Loose Ends
By Trynia Merin
Disclaimer: Excalibur and its characters are property of XMEN. This is a work of fiction, and is not meant for profit or to demean the characters. The events here take place after my first story Dreams Nailed. Please R and R.
***
Chapter 5
Kitty Pryde followed Sgt. D'marran into the med bay, marveling at the sleek seamless lines of the chamber, and chuckled when she saw Pete Wisdom, sans clothes floating in a vat of some strange goo like something out of Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back. He thrashed about, a mask affixed to his face, his body revealed to her and to the cybernetic surgeon. Blinking and kicking up a trail of bubbles, he raised his finger in a double salute to flip off the well-meaning medtechs.
"Here is your... consort, Kitty Pryde," Sgt. D'marran sighed. "Perhaps you can convince him our efforts are NOT hostile. We had to nullify his powers with an inhibitor complex... or else he'd incinerate the fresher chamber..."
"What are you doing to him, will he be okay?" Kitty asked, knowing the answer. Wisdom was fully conscious, and furious to boot.
"He has regained consciousness," the Shi'ar doctor mumbled. "Although his emotional responses..."
"Let me talk to him," Kitty half giggled. Wisdom's eyes caught sight of her, and he momentarily stopped his thrashing. The surgeon indicated a comlink, which he pressed into Kitty's hand, and she put it on her lapel.
"Bleeding hell!" Wisdom's voice burbled through. "Ye ruddy bastards let me out of here!"
"Shut up and let them help, you horrible sod," Kitty giggled.
"Pryde, lover, what the HELL is going on! One minute I'm fighting the tin man from hell... and next..."
"These are friends of ours, sort of. Just relax, and they'll have you fixed up.... And stop struggling... before you break something!"
"Come in HERE and say that, darlin," Wisdom mumbled.
"When can he come out of there?" Kitty asked.
"He should be done now," the surgeon said. "His injuries were extensive, but we have repaired the physical damage. Are you certain he is sane?"
"Just get him out of there and I'll calm him down,' Kitty giggled. Red fluid drained from the cylinder, leaving Pete standing there and shivering as he put his hands over his privates and shot an evil glare to his audience. A hot jet of air dried the remainder off, and the walls vanished, leaving him shivering there as Kitty walked up and hugged him tightly.
"You might've told me," Pete bitched as kitty pulled off the mask and kissed him.
"Shut up and kiss me you bloody git," she grinned. Wisdom glanced around.
"Can you tell these voyeurs to sod off and get me clothes?" Wisdom cussed.
"There is a clothes synthesizer this way," D'marran said, as Kitty found a sheet and Wisdom wrapped it around his hips in lieu of a towel. He glared at the doctor and stepped inside, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Where's me fags," he mumbled.
"Shh," Kitty urged as she pushed him into the synthesizer and D'marran manipulated the controls. He was swathed in blue light, suddenly clothed in a skintight bodysuit common to the Shi'ar empire.
"You have got to be shitting me!" he exclaimed when he looked down.
"Let me," said Kitty, as she pushed D'marran out of the way and adjusted the controls. A second time Wisdom was enveloped in the same light. When it faded he was dressed in a perfect copy of his customary white shirt, black pants and blazer, and skinny black tie and matching shoes.
"Damn site better," he sniffed, regaining his dignity. Kitty had also replicated him a long leather coat, to replace the one he'd lost in the Dream Nails break-in.
"C'mon..." she said. "Is it safe for him to leave here?"
"Your consort is recovered, and if you'll follow me I'll escort you to your quarters..." said D'marran.
Kitty had to drag Wisdom with her, and still mumbling to himself he followed, still warily keeping his eyes on the others. When he tried to walk he realized he could, to his surprise. Whatever they had done, it was as if the bloody russkie tin man had never thrashed him within an inch of his life. Wisdom didn't know what was worse, being stared at and poked at by these feather headed twits or being temporarily garbed in a body sock worthy of the Xmen.
"Is this git fer real?" Wisdom whispered to Kitty. "And tell me what's with the feather head good squad, like?"
"They are the Shi'ar and they are alien beings. Professor X once had a relationship with their Empress Lilandra. They're fighting someone and need Excalibur's help..."
"Ya could 'ave told me before they whisked me away like a ruddy pair of boots," he mumbled.
"I'm so sorry, you were indisposed at the time," Kitty shot him an angry glare.
"In here Pryde and Wisdom. You are advised to take your nourishment and report to the armory in two spans," said D'marran. "If you should need anything else, do not hesitate to ask."
"How about some fags," Wisdom mumbled.
"Query, what is this?"
