(Eight)
Fallen got up on the stick. Her eyes were half lidded and drowsy. Kimble jumped up behind her, holding her up with his body. It was a little crowded sharing a stick like this, but he wanted to be here in case she passed out from the shot of White Lightning or went into shock. He gently kissed the top of her head and tried to relax.
"Hmm...You smell good," she mumbled as she sniffed him.
"I had a shower," he replied with a small smile.
"Launch sequence activated," Lucky chimed.
Kimble closed his eyes to concentrate. "Launchin' in two."
"Launching in two, aye," Fallen repeated. She was grateful he was there. His presence was warm and comforting.
"Jus' try not ta fry me, darlin'," he joked, sensing her easy mood as he absorbed a small amount of Ristle just from being so close.
"I'll be careful," she promised. She put her hands a little closer to the pole of the stick and further away from his so she wouldn't blast him.
Kimble watched the clock wind down inside his head, hoping this would go okay.
He glanced over to the stick next to him and grinned. Remy was perched there even more nervously than he was. Henry had come up with this cracker jack idea - if Remy did in fact produce Ristle that could be used by Kimble, maybe it would fuel the ship as well. They had run a quick test while Fallen was sleeping and found that Remy's power was in fact compatible. His Ristle wasn't as strong as hers, but anything he could contribute at this point was worth having. Gambit had needed some convincing, but a couple of shots of whiskey later he was here, hanging on for dear life. He saw Kimble looking at him and grinned back. "You worried about 'er fryin' you? What about me?"
"She ain't gonna fry ya, Cajun. Crisp ya 'round the edges maybe..."
"Stop frightening him," Henry teased. "He's nervous enough already!"
Kimble froze as the clock wound down. "Ready...Steady...Launch!"
Fallen and Remy both charged a blast of Ristle into their sticks. Kimble laughed and shivered as Fallen's Ristle blew past him into the stick. This was more like it. This he could feel. The Lucky Dragon surged powerfully forward and they were moving at last. Kimble could sense the ship's acceleration through Fallen's stick and it thrilled him beyond measure.
"Activate the space drive, Kimble, if you please," Fallen ordered as she laughed.
"Space drive, Aye," he giggled from behind her.
"Space drive activated," Lucky chimed. The vibrations from below changed as they flew even faster.
Fallen had survived the launch without much pain and laughed a little herself, enjoying Kimble's excitement. "Seth, pull up the star map. Where the hell are we?"
Seth was in his chair and working swiftly. The map came up on the screen. "We're a little off because of the drift, but I'm re-plotting it now." He put up the correction and Fallen nodded.
"Let's haul ass!" Kimble shouted, enthralled by the act of piloting the ship for real. He called up a music file, a little flight music. Begin the Begin from REM, one of his personal favorites, something fast paced and exciting. He closed his eyes and whooped, unable to contain his joy. Remy gave his own cheer, enjoying this as much as Kimble. He'd never used his power this way and was thrilled to be a part of this. He could actually feel the ship moving from the vibrations in the stick. It felt like he was actually piloting the ship himself. Seth laughed and opened up a window on the screen showing the forward view of the ship. Kimble almost wept with joy as he saw the stars streaming by.
No one complained about Kimble's noise, his excitement was too infectious. They were all thrilled to be on the move again.
Kimble scanned the course Seth had plotted. "We gots six hours ta port."
"That's it?" Wolverine commented, surprised.
"So close and yet so far," Fallen replied, her voice slurring a little. " I told you we weren't all that far."
"Keep yer eye on the ball, darlin'. We ain't there yet," Kimble said. "You git tired, ya just lean against me. I gotcha, baby doll."
They flew steadily for about an hour before Gambit ran out of gas. Henry was there and eased him down from the stick. He lay him down on Fallen's bed and the Cajun fell asleep almost immediately. Henry covered him up and backed away. He noticed that Kimble was looking behind him, his watchful eyes on Remy's face with real concern. "He's all right," Henry soothed and patted Kimble's shoulder before returning to his seat.
Gambit slept for almost two hours before waking. He rose unsteadily, but returned to the stick eagerly enough. As soon as he fired off, the ship surged a little more quickly, he was contributing to this trip more than he had thought. He gave Kimble a quick smile, loving every moment of this in spite of being so tired.
The Siskan returned it. He was holding Fallen up completely now. She'd fallen asleep but was still powering them along. If he hadn't been there, she would have come off the stick.
"Where we at?" Remy asked, rubbing his eyes with one hand.
"We gots about three hours left. Almost home."
