ‘em. How dare the Professor suggest he wasn’t capable of doing his job properly. Okay, Kimble was a little snot nosed brat, spoiled rotten to the core, it wouldn’t keep him from doing his job. He was here to support the team, he didn’t actually have to do anything. He was back up, insurance that this wasn’t going to blow up in their faces.

Logan found a broken window and tumbled noiselessly into the building. One good sniff told him this building hadn’t been used much lately but was full of people now. He could hear them milling around in the distance. He would have to be careful.
He’d brought a radio with him but left it off, not wanting to give himself away from the chatter. He would do a quick search, if he found anything, he would radio it in. That’s all.

He made his way through a couple of rooms, drawing ever nearer to the voices there. He was stealthy and quiet, but hopeful that he wouldn’t have to go too far into enemy territory. He didn’t want to alert the sentries and start a big fight. He paused when he heard the sharp whine of old brakes and heard a door slam. A large car had pulled up and some more people were blabbing outside. He clearly recognized Kyle Frank’s voice and then smiled when heard a low moan. Even in disheveled condition, Wolverine knew that voice as well. Kimble had just arrived.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2627803/1/Secrets

 

[squeekness]

-----------------------

Kyle carried Kimble into the warehouse and into one of the small offices on the first floor. He lay Kimble down on a musty old couch and wrapped him up. Immediately, the pilot rolled over and away from him, still sobbing. He was devastated from the day's events. Leon had given him a charge in the car on the way here and repaired the damage done to him from the bullets he’d taken on the rooftop, but he was still injured in a way plasma could never heal. Kyle held him, offering comfort. Kimble lay balled up and wasn’t acknowledging his efforts.

It was in this moment of fragility that Kyle became absolutely certain Cameron had made a mistake in his assessment of Kimble. There was no way the Lover could ever be a warrior, not when he was breaking from a loss such as this. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be part of the team and Kyle still wanted to help him. He wasn’t certain how to do that exactly so he tried to comfort Kimble as best he could.

“Kim, don’t do this. None of this was your fault.”

“She wuz shot right in front ‘a me!” Kimble bawled. “I seen the red light an’ didn’ know what it wuz! If I wuz payin’ ‘ttention like I wuz suppozta, I woulda known she wuz gonna die! I coulda stopped it!”

Kyle sighed. There was no room for argument on that score. Kimble was absolutely right. Michael was meticulous in class and red laser sights were always brought up. It had been discussed many times and Kimble had repeatedly blown it off. “Maybe now you understand what we’ve been trying to teach you.”

Kimble sobbed. “I cain’t be yer ShaRain! Yer stupid protector! I cain’t do nuthin’!”

“Don’t give up on me, son. Everybody has setbacks, even the best of heroes. We all do our share of screwing up and you’re not the first to ever lose a comrade over it. The thing is not to give up, not to let it stop you from fulfilling your destiny. You can still be a part of us,” Kyle said, a little hope still in his voice.

Kimble disagreed. He turned back to look at Kyle, his face wet with tears. “I ain’t gots no destiny. This ain’t what I wuz meant for. I wuz made fer sex, that’s it. It’s the only thing I ever done right. I ain’t no warrior, no hero, no matter what you an’ Cameron think.”

“I find that awfully hard to believe, but if it helps, most of our destiny is what we make for ourselves. You could still be that hero, if you really want to be.”

Kimble turned his head away and buried it in the pillow. He was exhausted and wanted only to have this day to do all over again so he could have Gail back. He wanted to be a million miles away.

Kyle nodded at Leon who had come to the doorway. “Dose him high. I want him to sleep.”

Leon came close and tossed a good sized ball of plasma at Kimble. The pilot grunted as it impacted him and shuddered with a small laugh in spite of his grief. He opened his eyes, but his pupils were huge and glassy, he wasn’t really awake. They slid closed after a minute and the pilot began to softly snore. Kyle ruffed his hair and walked away, satisfied Kimble would rest for a while.