"Cigarettes, tobacco... something with bloody nicotine, like?" Wisdom glared at D'marran.
"Such stimulants are hazardous to fighting. However if you wish anything the synthesizer can produce it..."
"Bloody well HOPE so mate," Wisdom glowered as Kitty dragged him into the room, and the door solidified behind them. He cast a critical eye about the room, blue eyes still dark with suspicion as he looked under seat cushions of the ultramodern furnishings, and glanced at the port window that opened onto a starfilled sky.
"It's safe Pete," Kitty reassured him as she moved over behind him, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Tell me guts that,' he mumbled, and then turned to Kitty, who bit her lip in sudden frustration. "Wot luv, something got yer knickers in a twist?"
"It's Kurt... oh Pete... the commander of the ship is his ex girlfriend... and Amanda had no idea..."
"Oh 'eck," Pete sighed. "I gotta get up to speed 'ere meself. Last time I remember some tinplated Russian was crushing me bones to powder..."
"That was MY ex," she sighed. "Piotyr Rasputin..."
"Damn..."
"I'm VERY sorry Pete, I really am," she started to sniffle, tears running down her face. "He almost KILLED you... I wish to GOD that..."
"'Ere now love, stop the waterworks," Wisdom shushed her as he wrapped his wiry strong arms around her and pulled her hips to his. "You didn't know 'e was goin to come back and beat the living sod outta me."
"I know but... DAMMIT... Pete, they want to have him on the team..."
"Is he here now?" Pete asked suspiciously.
"No, thank God. He's on Muir Island, in a cage and inhibitor collar thanks to what he did. We all read him the riot act for what he did."
"Someone had to, before I popped me clogs," Wisdom joked. Kitty bit her lip, still fighting back the tears that glistened in her eyes. "Come here luv... easy now..."
She relaxed into Wisdom's embrace, still not believing he was there and whole, in her arms. Reaching up she kissed him hard, and Wisdom pulled her close, their tongues dancing in their mouths. He pulled her closer, as her hands ran up and down his shirt, and his ran down to kneed her spine and squeezed her butt encouragingly. "I don't know about you, darlin, but I'm thinking it's not such a bad idea to pick up where we left off, like... if you get my meaning."
"Oh Pete," she sniffled. "I'm sorry to cry like some kid but... I thought you were going to die..."
"I'm alive now. I guess it's thanks to these featherheads. And your mate Cerise. And she said something about food... do you know how to make this 'ere replicator thing work?" he asked, walking over to an alcove in the wall and glancing at it. "Does it make space biscuits and tang, or real food?"
"I'm sure it makes anything we want it to. Kurt and I were on a Shi'ar ship several times... here, let me try to work it..."
"Friggin refugees from Star Trek," Wisdom rubbed his head thoughtfully. "You don't suppose I'd set off a damn smoke alarm if I..."
"I'd set the ventilators to maximum if you're going to smoke in here," she winced. "Spinach salad and mineral water for me... with a side of yogurt..."
"Soddin bird food," Wisdom mumbled. He was relieved to see that the device made a soft whoosh with a flash of light, materializing a plate of salad and a dish of some white substance. Kitty took the tray and set it down on the table, with two raised chairs by it.
"Now, what do you want?" Kitty asked him.
"Me usual," he said. "Can that there thing make bangers n' mash? With a pint of bitter? Don't forget the cabbage love. And the gravy."
Kitty grinned as she punched up the combination, and Wisdom kept his distance when the light flashed and revealed a plate laden with what looked like what he asked. Tentatively he stuck a finger in the gravy and tested it, then licked the inside of his mouth for a moment. "That good enough for you?"
"Fair, but I'm too friggin hungry to argue with a machine," Wisdom mumbled, taking the plate and plunking it down near Kitty's salad. She got the machine to produce a glass of ale and set it by him.
Sighing he patted his pockets, then realized he didn't have his cigarettes on him. Wistfully he looked at Kitty, who started to pick at her salad with a fork. Grabbing a biscuit he swiped up some mash and gravy on it and quickly devoured it. He used his fingers to load his fork repeatedly with mouthful after mouthful of goopy stuff, swilling it down quickly between mouthfuls of ale. Kitty watched on in morbid fascination, still taking nibbles of her salad and noticing how Wisdom practically inhaled his food except for an occasional loud resounding belch.
"So these parakeet people... they are friends right? How are we sure that their pedigree is 100 percent?"
"Cerise was a member of Excalibur, and well Kurt trusted her... even though she WAS a criminal..."
"I'm likin her already," Wisdom joked, tossing back the rest of his ale. "Damn I need a bloody fag..."
