Editor's notes:
Matteic: Don't worry too much about Kurt. I'm one of those females myself… ;)
Vixen: The "strange stuff" that's going on with Kurt's ears, the bleeding, the ringing and pain, the vertigo, and even his rapid eye movement, are symptoms of severe inner ear damage. The eye movement is called the nystagmus response; it's what the body does to try and counter extreme dizziness and lack of equilibrium. Here's an experiment to show it: spin a buddy around in a chair real fast, then stop them short and watch their eyes. Their pupils will constantly move back and forth to one side. If they try to stand and walk, they'll have a hard time of it as well, because they're still dizzy and trying to adjust. I explain a little more of it below.
Talons
Chapter 9
Hank waited just outside the hanger doors as the Blackbird landed within. As much as he wanted to get in there, he knew to wait until the jets cut out. From what Ororo said, they already had one X-man down with an ear injury. No one needed Hank with blown eardrums as well.
Finally the noise died down. Hank strode into the hanger, the last whine of the jets dying away. The ramp lowered in perfect time for him to bound up into the Blackbird without breaking stride. In front of him, Kurt clung to his seat, leaning to the right, head tilted even further, as he mumbled German prayers through clenched teeth. He cradled his right arm in his lap, swaying just a little. He bared his teeth in something between concentration and pain, his ears smeared with fresh, glistening crimson.
Hank took no notice of anything else. He went straight for Kurt. He unzipped the small instrument bag he clutched in his massive hand and withdrew a transparent plastic "bite stick". He held it up in front of Kurt's face.
"Use this before you crack the enamel on those pearly whites," he said.
"I can't hear you," Kurt told him.
"I was afraid of that," Hank muttered.
He held up the plastic and pantomimed biting down on it. Kurt nodded. Still clinging to his seat, he allowed Hank to place the stick in his mouth. Ororo came back to sit beside him. Hank pointed to his index finger and slowly moved it back and forth in front of Kurt's face, watching as Kurt tried to follow it with his eyes. They were still jumping to the side.
"Wonderful nystagmus you've got there...," Hank noted.
He put an ostoscope to Kurt's left ear. Kurt strangled a cry of pain and bit down harder on the plastic stick. "There's one tympanoplasty tonight...."
He went to the other ear, and Kurt shied away from the probe despite himself. Ororo put both hands to the side of his head and gently held him still. Hank was as careful as he could be with the ostoscope, but it still hurt terribly.
"....And there's another tympanoplasty," Hank finished. "Both tympanic membranes are blown wide open."
To Kurt's relief, Hank set the ostoscope down. Then the doctor lifted Kurt's favored right hand and turned it over. There were burns running along his fingers and palm. No wonder he was cradling it that way.
"Electrical burns, mainly first degree, a few second." Hank turned to Ororo. "If I didn't know any better, I'd wonder if he tried anything funny with you, my dear. I've seen people lose their eardrums to lightning strikes. I don't suppose you know how this happened, do you?"
"I didn't get a good look, no," Ororo replied.
Professor Xavier's voice calmly issued from farther up front. "According to Kotoko, Kurt disabled one of the enemy's weapons with a well-placed rock. He was nearly electrocuted in the process."
"He held the rock in this hand, then?" Hank asked, glancing back at the professor. "He didn't throw it?"
"Yes, he held it in his hand."
Hank turned back to Kurt and started unzipping his singed right sleeve. "That's a useful bit of information. By the way, who's Kotoko? A new student?"
"Look behind you, Henry. He's up against the wall, next to Colossus."
Henry turned on one knee. At first, he thought he was seeing a damaged spare wheel for the blackbird, secured to the wall by a cargo net. Then he blinked and looked again. That couldn't possibly be a wheel. It issued noises from dozens of barnacle-like projections, the sounds reminding Hank vaguely of someone popping bubble wrap, or dropping marbles down a set of stairs. Colossus pulled back the cargo net and gently rolled the being out, and for the first time, Dr. Henry McCoy got a clear picture of the creature that was Kotoko.
His jaw dropped. "Oh my stars and garters...."
:
The bulk of the student body lined up along the corridor outside the hanger, eager to get a glimpse of the creature Jamie and Regis had described. First came Hank, cradling Kurt in his arms as if he weighed little more than a child. The lithe acrobat was curled up in a ball, right down to his tail, his hands over his ears and a plastic stick clenched between his teeth. Hank did not look down at the children; he strode right by them, business-like and professional. Ororo followed directly after. The three were gone in seconds. A bit later, the talon itself came by the waiting children in a ludicrous manner, rolled down the hallway like a giant tire. A giant tire with knuckles, warts, and barnacles. Regis paled and moved further back, where three Jamies were there to surround and protect him.
