(Three)
The next day, Kimble spent most of his time hiding out. Whenever he came close to anyone, they complained about his smell and so he hid himself away, even more miserable and lonely than he had been before. He shivered and whimpered in the dark of the Storage Room until he had no choice but to go to Fallen and feed. He was low on power when he finally sought her out. He found Fallen and Henry in Lucky's shop, they had been fruitlessly pouring over Seth's codes for hours and were too busy to notice Kimble immediately as he entered. He stood behind Fallen and gently set his hands on her shoulders, looking over her head to see what she was working on.
Fallen sniffed. "Ughh! You stink!" she complained before she jumped from his energy starved body taking a decent sized hit of Ristle. It wasn't enough to take her to the Black Room but it hadn't been a casual draw.
He stepped back when she turned on him in anger. "Whoa, easy there, kid. I didn' know it'd been so long," he lied.
Her face softened when she saw his contrition. "It's all right. Just don't sneak up on me like that."
"I didn' sneaks up on ya. How kin I when evrabody sez I stink! You wuz jus' busy, is all. Not my fault you ain't payin' attention," he whined with a pout, the familiar slump of his dispirited wings back in place. He hadn't been holding up well under all of the censure and criticism he had received from his little accident. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know what a skunk was, but nobody seemed to care.
"Look, I know you're bored, but I'd really like to get this done." She reached down beside the bench. "Henry brought these for you. Why don't you try them out." She handed him a pair of roller blades. They were used skates with the name Jubilee written on the sides but he didn't mind.
Kimble's face lit up at the idea of something to do. "Well, all right! Will ya come watch me?"
"In a little while. It'll take you some time to figure them out anyway. Have fun."
He looked at Henry and bowed slightly. "Thanks."
"Not a problem. I hope you enjoy them."
Both Beast and Fallen turned back to their work and Kimble was as good as alone again. He took his new toy and slowly walked out, looking back at them. They had been at this for a while now and weren't making much progress. This little project was turning into a major operation, Kimble had been left completely alone even before the skunk incident and was running out of things to do. He knew it was important to Fallen and tried to stay out their way.
Kimble had hoped Remy might come by to see him, but the thief had been busy. The brief times Gambit had come to check in on him, he hadn't stayed long. Remy was trying to juggle a strict workout schedule with his new squad as well as doing a little spying on his own at night, trying to get some lead on Jael. Kimble understood that Remy had a job, but he still missed his friend. He hoped Gambit wouldn't stay away long.
Happy now with something to do, Kimble walked out of the Lucky Dragon, grabbing a boom box on the way out. It had a matching Jubilee scribble on one side, Kimble was getting a lot of her hand me downs. He decided to practice outside and so went up through the house and out to a large paved area behind the school. He sat on the grass at the edge of the pavement and put on the skates. They didn't fit his pawed feet, but he could morph himself enough to keep them on. He turned on some music and tried to figure out what to do. It was helpful that he was telekinetic now, he didn't fall as hard. He was getting warm and decided to shift his pants into a pair of skin tight spandex shorts. He was still shuffling around when he heard the sound of popping gum.
He looked up and saw a young Asian girl watching him, one of the students here. He hadn't met many of the students here yet because they weren't allowed down in the lower levels where he spent most of his time. She was very young, maybe sixteen or so by his guess, and very pretty. She smiled at him as her eyes lingered over his lean, muscular body. His shorts were tight and left very little to the imagination. "Nice skates," she said, popping her gum again.
He beamed his most charming smile, warming instantly under the scrutiny. He could see she thought he was pretty and he was quick to preen a little for her, turning just slightly to offer her the best view of his body and turning on the charm. "Thanks. They's really great. But I don' think they's workin' too good."
"Another red neck," she teased pleasantly, commenting on his accent. "The only thing not working is you." She walked over and took his hands, pulling him carefully along the pavement. "Push with your feet, stupid."
He looked her over and liked what he saw. Her skin was a light almond brown and her hair was long and pretty. He was amused by the slant of her eyes, none of the others he'd seen here looked like her. He did as she commanded and was skating a little better, hoping only to please her. "What's yer name?" he asked, trying to entice her to stay with him a while.
"Holly."
"That shure is pretty. Kinda like you. Pretty, I mean."
"Oh, you're a smooth one. And who are you supposed to be? King of the Helpless Gargoyles?"
"Name's Kimble."
"Well... Kimble...on top of being a lousy skater, you stink."
Kimble grunted a laugh. "Got skunked."
"I can tell. Do I want to know how that happened?"
"Prob'ly not," he answered, smiling at her in a deliberate tease, knowing it made him all the more beautiful. "S' kinda embarrasin'."