He walked away from Kimble and his misery through the rickety building, not really trusting it. This old warehouse was well used and barely standing, it hadn’t been used for anything useful in months. The floor creaked under his feet, making him constantly on edge. He hated this place.

Kyle was determined to have a talk with Cameron as soon as possible. Kimble was just about done, one more rude shock and he was going to collapse. Cameron was just going to have to face facts, Kimble wasn’t even close to pulling off the destiny his boss had planned for him.

Kyle entered one of the larger rooms on the way to where Cameron as waiting for him when something out of place caught his eye. One of the rear doors was ajar, it had been shut when he passed through here before. He paused and tensed, using all of his senses to try and feel the room. It wasn’t enough. He vaulted up into the air and utilized his height for a better look around. He saw a quick flash of movement behind some crates and used his telekinetic power to quickly snare his fleeing prey. He raised a bristling, snarling Wolverine up into the air.

Kyle held the man at a safe distance and sneered, “Well, well, well. Look what the cat drug in. It’s not like you to be caught so easily, old man. You’re losing your touch.”

Logan was aggrevated. He hadn’t been prepared for how quickly Kyle had sensed his presence. He had been prowling around, but the warehouse was like a maze. It was filled with crates, most of them old and rotting. He had gotten lost and was back tracking when he heard Kyle approach. Wind from an open window nearby was blowing against him, he hadn’t known who was coming. He did the usual duck and cover, but it wasn’t good enough to evade this powerful telekinetic, the one form of mutation he struggled the most to defend himself against. He didn’t answer Kyle’s challenge but popped his claws just for ritual. He wasn’t going to let this twerp get the best of him.

Kyle flew closer and sniffed at him. He knew Logan well enough, so he did. They had butted heads more than once back on the Xavier campus, Kyle had been one of Wolverine’s students in one of the many martial arts classes the feral man had taught. They had clashed early, neither one seeing the other’s point of view on politics or fighting. Kyle was certain Wolverine hadn’t missed him even once since the day he’d left.

Kyle grinned at his prey. “Lose someone and now you’ve come looking, huh? What a drag. Maybe Kimble had enough of your bulls--t and pathetic attitude just as I did. Do you have any idea how many of your recruits we pick up that wander? Ever wonder why that is?”

“Cuz it’s always harder doin’ what’s right. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? Doin’ things the right way!” Logan sneered, showing Kyle his teeth.

Kyle just laughed at him. “You haven’t changed a bit. Still as much of an a--hole as you ever were.” He dropped down to the ground, but left Logan hovering in the air looking awkward and stupid. Kyle whistled sharply and two of Cameron’s big bullies came running.

Kyle glowered at them. “Remind me again why Cameron pays you? It took me all of two seconds to find this guy, what’s your excuse?”

“Nobody told us anyone was coming,” the largest one said petulantly.

“The Club was just blown up by Creed and his flunkies, you moron! Hello?!”

“Sorry, boss.”

Kyle just grinned irritably and sighed. He used his power to slam Logan to the floor, praying it would be enough to stun him. There was a groan as the building shook from the impact, but it didn’t fall. Kyle cursed this stupid junky warehouse, they were all going to get killed.

Logan grunted loudly and wheezed, but refused to pass out. The two men snatched at him and he tried to slash at them, but Kyle held him tight, squeezing the breath out of him by hardening the air all around him. Healing factor or no, he could still suffocate. Logan finally blacked out and they dragged him off, never seeing Rogue who hovered in the nearby window.

