(Eleven)
Kimble reached up to the top of the barrack's doorway and drilled a small hole. Shavings fell into his eye and he swore softly in his usual creative manner.
"You really should be wearing safety glasses, you know," Beast advised fatherly.
Kimble dropped down from his awkward position. He had been up on a small stool he brought up from the workshop. "Fergot how much this shit hurts. This sucks," he complained good naturedly and rubbed his eye. He blinked and his eye watered, still hurting. Just one more hurt to add to today's list of grievances. Seemed like he couldn't catch a break.
"Let me assist you," Beast offered, grabbing a nearby flashlight. He clicked it on and peered into Kimble's watering eye, hoping to find the source of the problem. The result was fascinating. His doctor's eye caught the fact that the light both reflected against and shined into Kimble's eye like it was transparent. The pupil constricted in the light as if his eye was real. Weird.
Kimble grumbled with impatience and squinted, concentrating. Henry watched in amazement as the particle that was sitting on the surface of Kimble's eye sank into the eye itself and disappeared. Kimble had absorbed it into his body. Kimble blinked again and sighed in relief. "Uhhnn...That's better."
"How did you do that?" Henry asked, curious.
"I dunno. I just wanted it gone. If I think 'bout things, sometimes they happen."
"Like walking through Logan?"
"What?" Fallen was sitting in one of the front seats of the passenger section. She was wrapped in a blanket and watching them. She'd finished her bath and wandered over, using this as an excuse to get a closer look at the new and improved Kimble.
Seth was back on the screen in the main room, he didn't want to let Fallen out of his sight. This near miss with death would make him afraid of losing her for a long time. "What did you do?" he asked his brother.
"I kinda walked through someone," Kimble explained like it wasn't a big deal. He climbed back up to the hole he'd drilled.
"You can control your solidity?" Beast continued to probe. He handed Kimble a part for the security screen.
"Uhmm. Yeah, kinda. I dunno. I only did it that one time. Don' knows if I kin do it again."
"What else can you do?" Fallen asked.
Kimble grunted, working the strip into place. "What is this, Fifty Questions?"
"Inquiring minds want to know," Henry joked.
Kimble looked down at him and smiled that teasing grin, offering, "I kin sings Phantom of the Opera in three diff'rent languages."
"How would you know that if you're Siskan?"
"Well, uhmm. Me an' Seth have this insatiable curiosity, y' know?" he said glancing towards his twin. "When Lucky would go ta port Seth would, you know, interface with the port computers. Be surprisin' what you kin finds out if ya knows what ta look fer. Lotsa ships gone Earthside come our way, y'know? Fallen likes the music so I'd go look through the stuff Seth collects."
"Seth would interface with the port computers? You guys know better than to talk to systems that aren't Dognan," Fallen warned. "That's dangerous. If anyone found out they could've held us for spying."
"Well, they didn't find out," Seth boasted. "I'm better than they are. Sneaky. I know how to get in and out."
"Sometimes, when yer tryin' ta puts a puzzle together, ya gots ta look in lotsa different places fer the pieces," Kimble added as he jumped down, finished.
"Is that how you broke the codes?" Fallen asked to the screen.
Seth looked at her. "Yeah. Piece of this, piece of that. Someone had a running Siskan program. I read it, figured it out."
"Just wish we coulda' got it done faster, is all," Kimble continued for him. "Maybe we coulda made ya happier. Less afraid of Vally if we wuz around fer real. Might've avoided this whole mess."
"How did you become like you are now?" Henry asked Kimble, changing the subject.
"When Seth seen what Fallen wuz gonna do, he knew it wuz gonna be bad fer her. She wuz gonna git hurt. He activated the hologram program sos we could git to her. I jumped in cuz I kin use it best. Funny thing, the power surge changed the hologram somehow. It feels different, not like it's suppozta be. Don' know what I am now, only that I ain't what I wuz before. Couldn't walk through people before, that's fer shure," he said with a laugh. "The surge also fried the restraints so I could move around. I took advantage of opportunity and fixed up Fallen there. Guess it all worked out or Fallen would be gone." He looked at her then turned away with a sad smile. "Don' matter now." He took another part out of its box and fiddled with it nervously.
