Rico hurried down the corridor after Kowalski, the noise of a scuffle and heated conversation trailing through the passageways and into Rico's ears.
There was a metal clanging noise as Rico turned the corner- just glimpsing Kowalski being bashed against a locker, head jarring painfully, the genius then being dragged into the men's bathroom.
"OUT!"
Bellowed Korsakov.
Just as Rico settled himself at the gap in the door two frightened looking first years scurried out of the bathroom, one still fastening his pants from using the facilities.
It was the hardest thing not to barge in there and knock Korsakov's lights out there and then.
Through the gap in the door he could see as two guys who had previously appeared to be washing their hands turned, drying them and converging on Kowalski, standing behind Korsakov, evidently their leader.
One was extremely muscular and stupid looking, the other was small, with mean little brown eyes… Wait a minute, that was the guy from Kowalski's physics class!
Kowalski was being crowded against a broken stall, it was locked for servicing so when he shrunk into it it didn't open.
Korsakov was staring at him with a feral look in his evil green eyes, head tilting, assessing Kowalski from first the left-then the right.
"I thought I told you I needed it for TODAY!"
Korsakov slammed his hand against the stall door just to the right of Kowalski's form, which was plastered to the stall, the whole door shook and Kowalski flinched.
The only noise that could be heard was the scientists panicked breathing, and perhaps the running of water from the sink, which had been left running in the other students haste to vacate the space.
Kowalski then took a deep breath, and straightened to his full height, which was two inches taller than the bully. This appeared to annoy Korsakov greatly, as he scowled.
"I've told you Korsakov! I won't do this for you anymore! It's not right, it's unethical, and downright illegal!"
The bully's eyes shone with malice, and he looked over his shoulder at his lackeys.
SMACK!
Kowalski crumpled from the bone crunching punch, dropping to the floor like a mannequin whose strings had been cut.
"HOLD HIM!"
Screamed the hot headed bully, smirking as he crouched down to the floor where Kowalski lay, his followers gripping the scientists long arms and holding him down in a crucifix position.
He straddled the scientists hips, producing a knife from the hollister on his ankle and putting it between his teeth.
"let him go"he ordered.
Kowalski who had regained some movement after the concussive hit was staring around the room, seemingly delirious. Finally intelligent blue eyes seemed to focus, and they alighted on the bully sat on top of him.
His arms were released, but he was too weak to fight as the bully grasped his wrists in one hand,making him wince,using the other to pluck the knife out from between his teeth and cut open the scientist's shirt.
"You're gonna remember me you Polish piece of shit! even when you don't want to! Because every morning when you look in the mirror, you'll see my name…"
Rico kicked open the door violently,Just as skipper rounded the corner running full pelt- and as the knife descended on Kowalski's pale bruised skin.
It was all a blur. within moments Rico had ripped Korsakov off of Kowalski. Pinning him by his neck to the stall,feet were dangling three inches off the ground. Without thinking he slammed the sadists head against the door over and over and over again, only releasing him when skipper shouted.
"RICO CUT IT OUT!"
Skipper ordered, crouching down to the weak scientists level, Kowalski's bare chest going up and down so fast it was clear he was having a panic attack.
Korsakov's lackeys were nowhere to be seen.
"Rico get down here!"
Shouted skipper urgently.
"I think he's having a panic atta-"
Before skipper had even finished Rico was responding. He sat on the floor behind the scientist and gathered him into his lap, until the mans thin chest was flush against his. Rico had had many panic attacks, a symptom of PTSD from his painful past. He knew what to do.
He placed his hand flat against Kowalski's pale chest, and kept uttering the same words like a mantra.
"Breathe walski, breathe wiv me, breathe"
Until the younger man's breathing slowed and evened out, and his body grew slack with fatigue.
Skipper was shell shocked, but as usual knew how to brush it off and respond almost immediately. This was why he was such a great leader.
Skipper kneeled down to Kowalski's level. The scientist looking somewhat worse for wear with a purple bruise blossoming on his right cheek and his lip split and bleeding.
He seemed to be struggling keeping his eyes open, but had settled, one hand over the comforting larger one splayed across his chest.
"Look soldier, we have no real idea what's been happening here, but we have things under control"
Began Skipper.
"that manipulative snake has a lot to answer for and he's not going to get away with this any more, you are not some dick faces personal punching bag, and you never have to see him again, you can sleep now- and when you wake up we want a statement,do you understand me soldier?"
Kowalski nodded, eyes closing slowly, and calm deep breathing filling the rest room.
Rico gently scooped up the gangling form of Nicolai Kowalski, scowled at the pathetic unconscious price of shit who had caused this and walked out of the room towards the medical bay. Just as he was exiting the room he heard the snap of handcuffs, and smirked.
skipper handcuffed the bully to the drain pipe under the sink.
"Stay put"
Grinned skipper, patting the bully on the cheek twice patronisingly. And exiting, the scuff of their shoes echoing off of the walls.
X
X
X
Skipper remembered it like yesterday, bitterly recalling the promise he had made which had now been broken
"he's not going to get away with this any more, you are not some dick faces personal punching bag, and you never have to see him again"
It bounced around in his head like a basket ball.
"and you never have to see him again"
Oh how skipper had been wrong.
X
X
X
It had taken a good several weeks for Kowalski's cracked ribs to heal, and training to begin once more.
Korsakov was expelled from the academy and blacklisted, and would never darken the doorway again.
Shortly after the event Kowalski Rico and Skipper moved in together.