His charms were working, she smiled back at him and said, "Okay...I can't help you from stinking, but at least I can show you to skate. Wait here."
She left him and returned from the house a few moments later with skates of her own. She skated up to him and he watched her feet. He saw how she was skating as she approached him and realized where he was going wrong. He gasped as she suddenly sprayed him with perfume. He gagged a little and stood with his arms out, lost in a cloud of sweet smelling air. She laughed at him, sending a thrill right through him, he loved to hear a woman laugh, especially when it involved him.
He sniffed at himself. "What wuz that?"
"Skunk relief," she giggled.
"Now I smells pretty like you," he said, trying to make her laugh again. It worked. He grinned as she took his hands again and she showed him how to skate. He had already figured it out just by watching her, but he pretended to struggle a little so she would stay. He hadn't realized just how lonely he was until she had come along and he enjoyed her company immensely. He listened to her babble on about everything from school to the Professor with great interest.
"Are you a student here?" Holly asked him.
"Naw, just visitin'."
She looked over his pilot's body again, liking the look of him. "Do you have any powers besides looking so handsome?"
Kimble almost shivered from her observation of him. He wanted her badly now but didn't want to frighten her. "I kin fly. How 'bout you?"
"I can make rain."
"Really? Show me."
"Out here? I thought you wanted to skate."
"I don' mind gitten wet."
"All right." She concentrated and a tiny cloud formed and shimmered over them. It was small, only covering the two of them. A light gentle mist trickled down. Just enough to cling to her tight shirt, revealing her breasts to him. Kimble's hands started to tremble slightly. She noticed and laughed. She was young and her youth made her reckless. She thought him handsome and rather liked the attention he was giving her. "It's not as good as what Storm can do, but maybe with enough practice it will be."
"I likes it well enough," Kimble replied, eager to please her.
"Flying sounds like much more fun, I think," she said. The cloud broke up and the warm sun beamed down on them, drying the puddle she had made.
"Maybe I kin takes ya up there. Ain't never flown nobody. Could be fun."
"How about after supper? I have to go to class now."
"All right."
"I'll see you then." She leaned in to politely kiss him.
He accepted her kiss, but impulsively turned her head and took more, pulling her in close to taste her tongue. She didn't fight him, but slipped her arms around his neck. His touch was intoxicating to her and she had never been kissed like that before. She broke off from his kiss to look into his pale blue eyes. She saw him smile at her and she was enchanted by his glowing skin and preternatural beauty. She was young and had no mental defenses against his unconscious spell. His desire backwashed into her as it had Bobby and she was lost. She let him kiss her again and swooned in his embrace, succumbing to his seduction quickly.
Kimble felt her submission and let his passion loose. He slid a hand gently up her shirt and squeezed her breast, shivering with excitement as he felt her nipple harden under his fingertips. He heard her low moan of arousal and then her shine was suddenly bright and warm as it flooded into him. He was trembling even more now, thrilled he had finally found someone receptive to his advances. He looked around him in between kisses, looking for a place to take her. The tree line wasn't far.
(break)
Logan walked out of the house, jingling his motorcycle keys in one hand. The wind shifted and he caught the smell of skunk. It was covered in perfume which made him even more suspicious. He sniffed again and caught Holly's smell with it this time. She was some distance away, but even he could pick up her arousal. He walked away from the house to get a better view of the playground. He saw Kimble making out with Holly, his hands all over her, and freaked.
"Hey! What the hell do ya think yer doin'!" Wolverine hollered and ran over, furious.
Holly saw him coming and squeaked in fear. All the students knew Wolverine, he was as much respected as he was feared. She looked back at Kimble and blinked in confusion. Was she just making out with him? Why was his hand up her shirt?
Kimble stood just as dumbfounded, he didn't know what the fuss was about either. Just like with Bobby, he hadn't done anything Holly hadn't wanted him to. He slid back awkwardly on his skates when Logan immediately got in his face, screaming. Logan's hate and rage blasted into Kimble with his voice and his overly bright shine, making Kimble wince.
"What do ya think yer doin'! She's just a kid! You keep yer filthy paws offa her!" Logan bellowed as his rage exploded. He had noticed Holly's bewilderment and knew Kimble had been working her with his charm power or whatever the fuck it was he had used on Bobby to pull him under his spell. This boy was getting so out of hand.
Kimble looked at Holly's pretty face and fine beautiful breasts. He hadn't considered her age. It just had never been an issue for him before. She had been receptive and unafraid. He hadn't been fully aware of how he had affected her. "What? Look at her. She ain't no kid no more!" he argued in his defense.
Logan turned on Holly, not wanting her to see him pound Kimble into the pavement. It was becoming an ever present possibility considering Kimble's inability to see reason. "Get back in the house. I'll talk to you later."