Rogue flew off quickly, looking for Storm, they had gotten separated after leaving the boat. She was going to need some backup for this one, Kyle was powerful and not alone. She knew she should call in to Remy about this, but stubbornly refused to. She had seen the look on Gambit’s face when he saw Kimble was wounded. The last thing he needed to hear was that Wolverine had showed up after all. In spite of her gruff attitude, she really was worried about Gambit and knew he was suffering. She still loved him, even if he was a lying scumbag no good thief, she chuckled softly to herself. She would go save Logan and drag his furry ass out of here before Gambit even found out. All she had to do was grab Storm and figure out where they had taken Logan. No problem.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2627803/1/Secrets

 

[squeekness]

(Two)

Kimble had fallen asleep only to wake a short time later, too hot and drunk from the plasma to keep still. The warehouse was mostly empty so when he decided to wander off, he hadn’t been seen. He wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, he was just looking for some place quiet where he could find a cool breeze. Of course he had no idea that he was fulfilling a spoken prophecy with each step.

He made his way slowly and phased through a wall into what looked like some kind of holding area or storage room. He blinked in a daze when he saw Wolverine fastened to the wall, not quite sure if he could believe what he was seeing. Logan had been strung up with twisted metal rods no normal human could have bent with his own hands, he looked like he’d been incorporated into some kind of sick, living sculpture. Kimble was stoned, but could still understand that someone had done this telekinetically. Logan was hung in such a way that even if he could pop his claws, he couldn't hack himself free. Wolverine was strong but didn't possess enough strength to bend the metal to get loose, certainly not from such an awkward position. Blood still dripped from his mouth, whomever had done this had only just left him and he hadn't had much time to recover yet. They had beaten him with a crow bar, it lay in its own pool of blood as if they had wounded it as well. The man hung there limply, he didn’t appear to be conscious.

Kimble shuffled over to Logan and sniffed at him in curiosity. It was hard for him to think clearly with the plasma buzzing so pleasantly inside of his head. The last thing he expected was to see Wolverine dangling from the wall.

The sight of Logan hanging there so helplessly sent Kimble’s caregiver gears right into action. He didn’t think twice about it as he went to a nearby sink and wet a towel. He used it to clean the blood from Logan's face, working gently and carefully, grimacing at the bruises there and the cuts. So much pain. Who had done this? He was still too naive to believe Kyle or anyone else on his team capable of such brutality.

Logan didn't appear to wake and Kimble wondered if this was a dream. He knew he was very high and the world around him was kind of grey and fuzzy around the edges. Still, the man before him seemed real enough to the touch. He believed Logan was out cold so he began to mumble softly, “Whatcha doin' here, old man? Hope ya wuzn't lookin' fer me. I ain't lost no more. Nope, not me. Not no more...”

--------------------

Logan came out of his fog at the sound of Kimble’s voice, but didn't open his eyes. This wasn't the first time he'd been severely beaten like this. It happened to him once or twice a year, his over-confidence getting the best of him and allowing him to get caught by some a--hole with a point to make. His body instinctively knew to keep quiet and let his senses get an idea of what was going on around him before he opened his eyes and gave himself away. He was surprised to hear Kimble's voice, even more so when he felt himself being cleaned. Kimble's touch was gentle and careful, it felt more comforting and soothing than he would ever admit to anyone. He was in pain and it was nice to have someone there who knew it.

He could tell right away something was different about Kimble. His words were even more slurred than usual and his body was hot. The heat wafted off of him like he had a fever and he had a smell now, too. Almost like burnt plastic. Logan had smelled this before, but in his present condition, couldn't remember where. Something had been done to Kimble to make him different.

-----------------------

Kimble carefully moved Logan's head to one side to wipe blood that had leaked from a large gash on the back of Logan's head. The cut had almost closed itself now but the blood clung in his hair, matting it.

“Why didja come here, huh? Thoughtcha hated ol' Kimble's guts,” Kimble mumbled, more to himself than to Logan. He paused in his work, looking into the face of this man who seemed to hate him so inexplicably. He put his hand on Logan's cheek and touched his face, wondering at the roughness of it.