"Regis, Colossus is doing the pushing," one Jamie said. "It's not going to get away from him. He's too strong."
Regis swallowed and nodded quickly, unconvinced.
"Does it like being rolled that way?" one of the students asked.
"It's a 'he'," Colossus replied. "The professor told me that was what he wanted. It must be comfortable for him."
The professor himself came last, his motorized wheelchair quietly moving along. He stopped among his students, and after the alien had been rolled down another corridor, they turned to look at him.
"The alien's name roughly translates to Kotoko," Professor Xavier said. With his next words, he made a point of addressing Regis and Jamie. "I understand that he is frightening, but I want everyone to know that he tried to stop the other three that attacked us today. The situation is complex, but understand that Kotoko is not a prisoner, nor is he a threat. In fact, I think he will be able to help us a great deal." As Xavier scanned the group, he noticed that there was a noted, and unexpected, absence. "Has anyone seen Kitty?"
"Yeah, she's up in the room," Jubilee said, pointing up with her thumb. "She said she was working on something for you. You know how she gets when she's on that computer. You can't pry her away."
:
Kitty clicked on "print" and kicked her rolling chair back across the floor, to where the printer hummed into activity. It had taken a long time to search through the police DNA database, but she did have something to show for it.
"Man, Mystique would be able to do this in half the time," she mumbled ruefully.
She heard the distinct mechanical whine of Professor Xavier's wheelchair outside her open door. Just in time. She plucked the finished sheets from the out tray.
"Kitty, Mystique is at least twenty years your elder," he said as he rolled to the doorway. "Try to be a bit easier on yourself, or at least make your comparisons more fair."
She stood and walked over to him. "Yeah, well, in geekspeak, that means she's an old geezer, and I should be able to spike, spoof, and nuke her into next week. It just bugs me, that's all."
Xavier's eyes shone. "So, someone in their thirties is an 'old geezer'? I'm afraid of what that would make me."
"Pre-Cambrian." She handed him the printout. "One more minute, and I'd have it spiral bound for you. Is Kurt O.K.?"
"Henry is taking care of him right now. We'll know more in a few hours"
Xavier flipped through the pages, getting a quick idea of what Kitty had discovered. She had DNA matches on two of the six casualties from last night, dossiers on Glen Carter and Isidro Delgado, a chemical breakdown on the "blue gel", as well as the tiny bit of plastic that floated in it, and, tagged onto the end, a few price lists of construction equipment, new and used. She shrugged and grinned as he reached the last pages of information.
"Scott talked about doing it, so I told him I'd do it instead. 'Cuz, like, I had a lot of time on my hands, waiting for the DNA matches to come back. I mean, there had to be a reason why they stole the stuff, right?"
"And what did you find?" Xavier asked, looking back up at her.
She leaned against the doorway with one arm, still looking over Xavier's shoulder at the printout. "I called up everyone in the phone book. Nobody in the state has a bulldozer to spare, forget Westchester county. 'Cuz of the winter flooding upstate, everyone and their brother is rebuilding and stuff. There's a waiting list a mile long. Dealers are backlogged, and all the used stuff has been snapped up. And don't even bother trying to rent something until late spring. They'll just laugh at you."
Xavier rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Kitty, would you mind spiral binding this for me? I think we'll all need to see this."
The lights flickered, then died. Kitty's systems remained on and intact, thanks to the UPS and surge protectors. For a brief second, her flatscreen was the only source of light for the room. Before her and the professor's eyes could adjust to the sudden darkness, the lights came back on.
"Jeez, that's the second time in two days," Kitty said, irritated. "What the hell is up with Con Edison?"
"I don't know," Xavier said, his voice soft and strangely tense. "But I'm going to find out."
* * * * *
Kurt drifted in and out for several hours after the anesthesia wore off. He didn't completely awaken until mid morning the next day. The first thing he was aware of was a soft conversation. No ringing, no spinning. He was curled up in bed, but it wasn't his own. He opened his eyes to find Ororo and a thickly-built stranger standing over him.
"Good morning, Herr Wagner," the man chimed, smiling. "It's nice to see you open those pretty yellow eyes of yours."
Their voices were muffled. Was his hearing loss permanent? Kurt lifted a hand to his ear, tentatively checking. He found a lot of cotton and gauze.
"Do I know you?" he asked tentatively, rolling onto his back.
"Yes, you've never met me before, have you? My name is Henry McCoy, but you can just call me Dr. Hank. Charles and I go back quite a ways.