Holly fled.
Logan returned his heat back to Kimble. "What are ya? Fuckin' blind? She ain't even fifteen! You stay away from her, ya hear me? You stay away from all the students here! They ain't playthings fer you! You take your pathetic little hormones and stay in the hanger! You wanna skate? There's plenty of room there!" He gave Kimble a shove. "Yer fuckin' pathetic, ya know that? First Bobby, now her! What the fuck is yer problem, huh? I let you get off the first time, but ya don't learn from nuthin'! You'll be hearin' about this, don't you worry. Get back in the fuckin' house, now!"
Kimble backed off in a huff, but was a little shaken. He had no idea Holly had been that young. He took off his skates and grabbed the radio, withering under Logan's burning stare and painful vibrations. He went back into the house through a different door than Holly had taken and went back down to the ship. He knew he was going to hear about this from Fallen and he was right. She waiting for him on the ramp, her arms crossed and eyes blazing. He held his hands up in surrender. "Wait! I kin explains..."
"Get inside!" she hissed and he obeyed, his head down.
They went into the galley and he stood silent while she made his ears almost bleed from her wrath and verbal abuse. He didn't try to argue, he knew it wouldn't help. He understood that she was afraid he would pull something stupid like this again and they would be forced to leave. She wouldn't free him until he promised to stay in the lower levels and away from the students, regardless of gender. They were off limits, period.
Once released, Kimble fled once more to the Storage Room and hid among the bins there. He stayed there for a long time, feeling miserable and worthless. The phone rang that Fallen had installed as an intercom between the house and the ship. He listened to Fallen make excuses for him and was embarrassed and humiliated for her. He felt awful and cried silently, covering his face with his hands. He hadn't wanted to cause anyone pain. He just wanted to have a little fun, nothing more. They'd been here for days now and Kimble still hadn't gotten any relief for his pent up sexual frustration. How could he help himself when everyone here was so pretty and fit? Really, all these alphas were so beautiful. He would just have to be much more careful from now on and stay out of trouble. He would do it for her.
He fell asleep and suffered more troubling dreams. He was running through the darkness, the hidden female figure always a pace behind. Zander had grown fond of this new game and was using it to torment him, Kimble was sure of it. Zander loved to fuck with Kimble, he'd had a grand old time with him on the trip here, driving Kimble nearly insane. It was the reintegration of his lost memories that gave Kimble the strength enough to throw off Zander's hold on him before. Apparently, Zander wanted to up the ante. This new game was more than Kimble could stand. He was always in the circle of light in the Black Room, unable to see who was there. He only knew when Zander's ghost was getting closer by the smell. She stank of the sewer, reeking of untold filth and grime.
Kimble whimpered in his sleep and twitched, clutching at himself as he balled up in terror. He woke, trembling and scared, but was still too humiliated to come out of the Storage Room right away. He wanted Fallen to hold him and make all this go away, but she had just finished yelling at him and probably didn't want him around. He finished off the bottle of whiskey he started the other day and sat in the dark of the room, his only solace the crack of light that came from under the door.
It was hours later when he came slinking out of the Storage Room. He saw Fallen alone at the shop bench. Henry had left for supper, but would be back in an hour or so. Now alone, Fallen let her defenses down and her bitter disappointment in Kimble was plain to see. She had her own bottle of whiskey out and he could see she had been crying. He had frightened her badly. She didn't want to be forced to leave before Seth was freed.
Kimble went to her and knelt in front of her, completely submissive. "I'm so sorry, Fallen. I won' do it again, I promise. Don' be mad at me, please," he pleaded.
"It's all right," she whispered in a raspy voice and lay her hand on his head. "I know how you are...what you are. I should have known this would happen. But it's official now, you're on a temporary probation. They won't let you up at the school with the students, Kimble. Not for a while. Not until they know you can behave."
He shook with renewed humiliation and self loathing. "I'm sorry...You kin trusts me, Fallen...I'll be good from now on, I swears." He looked up at her, his eyes wet.
She saw his sincerity and smiled at him, loving him and forgiving him. "I believe you."
She was lying and he knew it.
"I'll makes it up to ya, Fallen. I will." He grabbed for the shop knife again, but she stopped him. "Please, Fallen. I don' wantcha ta be so sad."
She released him and let him cut himself for her. Let him bleed himself for her. She took him into her arms and accepted his gift. She wanted Seth's comfort to allay her fears and he was there for her. She fell into Seth's embrace in the Black Room and blocked out the stress and pain of the real world. Kimble's weight next to her didn't let her completely forget, but Seth's love was a better escape than any other drug she had ever pumped into her body. She gave into him completely and let the world around her slip away.