“Fallen sez yer real old, even older than me,” Kimble whispered. Logan's lack of response had emboldened him to speak freely. “She sez yer life ain't nuthin but pain an' sufferin'. I kin sees it there, feel it right here in my hand. I kin helps ya. I kin takes yer pain, it's what I do. I kin takes yer pain...” Kimble leaned in close and kissed Logan tenderly on the mouth, his plasma stupor robbing him of his better judgement.

-----------------------

Logan freaked the moment Kimble’s lips had touched his own. Of all the possible things he might have anticipated Kimble would do, that had been the furthest thing from his mind. Logan twisted with a snarl and bit at Kimble's face. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He knew Kimble was sick, that he was a sexual freak, but this was too much.

------------------------------

Kimble squealed in pain as Logan’s teeth cut into him. He jerked his head away, tearing his skin. Grey blood gushed from the tear, but not for long. He was so charged from the plasma that it sealed itself, leaving only a jagged scar. It was still very painful. He heard Logan swear and the growl that came from him like a rabid dog. Kimble staggered back in shock and almost fell. The room swirled around him in a jumble until he steadied himself, his arms out like a drunk walking a chalk line.

“You ever do that ta me again, ya sick f--k, an' I'll kill you!” Logan snarled, spit and blood flying from his mouth. He spat again, not wanting Kimble’s taste in his mouth. Kimble’s gel was sickly sweet and not what he’d expected. It didn’t taste like blood at all.

Kimble recovered and came back to his tormentor cautiously. He came as close as he dared and probed Logan with his eyes, searching for an answer to the question that had been bugging him almost since the first day they’d met. From the beginning, Logan had treated Kimble’s sexual nature like it was a disease, an evil sickness. Why? He was still quite stoned, but it came to him. A tiny thread of thought, like a whisper. It had come from Logan's lips and his teeth.

“S-somebody hurt you like that, didn’ they?”

Logan growled, showing Kimble his teeth.

“Didja know who it wuz, huh? Didja know who it wuz that raped ya?”

“No one's ever done that ta me!” Logan denied bitterly, his eyes just a little too wild.

“He did it ta try an’ breaks ya, but it didn’ work out so good fer him, right? Ya killed him after, didn'tcha? Ya hunted him down and ripped his heart out.”

“Shut up!”

Kimble smiled up at Wolverine sadly. “You cain't lie no better than me. It's there right behind yer eyes. I been seein' it all along when ya looked at me, but I just couldn't figger it out. Not right away. I had ta gits a little closer ta finds it, butcha never let no one in real close, huh? No one ever touches you.”

“Shut up!”

“Naw, I don't think so. You think cuz I like ta make loves so much that I'm like him, huh? Yer just like Leon. He hates me, too. He got raped by some gay guy. Now he thinks all gay guys wanna rape people. He thinks I wanna rape him, but I ain’t never even touched him. Never wanted to but it don’ matter. The one that hurtcha? The one that did that awful thing to ya? I ain't like that, never have been. I ain't never took from someone what didn't wanna give it ta me.”

Logan listened to Kimble's feeble denial and his rage spilled over him like a red hot wave. He completely forgot that the whole point of his being here was to find Kimble and bring him home. All he wanted to do now was punish this stupid little jackass who'd discovered his horrible secret. The one he'd never told anyone, not even himself except when things got all black and cloudy.

He yanked fiercely on his trapped limbs but the twisted metal held him securely. “You ain't nuthin' but a sick perverted little freak! All ya do is take! Ya see what ya want and ya just f--kin' take it! I seen ya doin' it with Holly and I know ya did it with Bobby, too! Ya saw whatcha wanted and ya made 'em give it to ya. Yer like some kinda f--kin' vampire! Ya use 'em! Trap 'em with yer eyes or somethin' an' screw with their minds! Ya use that stupid charm power ya got! Ya wear 'em down till ya get yer sick little kicks! That's no better than takin' it by force!”

“I didn't hurt nobody!”