Gambit smiled gratefully as Henry came to the window with a small tray of food and drinks. It was awkward for Remy to eat on the stick but he managed. Kimble didn't bother to wake Fallen, he wanted her to rest as much as she could. He took a drink for himself and looked over the passenger seats.
Henry had given the Clansmen sedatives and they were all out cold. He said it was because they had been injured, but mostly it was to keep them quiet for the flight. He didn't want any more trouble. Kimble's eyes lingered on Bruce's peaceful, sleeping face. He'd considered Bruce's offer of friendship and had decided to accept it. What happened after that was up to fate.
Maylee had curled up in her seat with a blanket. She wasn't asleep but sat quietly, watching the stars stream by on the screen. She turned to look at him as if she sensed him watching her and smiled at him. He grinned back and winked at her and she laughed. Kimble recalled how she'd given him a nice big hug when he'd come up from his shower. She thanked him for saving her and squeezed him, warming him with her pleasant shimmer all full of happiness and for the first time, love for him. It thrilled him beyond measure and made his sacrifice feel worth it.
Kimble looked for Logan but he had gone into the galley. He was too fidgety to sit in his seat for that long. He was pacing restlessly, Kimble could hear his steady foot falls and saw the flicker of his shine when he came close to the door.
Kimble had thought a lot about what was going to happen when they landed. He was both frightened and exhilarated at the thought of seeing the X-men's home world. He wondered what it was like to be off the ship. It had been so long since he had been anywhere else. The playback of the files on Siska didn't count although it heightened his longing to explore. He hoped he would be happy there and that Henry would be able to get Seth out of the system. He wanted to show his brother so many things. He wanted to see Seth's face as he saw his first sunrise.
When they were less than an hour out, Kimble gave Fallen a little nudge. "Hey, kid. Rise an' shine."
"Where are we?"
"Less than an hour to port."
She stood up straight and stretched a little. She glanced at the empty stick next to her. She had some vague sleepy memory of Remy collapsing with exhaustion after an other hour or so of flying and Henry taking him away to rest. She figured the thief was in good hands and then asked for Seth. "Bring up the map for Earth."
"We don't have one, I'll do a scan," he answered a little sheepishly.
"You don't have one? You're slipping," she couldn't help but tease. Just being this close to their destination was making her euphoric with happiness.
Seth shrugged, smiling. "Didn't rip one from the Dognan. Didn't think we needed it because the X-guys were here."
Fallen looked over at Henry. "Dr. McCoy? I presume you fly the Blackbird?"
"Yes, Fallen."
"Come here for a moment, please."
The big blue doctor rose from his seat and came over to her window. "Yes?"
"Can you give me the exact co-ordinates for the Mansion? I assume you guys are still in New York?"
"Why yes." He gave her the exact co-ordinates for the house. As part of their training, most of the senior X-men could fly the Blackbird, the X-men's personal fighter jet. They had a private hanger below the house where the planes were stored for privacy. "You'll have to watch for the two major airports near New York City though. We get a lot of airliner traffic."
There was a ripple of excitement as the planet came up on the screen like a big blue jewel in the sky. "Activate cloaking device. Don't want to give those NASA guys a heart attack," Fallen said.
"Cloaking device activated," Seth called back. He was working furiously to plot their course to the house.
"Where are we going to put down?" Fallen asked Henry. "I assume Lucky's quite a bit bigger than the Blackbird."
Henry grinned, enchanted by her knowledge of their ships. He wondered just how much she knew about the X-men and what they were about. "You're in luck. We just expanded the hanger right before we left. The Professor was upset when we had two of the Blackbirds down at once. He wanted a bigger hanger so we could park more planes. You should have no problem parking there. We weren't expecting the next bird for at least six months. In theory, we should have plenty of room."
"Six minutes to Earth airspace," Seth called out.
"Six minutes, aye. You guys should all strap in."
Logan came from the galley towards his seat, but paused in front of Fallen to lean in the window. "How ya doin', girl?"
She smiled at him. "I'm good."
"We'll get ya all fixed up back home, don't worry," he said when he saw the tired look in her eyes. "Gonna feel like a vacation."
"I hope so. I really need it."
He grinned and walked away without saying anything to Kimble. The Siskan watched him go, a strange look in his eyes.
"What?" Fallen whispered in Siskan.
"Jus' wonderin' how long b'fore I git stuck in the box again, is all."
"Don't be silly. No one's going to do anything to you. You just have to do your part and stay out of trouble, though. Promise me you'll be good."
"I promise, Fallen," he said, keeping his eyes down.
"I'll take care of you," she said and leaned back against him like a hug.
He kissed her and stood quiet. The screen began to glow red and then yellow as they entered the atmosphere of this new world. He watched their approach, oddly frightened for his own future. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, he didn't want to get all worked up from being too excited. They weren't down yet.