"Now, there are a few rules for people who've just had their eardrums reconstructed," Hank started, ticking off points on his fingers. "No drinking through a straw, no blowing your nose, no heavy lifting, no sneezing with your mouth closed, no swimming, no plane rides, no pretty girls blowing into your ears, and no teleporting unless your life depends on it, as I have the feeling you experience radical pressure changes. Basically, don't do anything to pop your ears or put pressure on your eustachian tubes. Oh, and I'm afraid your life as a violin virtuoso is over."
Kurt managed a grin. "But doctor, I'm a concert pianist."
Scott's voice called from Kurt's left, "Show him the bite stick, Hank."
Ororo gave a theatrical shudder. "You men are positively macabre."
Kurt looked Scott's way. He was sitting up, his mattress at a forty-five degree angle. His chest was bare, except for two gauze patches. He wore an oxygen mask over his face, but otherwise seemed in good spirits.
"Oh, yes. I'll have to keep this one," Hank commented, reaching over to a mobile platform. "Tell me, Kurt, how were you regarded by dentists?"
"I did not see them often," he admitted softly. "There was one old man friendly to me, but he died years ago. As far as anyone else, they did not want to get too close to me. I was known as Herr 'Your-Teeth-Are-Fine-Get-Out-of-My-Office'."
Hank picked up the clear plastic that Kurt vaguely remembered biting down on. "Yes, I can imagine that would be a problem. Your teeth are quite strong, in case you were interested."
He handed Kurt the stick. Kurt gazed at it with amazement; it was utterly demolished. It had been an inch thick, yet he had bitten down on it so hard that his shark-like teeth literally poked holes all the way through from both sides.
"Of course, the jaw is one of the strongest muscles in the body," Hank went on. "It's almost always in use one way or another."
"Especially when it's giving out vile puns," Scott put in.
"Still, this is impressive by even my standards," Hank finished, taking back the deformed object. "I'll have to mount this somewhere."
"Kurt, dear, we have to talk," Ororo spoke up. She leaned over him. "This is twice in the past two months you've been teleported away during battle, twice we've launched a search for you, and twice I've come up on you wounded and helpless. This is getting repetitive."
"Yes, you're right," Kurt sighed. "Next time, dinner and a movie instead?"
Ororo tapped her fingers on the side of the bed, then turned to Hank. In a casual tone, she asked, "So, Hank, when will he be well enough that I can start beating him?"
"If you don't hit him in the head, you can start now," Hank replied, turning away.
"I think that's my cue to leave," Kurt mumbled.
He sat up too fast, and the world lurched to one side. He fell back to the bed with a startled groan and put his hand over his eyes.
"And no sitting up quickly," Hank added.
"Now he tells me," Kurt moaned.
"And you shouldn't be leaving too soon, in any case," Hank called over his shoulder. "We have to change that dressing."
Kurt removed his hand slowly. The world had stopped spinning, mostly. He glanced at Scott.
"So what are you in for?" he asked
"Pulmonary contusions," Hank answered for him.
"Bruised lung," Scott clarified. "And a snapped rib or two."
"And he's been positively insistent that he be kept informed of all situations as they occur, instead of resting as he's supposed to," Hank added, pointing a thick, accusing finger.
"I am resting!" Scott objected. "I can't do anything but rest sitting in bed like this!"
Ororo remained silent, watching the two argue with a slight shake of her head. Kurt slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. She aided him with a warm, soft hand to his back.
"You're being quiet today," he whispered to her.
"I'm not getting in the middle of that," she replied, just as softly. "Those two have been going at it off and on since Scott woke up. Hank's threatening to sedate him."
Kurt looked down at his right arm. Deep purple spots ran the length of it, growing fainter the closer they got to his shoulder. Burns. His hand was in a cotton mitten, and it felt like there was some kind of ointment on underneath. It was moderately painful to flex his fingers.
"I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble," he said quietly. "I didn't think that weapon could explode like that. I just meant to distract the thing long enough to get Cyclops out of there."
"Well, you did give me a scare for a while," she replied. "But since you brought back a big piece of this puzzle, I guess we can call things even."
"The alien?" Kurt looked back at her. "Is it still alive?"
"Both of them are. One is friendly, the other's locked up in the danger room until we figure out what to do with it."
Hank came over to Kurt's side with a small basin of gauze, packing, and ointment tubes.
"This may irritate," he warned.
Kurt hunched over and clenched his teeth as Hank slowly pulled what seemed to be two yards of yellow-stained, glistening packing from Kurt's left ear. Kurt paled in wide-eyed disgust as he saw the discarded material.
"Not to worry," Hank said cheerily. "That gunk is from the antibiotics. Your ear isn't weeping that badly."