“Doesn't matter! Ya tricked 'em sure as s--t. Yer a f--kin' vampire! F--kin' monster! Yer no better than ---” Logan choked on his own spit, unable to finish it. He was beyond angry now and into a whole other realm of enraged. The world around him was starting to fade away into the red and he was close to going over into that place where the bad things happened. The place where he woke up covered in blood with no memory of how it got there. He caught his breath, trying to hold onto his sanity. He wasn’t sure it was a battle he could win.

Kimble was confused and more than a little angry himself now. All this man had ever done was insult him and put him down. It was so unfair! “Than who, huh? The guy what done that horrible thing to ya? I'd never do that!”

“Than what were ya doin just now?” Logan growled, his eyes mean and hard.

“Nuthin! I wuz-- I wuz---” But of course, he had been doing something. He'd tried to take Logan's pain while he believed Logan to be unconscious. But what did that mean exactly? To take their pain. To steal their love. He'd been doing it all along hadn't he? Just like Logan said. Bruce in Station Nine, Holly and Bobby at Xavier’s. He’d used his power the same way he helped those in pain. Would any of them have succumbed to him without him pressing his will? The answer stabbed into him like an ice cold pick, ripping into his heart and flooding him with revulsion.

Kimble backed away as tears suddenly spilled from his eyes. He was trembling violently now and slid his arms around himself, choking on the bitter pill that Logan had forced him to swallow. His mind was reeling from the heightened plasma horror of his own actions and accepted Logan’s angry facts as truths. He was a rapist, a selfish molester of innocents. There was no worse crime, not for what he was. He coughed and gagged, clutching at his throat.

Junta bay, I told ya so... came a soft whisper from within. Lakotashay was in pain, knowing the truth when she heard it. Logan’s words struck a chord deep inside.

“Nnooo....it ain’t true..it ain’t true...I ain’t bad!” Kimble denied, shouting out loud in his agony. He refused to believe he had broken the most sacred of rules. It would mean he was a monster of the worst sort and that was more than his fragile psyche could bear.

Logan watched as Kimble disintegrated emotionally and was filled with a surge of happiness. Finally he’d broken this pathetic little twerp, made him see himself for the monster that he was. Now... now justice would be served. The sick bastard put in his place. He couldn’t stop the smile of glee that split his face.

“Don’t take his s--t, Kimble!” Zander snarled.”Make him pay! Punish him!”

Kimble nodded and closed his eyes. He created a telekinetic shield from thin air and broke it into pieces. He snarled and swept the shards out away from him at Logan with a broad wave of his hand.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2627803/1/Secrets

 

[squeekness]

------------------------------------

Wolverine had been startled by the voice that came from Kimble’s mouth. In his crumbling mental state, Kimble had spoken Zander’s words aloud. It sent a shiver of shock and surprise through Logan that immediately brought him to his senses like ice cold water on his face. What had he been thinking? What was he doing? Cripes! He was dangerously close to blowing this whole thing!

He recognized Zander’s voice, Kimble had growled it at him once on the Lucky Dragon on the way here from Cerise. He’d had Logan in a head lock and was prematurely crowing his victory. Wolverine had thought then Kimble had just been excited, but he was beginning to think differently about that now. Punish him, Zander had said. It brought back Anya’s warning. This was something he hadn’t anticipated. He had expected Kimble to fight him, not fall apart. He watched Kimble’s breakdown and he started to feel a little guilty. He saw Kimble go from defensive, to horrified, to angry in less than a minute. It was scary watching his emotions change so quickly. He knew Kimble had been unstable, it was even worse now.

He saw Kimble work his telekinetic magic and jerked reflexively when the shards came flying at him. He remembered Kimble’s horrific defense in the Danger Room and flinched, bracing for the pain. He was surprised when the shards flew out and slashed not through his body, but through the metal rods that held him. It wasn’t a mistake, Kimble's aim had been perfect and skillful. Kimble had been practicing.