"All right," Kitty sighed, knowing she'd regret this, but while they were in the medlab she had come across Peter's pants, what remained of them, and found a pack of his Marlboros. Pete looked in surprise as she pulled them out of her pocket and pushed them across the table to him. She got up and turned the air recycle unit on full blast. Smiling Wisdom picked up the pack and flicked it open, letting a cigarette fall into his hand and then putting it between his lips. A quick burst from a hot knife soon set it alight, and the familiar smell wafted through the chamber.
"Ahh, you're the best love," Wisdom said, inhaling a deep drag and puffing it out his nose. "That's all the better."
As Kitty walked back, Pete snagged her across the waist and plunked her on his lap. Cigarette in one hand and Kitty in the other he gave her a wicked smile and kissed her. She tasted the smoke and coughed, exhaling the mouthful he'd kept.
"You smarmy git!" she coughed.
"Who's smoking now love?" he chuckled, inhaling another drag. Finishing the smoke he tossed back the rest of his ale and kissed Kitty again. She moaned as his tongue pierced her lips and his hands rubbed up and down her body. He spotted a low bed in an alcove, its silvery sheets looking in need of someone to muss them up. Reaching under Kitty he picked her up in his arms and carried her over, setting her lightly on the bed.
"You sure you're well enough?"
"I'm not made of glass," he said. "And I'm thinking that you need some reminding of that fact, like..."
"Oho damn," Kitty sighed as he pulled insistently at her costume, unbuckling her belt. Unending kisses and a passionate embrace later, they lay in the bed, kissing one another and enjoying being in each other's arms once more.
"Oh damn Pete, that felt so good," Kitty whispered, kissing him. He lifted his head from her chest and smiled at her.
"No argument here luv..." he sighed. "How's about a cuddle then?"
"Shit, we'll miss the armament session."
"Sod the armament session. Those parakeet people can bleedin wait till morning," Pete laughed, curling up around her and holding her close. "And if you phase... yer dead."
"I like you too, you silly git," Kitty smiled. Wisdom buried her lips in a soft kiss as they basked in the afterglow. Safely in his arms, Kitty Pryde let herself drift off to slumberland. Pete Wisdom stayed awake long enough to hear her soft breathing, then snuggled down with his nose buried in her hair, the bed warming under them.
*****
By Trynia Merin
Disclaimer: Excalibur and its characters are property of XMEN. This is a work of fiction, and is not meant for profit or to demean the characters. The events here take place after my first story Dreams Nailed. Please R and R.
***
Chapter 5
Kitty Pryde followed Sgt. D'marran into the med bay, marveling at the sleek seamless lines of the chamber, and chuckled when she saw Pete Wisdom, sans clothes floating in a vat of some strange goo like something out of Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back. He thrashed about, a mask affixed to his face, his body revealed to her and to the cybernetic surgeon. Blinking and kicking up a trail of bubbles, he raised his finger in a double salute to flip off the well-meaning medtechs.
"Here is your... consort, Kitty Pryde," Sgt. D'marran sighed. "Perhaps you can convince him our efforts are NOT hostile. We had to nullify his powers with an inhibitor complex... or else he'd incinerate the fresher chamber..."
"What are you doing to him, will he be okay?" Kitty asked, knowing the answer. Wisdom was fully conscious, and furious to boot.
"He has regained consciousness," the Shi'ar doctor mumbled. "Although his emotional responses..."
"Let me talk to him," Kitty half giggled. Wisdom's eyes caught sight of her, and he momentarily stopped his thrashing. The surgeon indicated a comlink, which he pressed into Kitty's hand, and she put it on her lapel.
"Bleeding hell!" Wisdom's voice burbled through. "Ye ruddy bastards let me out of here!"
"Shut up and let them help, you horrible sod," Kitty giggled.
"Pryde, lover, what the HELL is going on! One minute I'm fighting the tin man from hell... and next..."
"These are friends of ours, sort of. Just relax, and they'll have you fixed up.... And stop struggling... before you break something!"
"Come in HERE and say that, darlin," Wisdom mumbled.
"When can he come out of there?" Kitty asked.
"He should be done now," the surgeon said. "His injuries were extensive, but we have repaired the physical damage. Are you certain he is sane?"
"Just get him out of there and I'll calm him down,' Kitty giggled. Red fluid drained from the cylinder, leaving Pete standing there and shivering as he put his hands over his privates and shot an evil glare to his audience. A hot jet of air dried the remainder off, and the walls vanished, leaving him shivering there as Kitty walked up and hugged him tightly.