"When you first used the hologram, why did you chose the Ristle energy as your power source? There are other energy sources out there that last longer," Henry asked, still curious. "We have Shi'ar technology that is much more efficient."
"We played around with other power sources before. We likes the Ristle. I likes the way it makes me feel," Kimble said, an odd look on his face.
"You told me Seth said the other power sources weren't good enough," Fallen said. "That they weren't compatible with your programming."
"Like I said, I likes the way the Ristle makes me feel." He wasn't budging. He waited for Seth to contradict him, but his brother was quiet and looking at him curiously.
"What does it feel like when you charge?" Fallen asked, wanting to understand all this.
Kimble's grin got bigger. "I think ya already knows the answer ta that, baby doll."
"Why, though? It's just power. You should feel stronger after a charge. What you feel is more like...like..."
"Fuckin'," Kimble finished for her with a laugh.
"Excuse me?" Seth interjected. He didn't like the sound of that and he eyed Fallen possessively.
"Don' worry, little brother," Kimble said gently. "It ain't fuckin' fer real. Not even close."
"Well," Henry interrupted, a little embarrassed, but still very curious. "If Kimble used to be a pleasure program, it may be that whatever he feels is defined in those terms. He needs to charge to stay alive. When he does, he is rewarded by feeling good. Like how it feels good to eat for us."
"I don't get an orgasm eating a piece of fruit, Henry," Fallen teased.
"Maybe yer not eatin' the right things," Kimble responded with a laugh. "I gots a few suggestions!"
"Hey!" Seth protested, feeling really nervous now.
"Yes, well we don't need to go there," Henry commented. "What does it feel like for you, Fallen? Does it hurt when he takes power from you?
"It feels nice. It doesn't hurt at all. It's kinda like getting a hug when you really needed it. I could feel Kimble in my mind."
"A telepathic link?" Henry asked intrigued.
"Yeah, something like that. It's like he takes my power, but gives me something back in return."
"A symbiotic relationship? Intriguing." Henry concluded, his scientist's eyes gleaming. "I'd love to get a look at this in my lab when we get back home."
"I ain't no lab rat," Kimble protested playfully with mock insult.
Henry laughed. "Don't worry, all my rats get treats."
"Twinkies?" Fallen asked with a smile.
"Are the legends that specific? My word. Is nothing sacred?" Beast joked. He couldn't help but wonder all the same, just where Fallen's legends had come from and how she knew so much about them. The X-men were generally secretive, choosing their friends and allies carefully.
Fallen looked at Kimble. "He would probably love a Twinkie. All that cream filling."
"What's a Twinkie?" Kimble wanted to know.
Beast was quick to answer. "A golden slice of heaven, my friend. I'll be sure to have one ready for you to sample. I'm going to need a whole box and then some to put back on all the weight I've lost eating Clan food."
"Sucks, don' it?" Kimble joked and stopped, startled by his own words.
"How would you know?" Fallen asked him, cocking her head at him.
"Just look at ya, darlin'. You got no meat." Kimble's response was jerky. He'd been caught in a lie and couldn't hide it.
"Have you been loose? Away from the restraints?"
"Me? Naw, I wouldn't ever do that," he teased, covering up his slip. He hadn't been loose, but a memory of horrible Clan food was there all the same. Something recently gained, these new memory files were getting out of hand.
"Guess it doesn't matter now," Fallen said. She didn't feel like arguing about it.
Henry was curious. If Kimble had gotten out of the restraints, what else had he been into? Clearly he kept secrets. He could see Kimble was sly, but didn't get a vibe of malice or treachery from him. He was just a guy who wanted to get out and explore. Henry trusted his own sense of judgment, even if it differed from Logan's. He personally liked both Kimble and Seth.
Kimble finished fastening the strip. "Well. Looks like we're done here. Just gotta activate it and we're all set."