Logan fell in a heap of tangled limbs onto the floor, his body a bit numb from pain and from hanging like that. He got to his feet with a groan and looked at Kimble with mixed feelings. Logan was still humiliated and furious, but Kimble had deliberately but inexplicably freed him. What now?

-------------------------------------

“Kills him!” Zander shouted out of Kimble’s mouth. He was outraged at what Kimble had done, their tormentor should be dead, not free from his bonds. “Shuts his f--kin’ face ferever!”

“No!” Kimble snarled, shoving Zander’s bid for control down. He was crumbling, but he wanted desperately to stay in control. Zander couldn’t be trusted. “I ain’t no killer!”

“Kimble, yer a mess,” Logan said, horrified by the argument raging inside of Kimble’s mind. He stood and dusted off, trying to get this back on track. “Come home an’ we can fix this.”

“Stay away from me!” Kimble breathed at him, his eyes still flooding over with tears.

“I hates you! Yer the freak, not me! I ain’t broken no more!”

“Yer comin' with me,” Logan insisted. He wished Henry was here, he just didn’t have the skills to talk the crazies down. He was a brawler, not a shrink. His head was clear now, the red rage gone. He had to think now, think damnit! He had to figure out how he was going to pull this together before it was too late.

“No,” Kimble said, turning away. “I gots some folks now what care about me. They wants me. They accepts me fer who I am. Kyle sez I’m gonna be a hero! I’m gonna be better than alla yous an’ evraone’s gonna love me! I kin helps people! I takes their pain! I kin show you!” He reached out again with his hands to touch, letting go a little with his power. If he could just make Logan see....

Wolverine shrank away from him, not wanting any of it. He could feel the wave of love that came from Kimble but was repulsed by it, thinking it false. It was a trick, a lure, and he wasn’t about to fall for it. “Kyle’s so full of sh-t it‘s comin’ outta his ears! I don’t know where he got that line he was feedin’ you, but I can tell you this fer free. Heroes don’t run around talkin’ to themselves. Yer still split an’ yer throwin’ spikes at people! What kinda hero does that? Yer sick in the head and ya need help!”

Kimble felt a surge of pain at the rejection and was furious at the accusation he was less than okay. “I ain’t split!”

“No, then who’s that talkin’ inside of yer head, huh? It sure as hell ain’t Seth.”

Kimble shuddered again as Zander howled his rage from deep inside. Kimble swallowed him down, just barely. “I ain’t split. I jus’ git carried away sometimes when I gits mad. It don’ mean anathin’. I’m gonna be a real hero jus’ like yous guys only better, you’ll see!” Kimble insisted, calming his voice a little.

“They're just usin’ you. Look at you, yer all screwed up!”

“What do you care? You say the Kings an’ Brotherhood is evil cuz they hurts evrabody, now you sayin’ the same crap ‘bout me. Guess I'm right where I belong!” Kimble shouted, losing his tenuous grasp on his control. He knew Logan was right about his inexcusable behavior and couldn’t deny it any longer. He was so bad...so very bad.

Logan rubbed his arms numbly, feeling really guilty now. “I didn't say you were evil.”

“Yes, ya did!” Kimble wiped at his face uselessly as the tears came anew. He was hitching and bawling now. “You said I wuz a freak! That I takes without askin'! That I rapes people! That's junta bay! The worst evil in the world!”

“Look, Kimble--”

”No! Maybe yer right an’ I do steals it, but maybe that’s cuz anaone that’s ever jus’ given it ta me ends up dead! Dead! They’re all dead cuz a me!”

“What’re ya talkin’ about?”

“Sheyman an’ Gail! I touched ‘em an theys all ended up dead!”

Logan shook his head at this new bout of twisted logic. For a person who supposedly had a computer for a brain, Kimble’s mind was all over the place. “You didn’t kill Sheyman! He got sick and Gail got rubbed out by Creed! You didn’t have anything to do with it!”