Seth threw up a scan of the planet surface and he and Fallen negotiated until they had New York City and its surrounding areas lit up. Henry repeated the co-ordinates for the house again and Seth plotted their trajectory around the busy airports. Fallen asked Henry for the hailing frequency for the house and he gave it to her.
"Good Charlie, Good Charlie. This is the Lucky Dragon. Come in, over," she called out.
A hazy video picture slowly formed on one half of the Main screen and then cleared. A young man with odd looking glasses on his face answered. "This is Good Charlie. Excuse me, but this is a private frequency. I don't know how you found it, but..."
"Hey, Boy Scout," Logan growled. His grumble was sharp, but his eyes were merry. "Guess who's back."
The young man shook his head in confusion. "Logan?"
"Good morrow, Scott Summers, this is the Lucky Dragon," Fallen interjected, recognizing the young X-man by his glasses. It seemed the legends had been fairly accurate for fairy tales. "I am Fallen, First Pilot of the Clan and Captain of this vessel. I believe I have some people who belong to you."
Scott's face broke out in a huge grin. He looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Hey guys! Jean! Rogue! You're never going to guess who just called in!"
Two women came up next to Scott on the screen and more greetings were made, a moment later though, Rogue noticed someone was missing. "Where's Remy?"
Fallen looked first across the seats, uncertain of just where Henry had placed the exhausted little thief, but then looked behind her. Gambit had been laid out comfortably across the cage bed, he was all nice and tucked in, passed out cold. She called out to him, "Remy, wake up. We're home now."
The thief didn't move and Kimble stepped down to carefully nudge him awake. "Hey, Remy. We's home now. Somebody wants to say hi to ya."
Remy woke and sat up eagerly at first, his hair all rumpled and tossed. He had started moving quickly, but then inexplicably slowed, blinking warily up at the screen as if he was trying to sort something out he had just noticed. Kimble had expected Gambit to run right up to the screen at the mention of his long lost girlfriend, but the thief only stood up slowly with all the stiffness of an old man. Kimble knew something was wrong now with his new friend, but he just wasn't quite sure what. He couldn't do anything about it so he just returned to his place behind Fallen and watched as Remy came forward slowly, even a little uncertainly to greet his girl. "Bonjour, mon ador'ee, look who's back. Jus' when you t'ought it was safe," he greeted, his voice a little thoughtful and sad.
"Oh, my Lawd!" Rogue cried out and put her hands to the screen. She was very pretty to Kimble then, her short cropped hair a soft gentle brown with a white streak in her bangs. "Remy! How are ya, Sugah?"
"You cut yo' hair," he said, a perplexed look crossing his face. "Not so long no more."
"Oh well, you know. Sometimes a girl just needs a change. I'm so glad you're back, we've got so much to talk about."
Gambit didn't get a chance to respond. He was rudely interrupted as another young man crammed his head into the crowd to look at them. He was very young with spiked hair and a clean shaven face except for a small tuft of hair on his chin. It made him seem playful and charming, which of course he was. "All right, what's the big deal? Oh, hey. It's just you creeps," he joked with a mischievous grin. "I heard all the shouting and here I thought it was important."
"Bobby," Logan growled as a greeting. "Get the Professor. Tell him we're comin' in."
"Sure thing, boss," Bobby squirmed out of the way and left.
"How are you guys?" Scott wanted to know.
"Glad to be home. Got some company."
"I can see that."
"Some good, some bad. Get the holding cells ready."
Kimble squirmed a little behind Fallen at that and she put one of her hands over his. She looked up into his eyes and saw his fear. "It will be all right. Trust me."
Scott's face changed almost imperceptibly as he took in what Logan had said. "All right." he replied cautiously. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, we're gonna need the Med Bay ready, too."
"Bad?"
"Not us. A couple of them put up a fuss. Nuthin' we couldn't handle, but they need to be checked out."
Scott looked at Fallen. "Are they human?"
"Just the broken ones. This is Fallen, she's Captain and this is Kimble."
Kimble noted that he wasn't referred to as his rank of Second. He was offended but said nothing about it. Instead he asked, "We're gonna need some guidance cummin' in. Where's the hanger?"
Henry and Scott helped Fallen manipulate the ship around the back of the house by the lake. There was a small cliff face there with a hidden door that lead into the hanger. It was a tight squeeze down the access tunnel, but Fallen managed it all right. She set them down in a large open area that had been cleared out for the missing Blackbirds. The ship landed with a gentle thump of the landing gear and then was quiet.
Fallen turned to look into Kimble's excited eyes. "We're home!"
To be continued in New Beginnings
