A/N: This story is a complete AU. All of the characters are humans and have always been humans. Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski do not know each other. Though they will shortly. Also just a warning, this story is SLASH, shounen-ai, yaoi, whatever you want to call it. So if that's not your cup of tea, please don't bother reading.
This Chapter had been re-written since it was first posted!
Summary: Human AU: When Ace Jameson woke up that morning, he had expected a fun evening at an amusement park, but that evening is quickly shattered. Now he is the target of a mad scientist, the newest member of a team of elite bodyguards, and he can't look at his new team leader without having to mentally slap himself. As if that wasn't bad enough his father has chosen the absolute worst time to try to become re-acquainted with his son.
Disclaimer: I don't own the penguins, they are the property of Dreamworks and Nickelodeon. I'm making no money from this fic. This will be the only chapter with a disclaimer. But it holds true for all chapters.
Flightless
Chapter One
Anne Masters was smiling and laughing with her tutor, Ace Jameson, as the two ran from water slide to water slide. Skipper sat at one of the many pizza stands. His sapphire blue eye's following the teenage boy and child as they charged up the stairs of a long green slide. The boy didn't have a record and Anne's mother only had good things to say about him, but Skipper was wary none-the-less. The girls father, Sam Masters was, one of the US Military's top engineers. Supposedly he was working on a project that would revolutionize modern surveillance of hostile territories. Three day's ago he had left home for work and never arrived. The same day her father disappeared a woman had shown up at Anne's school posing as a police officer tried to take her away. Luckily the man in charge of school security had identified the woman as Rhonda, an Agent of Finius Doufinium and intervened, rescuing the girl before she was even aware of the situation. Serena Masters was a wreck, all in one day she had almost lost her entire family and in her desperation she had gone to her husbands colleagues for help. They had turned her to Skipper and his boys. If anyone in the business could protect the girl from Finius Doufinium it was the two former Seals and their own semi-mad scientist.
Skipper ground his teeth together as he watched the two from behind his binocular sunglasses. The boy so casually had allowed them to be placed in an inner-tube with complete strangers! Granted, the boy hadn't been told of the situation and the strangers were three giggling teenage girls that eyed him hungrily. Each wearing bikini's that he was quite positive even Rico would have trouble finding someplace to hide a weapon inside. But the fact was that Doufinium was after the girl and he would take any measures, hire anyone, to capture her. He was certain that the crazed scientist had captured her father for the plans he was building for the military. Having his daughter would definitely be incentive for Sam Masters to talk.
Skipper's eyes followed the young man and his charge as they screamed and smiled the entire way down the twists and turns of the water slide. Slipping in and out of his sight as they disappeared into and out of enclosed tubes throughout the length of the slide. Fanning himself against the August heat, he allowed himself to be grateful that it was late enough in the season that the park wasn't too packed. Children scattered in all directions laughing madly as they played. Parents and teenagers reclined in pool chairs or flirted with strangers. He kept his eyes peeled for trouble and swore to himself that he wouldn't let Doufinium get his hands on the girl. Her capture would signal her death sentence as well as her fathers. The sound of metal scrapping on concrete brought his eyes away from the child and back to acknowledge his soldiers, returning from a surveillance round of the park.
The two men sat in the available chairs, Rico kicking off his sandals and putting his feet up onto the table, wiggling his toes with an odd grin of pleasure. Richard Kowalski handed him the digital camera as he fanned himself with a napkin, brushing his chin length hair from his eyes then cleaning a spot on his glasses. Since their departure thirty minutes before they had both acquired new henna tattoos and a large sack from one of the parks many gift shops. He raised an eyebrow at Rico, who was slurping loudly from a large souvenir cup. "Souvenir shopping on the job men? I told you earlier we would have time for fun after the kids left. This is hardly the time." The mute man grinned widely around his straw, distorting the long scar that traveled from the center his collarbone, up his throat then slashed across the left side of his mouth, as Kowalski fished a baseball cap from the sack and presented it to Skipper. Putting it on and observing his reflection in the napkin dispenser he had to admit that it made him look rather dashing and did wonders to keep the sun off of his face.
"After receiving many accusing stares, I realized that we were extremely suspicious looking. I felt it necessary that we partake in some amusement park activities lest the security began to wonder why two grown men were wandering around an amusement park meant mainly for children, alone."
Skipper nodded and snatched the sack from Kowalski, examining the contents. "Good thinking men," it contained various stuffed animals, no doubt won from carnival games by Rico, and Skipper wondered if the man had placed any bets on his games and if he had, how much more cash did he have now than when they had left. A grin and a snicker as the manic man snatched an extremely pink rabbit and began loosening the stitches made Skipper believe it must have been quite a bit. There was a photograph from one of the parks more exciting roller coasters that he couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow over. "But I hope that you have more to report about than cheated teenagers and the height and speed of a roller coaster." Kowalski had the decency to look embarrassed while Rico chuckled next to him. Skipper noticed that at some point in time they had purchased matching necklaces as well.
"We haven't spotted any known agents of Dr. Doufinium. There were a few suspicious characters that we were keeping an eye on, but they just ended up being regular purse snatchers and pedophiles. Rico snapped a few fingers, broke a few arms and we moved on." Rico's chuckling took on a dark tone and his grin became slightly crazed, revealing a few sharp teeth as he cracked his knuckles. Quite a few families at the surrounding tables picked up their children and ran. He watched them go, waving at the brave few who choose to look back with the pink rabbit's now disconnected arm. Kowalski snatched the mutilated toy from his hands and shoved all of the pieces and stuffing back into the sack. "After a few circulations of the main park, we decided to reconvene here in the water park with you to discus the next course of action."
Skipper nodded turning his eyes back to Anne and her tutor. They had moved on to another attraction. A sort of water themed playground, with a huge jungle-gym like structure in the middle with climbing nets, water canons, water slides and a giant bucked that poured huge amounts of water over the side every five minutes . Ace Jameson was watching Anne from the edge of the water as she mingled with other children, climbing to the top to ride one of the many slides.
"Good job men! Take a few minutes to get something to eat and resume your rounds. I'm going to talk to the tutor." Standing, he took off his short sleeve button up over shirt, revealing a plain white wife beater. He adjusted his sunglasses and traded his new cap for the floppy hat on Kowalski's head before slipping off his sandals and heading off barefoot in the direction of the playground area called 'Monsoon Lagoon'. He passed one the free sunscreen stations and began forming a plan in his mind. He stopped and squeezed a liberal amount into his hands, applying it messily to his shoulders and arms, making sure that he didn't quite get it all rubbed in. Then repeated the action with his face.
He kept a close eye on Ace Jameson as he dodged through running and laughing children as he made his way to the playground. The girls from the waterslide had followed him to the playground and were trying to capture his attention by splashing him flirtatiously. He couldn't help but notice that, though the boy responded to the girls attentions politely, he had never taken his eyes off the little girl he was responsible for. Skipper grudgingly acknowledged that the boy seemed to be a responsible young man. As the girls grew bored by his inattentiveness and as they left Skipper made his move.
A/N: Monsoon Lagoon is a real ride/attraction/playground/thing at a family owned theme park in Santa Clause Indiana called Holiday World. It's a fun park and no matter how many times I ride awesome rides at Six Flags or other parks I always long for the free drinks of Holiday World, that's right, free drinks! There are Oasis stations set up throughout the park where you can get free drinks, Six Flags can't beat that!
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