“She wuz in love with me! Jeez! I’m like some kinda f--kin’ disease! It ain’t safe ta be round me! If I ain’t rapin’ em, they’s dyin’ all over me! I cain’t go back, I don’ wanna see Remy’s dead face lookin’ back at me! He loves me...he...Oh, no!” he couldn’t finish as he lost all control. The thought of Remy’s possible death at his hands was too much.

Logan felt a jolt of fear stab his guts as Anya’s prediction of his failure came back to haunt him. This was turning into a nightmare. “It ain’t like that, kid. None of that was yer fault. Come back with me!”

”No! I cain’t let nuthin’ happens ta Remy! He’s the only one what ever cared about me!” Kimble sobbed, covering his face as he gave up everything. “I won’t let him die cuz a me!”

“Aw, enough of this f--kin’ crap!” Zander finally howled and took over, growling angrily.

Logan took an uncertain step back as Kimble’s whole body posture changed and Zander’s words slapped at him again. The pilot stood now with full confidence of his abilities and his hands started to glow faintly orange. He looked at his accuser with eyes filled with rage and power and Logan knew Kimble was gone, Zander was all done with the back seat and had taken the reins. This guy was completely out of control and Logan had no idea what to expect. That burnt plastic smell grew stronger and Logan realized he was smelling the plasma energy that was stored up inside of Kimble’s body. Logan had known more than one plasma producer and with a clear head, now recognized what that smell had meant. Zander stood in front of him glowering, the picture of pure rage and uncontrolled fury. He was standing tall and snarling insanely, his hands fisted and clenching tightly as the glowing in his hands became more bright.

Logan put a hand out defensively, concerned that Zander might be able to fire a blast of plasma. He would probably survive it, but it wouldn’t be fun. “Take it easy there, fella. I ain’t gonna hurtcha.”

“Liar! All ya done is hurts us since the firs’ time we ever laid eyes on ya! You think yer so f--kin’ superior cuz yer real an’ all! What a f--kin’ joke! I’m ten times the power you are! I’m so f--kin’ sick of ya hurtin’ Kimble all the time! This is all yer fault!” Zander shouted and launched himself at Logan.

Wolverine had nowhere to go. He screamed as he was pinned against the back wall with a telekinetic shove and Zander’s hands came against his shoulders. They were glowing brightly now, filled with red hot plasma. Logan howled as his flesh was burned instantly and struggled uselessly against this powerful spirit. Zander laughed with glee at his prisoner’s agony, happy to finally be showing this pathetic human who was boss around here. Spit flew from his mouth as he laughed at Logan’s pain and enjoyed it. He increased the flow of plasma to his hands, turning up the heat even more.

“Kimble, stop this! You ain’t no killer!” Logan wheezed as the flesh melted away over his shoulders. The agony was indescribable and he screamed again, unable to control his pain.

Zander shuddered and for a moment there was a look of startled surprise on his face as Kimble returned. Logan’s cry of pain had been enough to bring the Lover around. “Oh, Jeez!” Kimble shrieked and jerked back, horrified at what Zander had done. He looked at his orange glowing hands in terror and wailed. “Oh, no! No. No! NO! Arrgghhh!”

“Kimble yer a mess. I don’ know what they done to ya but we can fix this. Come back with me,” Logan said, still on the job even as the smell of his own cooked flesh made him gag. His healing factor was kicking in, but burns took longer than most other injuries. He glanced quickly, saw he’d been burned down to the bone and decided that one look was enough. He was going to hurt for a long time.

Kimble shivered and shook as he wrestled with his inner demons, struggling hopelessly for control. He was a monster, a freak. He was a rapist and a murderer. For one moment, Kimble desperately wanted to be gone, to be done with it all. He wished for death, for release from this nightmare that his life had become.