"You might've told me," Pete bitched as kitty pulled off the mask and kissed him.
"Shut up and kiss me you bloody git," she grinned. Wisdom glanced around.
"Can you tell these voyeurs to sod off and get me clothes?" Wisdom cussed.
"There is a clothes synthesizer this way," D'marran said, as Kitty found a sheet and Wisdom wrapped it around his hips in lieu of a towel. He glared at the doctor and stepped inside, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Where's me fags," he mumbled.
"Shh," Kitty urged as she pushed him into the synthesizer and D'marran manipulated the controls. He was swathed in blue light, suddenly clothed in a skintight bodysuit common to the Shi'ar empire.
"You have got to be shitting me!" he exclaimed when he looked down.
"Let me," said Kitty, as she pushed D'marran out of the way and adjusted the controls. A second time Wisdom was enveloped in the same light. When it faded he was dressed in a perfect copy of his customary white shirt, black pants and blazer, and skinny black tie and matching shoes.
"Damn site better," he sniffed, regaining his dignity. Kitty had also replicated him a long leather coat, to replace the one he'd lost in the Dream Nails break-in.
"C'mon..." she said. "Is it safe for him to leave here?"
"Your consort is recovered, and if you'll follow me I'll escort you to your quarters..." said D'marran.
Kitty had to drag Wisdom with her, and still mumbling to himself he followed, still warily keeping his eyes on the others. When he tried to walk he realized he could, to his surprise. Whatever they had done, it was as if the bloody russkie tin man had never thrashed him within an inch of his life. Wisdom didn't know what was worse, being stared at and poked at by these feather headed twits or being temporarily garbed in a body sock worthy of the Xmen.
"Is this git fer real?" Wisdom whispered to Kitty. "And tell me what's with the feather head good squad, like?"
"They are the Shi'ar and they are alien beings. Professor X once had a relationship with their Empress Lilandra. They're fighting someone and need Excalibur's help..."
"Ya could 'ave told me before they whisked me away like a ruddy pair of boots," he mumbled.
"I'm so sorry, you were indisposed at the time," Kitty shot him an angry glare.
"In here Pryde and Wisdom. You are advised to take your nourishment and report to the armory in two spans," said D'marran. "If you should need anything else, do not hesitate to ask."
"How about some fags," Wisdom mumbled.
"Query, what is this?"
"Cigarettes, tobacco... something with bloody nicotine, like?" Wisdom glared at D'marran.
"Such stimulants are hazardous to fighting. However if you wish anything the synthesizer can produce it..."
"Bloody well HOPE so mate," Wisdom glowered as Kitty dragged him into the room, and the door solidified behind them. He cast a critical eye about the room, blue eyes still dark with suspicion as he looked under seat cushions of the ultramodern furnishings, and glanced at the port window that opened onto a starfilled sky.
"It's safe Pete," Kitty reassured him as she moved over behind him, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Tell me guts that,' he mumbled, and then turned to Kitty, who bit her lip in sudden frustration. "Wot luv, something got yer knickers in a twist?"
"It's Kurt... oh Pete... the commander of the ship is his ex girlfriend... and Amanda had no idea..."
"Oh 'eck," Pete sighed. "I gotta get up to speed 'ere meself. Last time I remember some tinplated Russian was crushing me bones to powder..."
"That was MY ex," she sighed. "Piotyr Rasputin..."
"Damn..."
"I'm VERY sorry Pete, I really am," she started to sniffle, tears running down her face. "He almost KILLED you... I wish to GOD that..."
"'Ere now love, stop the waterworks," Wisdom shushed her as he wrapped his wiry strong arms around her and pulled her hips to his. "You didn't know 'e was goin to come back and beat the living sod outta me."
"I know but... DAMMIT... Pete, they want to have him on the team..."
"Is he here now?" Pete asked suspiciously.
"No, thank God. He's on Muir Island, in a cage and inhibitor collar thanks to what he did. We all read him the riot act for what he did."
"Someone had to, before I popped me clogs," Wisdom joked. Kitty bit her lip, still fighting back the tears that glistened in her eyes. "Come here luv... easy now..."
She relaxed into Wisdom's embrace, still not believing he was there and whole, in her arms. Reaching up she kissed him hard, and Wisdom pulled her close, their tongues dancing in their mouths. He pulled her closer, as her hands ran up and down his shirt, and his ran down to kneed her spine and squeezed her butt encouragingly. "I don't know about you, darlin, but I'm thinking it's not such a bad idea to pick up where we left off, like... if you get my meaning."
"Oh Pete," she sniffled. "I'm sorry to cry like some kid but... I thought you were going to die..."