"That's a relief," Kurt muttered. Then Hank replaced the packing, and Kurt grunted, "I spoke too soon."
"You'll also get to take oral antibiotics for the next two weeks. Won't that be fun?"
"I have had 'fun', and this is not it." Kurt hissed, gripping the thin mattress with his good hand. "I'm getting dizzy again."
Unnoticed by Henry, Professor Xavier entered the medlab. He moved his wheelchair over to Scott's side. Scott greeted him silently with an upraised hand.
"Well, it appears that Kurt is up and around," Xavier noted. "And Scott is doing much better. So that leaves our new 'guests', doesn't it, Henry?"
"Ah, yes, professor," Hank replied, now turning his attention to Kurt's other ear. "Kotoko has been resting comfortably in the next room. To be honest, the bulk of my ministrations have been strictly tertiary. His blood chemistry responds favorably to antiseptics and analgesics, but I have little idea of where to go from there. His interior structure is nothing short of bizarre. Without that little first aid kit he carried with him, all of this would have taken far longer. At least I had a chemical launching pad."
"And as for Mr. Delgado?" Charles asked cautiously.
Hank finished torturing Kurt and turned around to face Charles. "The good news is that 'input jack' isn't interfering with his central nervous system just by its presence. If it wasn't such a succulent selection of hyper-tech, I feel it could be left there without complications. The bad news is that it, and he, will be entirely too attractive a target. His erstwhile 'employers' are going to want him back."
"Hell, we still don't know how they found us in the first place," Scott added. "The general public doesn't know where Storm or I live, and the professor was never out of the car to be seen. All I can think is that they've got some kind of government clearance to get into Stryker's files."
"Or they've just hacked into them as Mystique is wont to do," Ororo countered. "Kitten has done enough similar work."
"Yes, and I have the results of Ms. Pryde's latest foray right here," Charles said, lifting a spiral-bound portfolio with one hand before setting it back on his lap. "I'll be going over this with you in a little while, but for now, I'd like to be sure of Mr. Delgado's state."
"He's in the other room with Logan," Hank answered. "I can bring him in here, if you'd like. He's awake."
"Do you think... that's a good idea?" Kurt asked nervously. "I'm still a bit dizzy to walk out of here."
"My cyotic comrade, I wouldn't suggest it if I thought Isidro would have a problem. We've been talking with him for the past hour or so. He's a surprisingly tolerant individual, and it looks like he may be staying with us for a bit longer. He'll need to be introduced to you sooner or later, won't he?"
Kurt did not reply. Instead he looked down at the floor, with the self-conscious, maddening hunch to his shoulders that made Ororo want to both slap and hug him at the same time. As Hank left to fetch Isidro Delgado, Kurt closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to sit up straight.
" 'We shouldn't have to,' " he whispered to himself.
:
Henry McCoy took a few short steps down the corridor to one of the many auxiliary rooms. He touched the chime and waited; it would be rude to just barge in.
"C'mon in," Logan's voice called.
Hank walked in a few feet and stopped as the door shut behind him. Isidro, clothed in the standard academy sweatpants and t-shirt, was going through a workout with Logan. He was a compact, leanly-muscular man, his black hair cut short in a standard, academy-approved style. Though he wasn't especially handsome, his sculpted body could make him a bit of a lady-killer. He kicked, spun, and punched, aiming at Logan's upraised hands with each blow. Hank grinned broadly as Isidro wound down, his shirt damp with sweat around the neck and under the armpits. Whatever had happened to the young man, at least his body was in prime condition.
Isidro danced a few steps on his toes. "You're right. Kicking those hands is like hitting a steel plate."
Logan smiled. "Hey, you were the one who felt like a workout."
"Yeah, I was." He smiled, a bit winded. "Next time I'll know better, huh?" He looked over to Hank and tapped the back of his head, his smile fading fast. "Hey, Dr. Hank! Any idea what to do about this damn thing?"
"That's one of the things I came to talk to you about," Hank told him. "Professor Xavier would like to speak with you face-to-face. It's not that we desire you as our prisoner, but it isn't safe for you to leave just yet."
Isidro swallowed and glanced away. "Yeah, I kind of figured that. I'd like to contact my folks, but I don't want them getting involved in all this, either." He ran a hand through his hair. "God, did I really try to kill you guys?"
"You personally?" Logan asked back. "No. And you're not the only guy who's gone through this." He looked at Hank. "Is Kurt up yet?"
"Yes," Hank replied. "I don't suppose you've warned Isidro about him?"
"Warned me about who?" Isidro asked, looking from one man to the other.
To be continued….