His prayer was answered. He gasped sharply when there was a blinding flash of light only he could see and then everything went quiet. He cried out from the sudden blissful release of all of his pain and stood up straight, trembling. He wasn’t in the warehouse, not anymore. He was now back in the circle of light in his personal Black Room, but on the edge now and chained as the others had been before. A huge floating screen in front of him showed a Kimble’s eye view of the events still going on outside of the body. Zander was next to him, nearly busting a gut to get to loose. It wasn’t doing him any good. He looked back at Kimble, the Lover, and spat at him.

“Nice work, boy. Nice. Ya know she’s gonna kill us now, right?”

---------------------------------------

Logan stood still, sensing some kind of change, but wasn’t sure what to make of it. Kimble had frozen in place as if some kind of switch had been thrown. He slowly came back to life, blinking around him uncertainly.

“Kimble?”

“Not quite,” came the reply. The voice was high and feminine.

“F--k!” Wolverine muttered. The Quitter.

Kimble’s body was moving, but he was no longer in it. Even Logan could easily see the change by the difference in his posture and attitude. If the pilot had had a personal odor, Logan didn’t doubt that his scent would have changed as well, the difference was that profound. The Quitter stood up straight and stretched, fully released from her prison finally. She took a deep calming breath and wiped at her chin, the plasma glow fading from her fists. She shook her head back and released her hair with a smooth graceful movement, letting it flow free and lovely about her shoulders. She swept her bangs back with an elegant gesture, as if her fingers were dancing, and tucked them behind her ears. She then cleared her throat and regarded Logan with a small smile. Her eyes were not sad as depicted in Kimble’s drawings. No, she had moved beyond that, being no longer trapped. She looked at him not with rage or pain, but with a cold dead nothing.

“Kimble?” he asked uncertainly.

The Quitter just shook her head. “I oughtta thanks ya, really. I been listenin’ ta those two fer a long time now. They just don’ quit. I loves ya, I hates ya. It all just gits ta be too much after a while. I been tellin’ ‘em there’s a better way, but they just don’ listen ta me. Prob’ly jus’ ‘cause I’m a girl an’ all.”

“Come back with me,” Wolverine said uselessly. He could see by the emptiness in her eyes that it was far too late for that.

“Nawr. I’ll jus’ bet I gots my ticket outta here if I looks around enough. Gonna go see my father an’ it’s all gonna be good again.”

“What are ya talkin’ about?”

The pilot turned to one side and let loose with a huge telekinetic pulse, ripping out the wall and part of the ceiling on one side of the room. The noise was deafening and debris flew everywhere. Logan cursed and shivered as frigid ocean air streamed in, chilling them both.

The Quitter didn’t seem to care. She turned to Logan and said, “I setcha free, now go. Tell the others ta stop lookin' fer us. Kimble's dead.”

“Kimble, wait!”

“Kimble’s dead!”

Logan grunted as the pilot flew at him suddenly, scooping him up recklessly by his hair and one of his arms. Logan howled with pain as they flew out into the darkness, unused to such rough handling while being flown. His shoulders were one huge agony.

He tried to shout for Kimble to listen, pleading with him to understand that he'd just been shocked and surprised that Kimble had read him so easily. He didn’t mean to precipitate the breakdown that led to whatever was happening now, but it did him no good. He felt a giddy rush of vertigo as Lakotashay violently tossed him out to sea, towards the boat.

He sailed out over the water, watching it rush by in a daze and then feeling it cut into him like a thousand sharpened knives as he smashed down into it. His lungs filled with water and he sank down, momentarily stunned from the impact. He roused a bit and kicked for the surface, his shoulders screaming the whole way. He broke free with a gasp, coughing and spluttering.

To read more, click here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2627803/1/Secrets

 

[Madeline87st]

hanks. I'm glad you like it. I've certainly worked hard on it. I've been at this for about seven years now. I doubt I'll be able to post all of it, it's huge!