"I'm alive now. I guess it's thanks to these featherheads. And your mate Cerise. And she said something about food... do you know how to make this 'ere replicator thing work?" he asked, walking over to an alcove in the wall and glancing at it. "Does it make space biscuits and tang, or real food?"
"I'm sure it makes anything we want it to. Kurt and I were on a Shi'ar ship several times... here, let me try to work it..."
"Friggin refugees from Star Trek," Wisdom rubbed his head thoughtfully. "You don't suppose I'd set off a damn smoke alarm if I..."
"I'd set the ventilators to maximum if you're going to smoke in here," she winced. "Spinach salad and mineral water for me... with a side of yogurt..."
"Soddin bird food," Wisdom mumbled. He was relieved to see that the device made a soft whoosh with a flash of light, materializing a plate of salad and a dish of some white substance. Kitty took the tray and set it down on the table, with two raised chairs by it.
"Now, what do you want?" Kitty asked him.
"Me usual," he said. "Can that there thing make bangers n' mash? With a pint of bitter? Don't forget the cabbage love. And the gravy."
Kitty grinned as she punched up the combination, and Wisdom kept his distance when the light flashed and revealed a plate laden with what looked like what he asked. Tentatively he stuck a finger in the gravy and tested it, then licked the inside of his mouth for a moment. "That good enough for you?"
"Fair, but I'm too friggin hungry to argue with a machine," Wisdom mumbled, taking the plate and plunking it down near Kitty's salad. She got the machine to produce a glass of ale and set it by him.
Sighing he patted his pockets, then realized he didn't have his cigarettes on him. Wistfully he looked at Kitty, who started to pick at her salad with a fork. Grabbing a biscuit he swiped up some mash and gravy on it and quickly devoured it. He used his fingers to load his fork repeatedly with mouthful after mouthful of goopy stuff, swilling it down quickly between mouthfuls of ale. Kitty watched on in morbid fascination, still taking nibbles of her salad and noticing how Wisdom practically inhaled his food except for an occasional loud resounding belch.
"So these parakeet people... they are friends right? How are we sure that their pedigree is 100 percent?"
"Cerise was a member of Excalibur, and well Kurt trusted her... even though she WAS a criminal..."
"I'm likin her already," Wisdom joked, tossing back the rest of his ale. "Damn I need a bloody fag..."
"All right," Kitty sighed, knowing she'd regret this, but while they were in the medlab she had come across Peter's pants, what remained of them, and found a pack of his Marlboros. Pete looked in surprise as she pulled them out of her pocket and pushed them across the table to him. She got up and turned the air recycle unit on full blast. Smiling Wisdom picked up the pack and flicked it open, letting a cigarette fall into his hand and then putting it between his lips. A quick burst from a hot knife soon set it alight, and the familiar smell wafted through the chamber.
"Ahh, you're the best love," Wisdom said, inhaling a deep drag and puffing it out his nose. "That's all the better."
As Kitty walked back, Pete snagged her across the waist and plunked her on his lap. Cigarette in one hand and Kitty in the other he gave her a wicked smile and kissed her. She tasted the smoke and coughed, exhaling the mouthful he'd kept.
"You smarmy git!" she coughed.
"Who's smoking now love?" he chuckled, inhaling another drag. Finishing the smoke he tossed back the rest of his ale and kissed Kitty again. She moaned as his tongue pierced her lips and his hands rubbed up and down her body. He spotted a low bed in an alcove, its silvery sheets looking in need of someone to muss them up. Reaching under Kitty he picked her up in his arms and carried her over, setting her lightly on the bed.
"You sure you're well enough?"
"I'm not made of glass," he said. "And I'm thinking that you need some reminding of that fact, like..."
"Oho damn," Kitty sighed as he pulled insistently at her costume, unbuckling her belt. Unending kisses and a passionate embrace later, they lay in the bed, kissing one another and enjoying being in each other's arms once more.
"Oh damn Pete, that felt so good," Kitty whispered, kissing him. He lifted his head from her chest and smiled at her.
"No argument here luv..." he sighed. "How's about a cuddle then?"
"Shit, we'll miss the armament session."
"Sod the armament session. Those parakeet people can bleedin wait till morning," Pete laughed, curling up around her and holding her close. "And if you phase... yer dead."
"I like you too, you silly git," Kitty smiled. Wisdom buried her lips in a soft kiss as they basked in the afterglow. Safely in his arms, Kitty Pryde let herself drift off to slumberland. Pete Wisdom stayed awake long enough to hear her soft breathing, then snuggled down with his nose buried in her hair, the bed warming under them.
*****