It was surprisingly easy in some ways to adjust, and unpredictably difficult in others, between Skippers paranoia, Rico's night terrors and Kowalski's insomnia it was no picnic.
But somehow it worked. They fit together like one of those giant 3D puzzles, and it would take a lot more than simple Physics to tear them apart.
Fast forward twelve years and the penguin household had a new member. The team had been on countless successful missions, and Kowalski had learned how to fight and defeat any foe, no matter how strong or fast.
He was lithe, strong, and used his intelligence to quickly and efficiently defeat enemies.
Insomnia however was still a massive problem, and this unfortunately was the cause of many of his mistakes both in training and in the field.
Skipper was happy most of the time, until Kowalski innovatively slipped into one of those phases again where he had to be banned from the lab and literally sent to bed at eight thirty like a toddler. Today was one of those days. One of the days where Kowalski was at risk if allowed to use practically anything sharp or corrosive and had to be in bed by nine, skippers law.
This was the day it began. This was the day shit hit the fan.
X
X
X
"Skipper!" whined the scientist, throwing back his head and sighing dramatically.
"Why can't I go on this mission too? Private is two years younger than I was before I even started physical training and he gets to go!"
"Private wasn't up all night designing missiles" Skipper deadpanned, taking a bite of his toast. Rico who was sat in the corner chuckled, taking the last bite of his cereal and grinning. Kowalski was such a child when he wanted to be, and Rico found it more than a little funny that he was almost twice Privates age but had been ordered to stay at home this mission.
Rico grinned, scar stretching till it was a pale white. He patted Kowalski on the head on his way out of the kitchen, It would have seemed more patronising if he didn't have to reach so high to do so.
Rico ducked deftly as Kowalski rolled up the newspaper he had been holding and swatted at his head.
"Don't test me Rico, I know where you keep your explosives!" Kowalski called after his friend, who chuckled low in his throat on his way into the living room, calling his bluff.
The day started off normally. Skipper ordering them around with drills, and Rico going through his weapons armery to select the correct wepons for this mission.
The only thing that was different was their second in command was banned from practise, staring out of the window at the team, and his own reflection, with a steaming cup of coffee which was fogging up his glasses.
Kowaslki was wearing a blue dressingown,and pyjamas with Albert Einstein on, who was sticking his tongue out comically, and he was looking pale. The almost transparent reflection he saw in the window was an acurate representation of how he was feeling, empty. Empty and humiliated.
When was he going to get this under control? Kowalski sighed.
Looking away from the yard where even in the bitterly cold fall wether his team were suited and booted and training, without him.
It was always super embarassing when Skipper drew the line and made him stay in for a mission. Even though Kowalski knew it was nesseccary incase he was injured, or god forbid caused another team member to be injured. But it never really took the sting out of it.
Private didn't seem to understand sometimes. He would look at Kowalski's towering frame, an older brother figure who seemed untouchable,immortal, and would be unable to see the cracks forming. Rico did, and he would tell skipper his concerns. Skipper did, and he would not hesitate to baby him if it ment him and the rest of the team staying safe.
So here he was. The forms of his brothers going through their paces blurring, until he was left with his own reflection. Tall and strong but oh so weak, oh so fragile.
Skipper could tell when he was struggling physically, due to a familiar exhaustion which no amount of coffee could quell, and Rico could tell when his past came back to haunt his mind, thoughts which he had come to ignore but couldn't erase.
you're weak, you're not good enough, You don't deserve rest, You don't deserve food. Keep working, You have to prove yourself, whispered the thoughts. Oh so quietly but oh so compellingly.
Kowalski huffed, slamming the coffee down on the counter where it sloshed and spilled slightly down one side.
This was bullshit! Kowalski stormed over to the front door, enteringthe code- not really surprised when the door beeped out a nope and didn't open. Great, Skipper had changed the codes already! Kowaski made a small unimpressed noise, and headed over to the couch in the livingroom, folding himself into a ball and frowning.
He reached over to the arm rest and picked up the remote, turning on the television and flicking through the channels, finally settling on a show called 'how it's made', and wrapping himself in the blanket skipper had put on the coffee table for him to use whilst they were out.
About half way through the show the genius's eye-lids drooped, and he fell into a fitful sleep.
Kowalski awoke hours later. The room was dark, and the tv casting the only light in the room, which tinged kowaslkis form with blue white light, and cast long soft shadows across the space. He shivered, gripping the blanket tighter around himself, trying to find the energy to get up and turn on the heating. He heard the click of the doors opening, and heard footsteps.
Skipper Rico and private must be home! Finally he didn't need to be stuck in the house alone. "Skipper" begun Kowalski, weedling like a child. "Could you turn the heating on? It's freezing!"
Kowalski received no answer, looking round in confusion. He heard footsteps approaching him swiftly but quietly… he knew skippers footfalls, and Rico's, and Privates… that wasn't skipper. Before he could even stand he was grabbed from behind, strong muscular arms reaching over the couch to suffocate him.
Kowalski tried to escape, he really did, but the assailant was just too strong. His last thought was how could this person have known the rest of the team were out? And why go to all this trouble just for him? … why did this person whom he had not yet even seen seem so familiar?
Kowalski fought the darkness, thrashing growing ever weaker, before everything faded to black.
Dun Dun DUUUUUUN!
Hi, I hope you like this, if you did please review, and a big thanks to Bit and Rotten Panda for their ongoing support! Sky x