(break)
After Fallen woke from the Black Room, she felt refreshed and decided Kimble's promises to be good probably weren't going to be good enough for her peace of mind. Clearly he had too much time on his hands. She would keep him busy, she would make him work off his frustration and so gave him a list of chores to do.
Kimble accepted his new duties without complaint, hoping only to please his distressed Mistress. He was now up on the hull of the Lucky Dragon working. He held a light bar in one hand and wore special glasses over his eyes. The light bar showed tiny holes and cracks in the outer surface of the ship. Kimble was looking Lucky over for damage that might have occurred on their journey here, this was proper procedure after any space flight. He had never done this before but a quick read of the maintenance files taught him how. He was taking advantage of opportunity and was practicing with his mild telekinesis to hold his body in place instead of using a working harness and scaffolding.
Kimble looked down in surprise when he felt someone knock on the side of the ship below him. It was Scott and he had some papers in his hand. Kimble awkwardly jumped down, using his power to land gently if not gracefully. He smiled warily at his visitor, suspicious now of any of the senior staff. He was polite as he asked, "Hey. What's up?"
"Can you spare a moment? I have some papers for you to look over."
Kimble cocked his head in curiosity. Why would anyone have papers for him? He took the papers from Scott and his eyes grew a little cold when he saw what they were. Really, hadn't he been humiliated enough? It seemed not. "Yer Scott Summers, huh? Cyclops. Yer the Professor's Second."
"That's right," Scott replied, making a small face and wiping at his nose. Kimble was still quite rank from the skunk incident and it wasn't pleasant having him so close. The combination of Holly's perfume only made it worse and was an unpleasant reminder to him of Kimble's indiscretion.
Scott Summers was as good as second in Command here even if he hadn't been specifically titled with that rank. He helped to administer to the school and often handled small matters such as the one he was here to take care of now. "I know you're not a student here, Kimble, but since you are going to be here a while, we felt that perhaps you needed a little guidance on the rules of the place. We do have a lot of issues with security and a large number of people live here. We have rules. Rules are here for the safety of all of us and the security of this facility. These papers are standard issue for all of our students and anyone who might come here for training. I hope they will aid you in your transition here." He slid out one paper in particular and set it on the top of the stack. The heading was Sexual Harassment. "Please read all of these papers and sign them. You can give them to Henry or myself when you are finished."
This had been an unpleasant chore for Cyclops. Scott generally tried to be open to new people and did his best not to judge them on rumors. But Logan had come to him positively fuming over what Kimble had done and Scott knew this little problem had to be taken care of quickly and hopefully discreetly. Scott wanted this taken care of early. He thought that maybe just pointing out the rules might be answer enough to the trouble, but he had doubts. Kimble was attached to Gambit now in some way and Scott couldn't help but start to feel some of his unease with Gambit rub off Kimble's way. It seemed the two shared a promiscuous nature if all the rumors about Remy were to be believed. Scott was a private man, disapproved of promiscuity in any form, and felt that sex didn't belong out in the open or among the student body. He certainly hoped the thief wasn't teaching his mechanical friend that such things were okay here. If Remy wasn't up to the task of setting the Siskan straight than he would.
Of course it hadn't helped that Jean had admitted that Kimble had made a pass at her. The last thing Scott needed was yet another man trying to make good with his wife. The whole idea of this was distasteful to him and he couldn't help but let some of it leak out in a sneer. "You can read, right?"
Kimble shivered, feeling all of Scott's disgust and loathing come at him in a painful vibration. The man was trying to put on a good face, but Kimble was much too intuitive to be fooled by Scott's saccharine politeness. He understood that Cyclops had made up his mind about his worth early on and the pilot knew it wasn't real high. It raised his ire even further and he clenched his hands, crumpling up the papers a bit. "Yeah, I kin reads," he replied with an irritated growl.
"Good. Don't take too long with them," Cyclops replied, ready to be done with this. He gave Kimble another smug little smile, confident this would settle the matter, and walked away back to the tram.
Kimble held the papers and began to tremble with rage. He started to scrunch the papers up completely in defiance, but then thought better of it. He remembered Remy's warning about the peer groups here. If he wanted acceptance, he would have to try and work with these people. He had to try for Fallen and Seth's sake, too. He didn't want his Mistress to cry over his stupid mistakes again.
Kimble stomped into the ship and crawled onto Fallen's bed in the cage. It was stale and cold here because Fallen never slept in it anymore, she preferred now to stay in the shop to be closer to Seth and the computers they were using to free him. Kimble curled up and blinked as angry tears squeezed out of his eyes. A quick scan of the papers revealed quickly the true message here. Kimble be good. Kimble be quiet. Kimble don't play. Kimble don't touch my wife.
Kimble groaned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. He was going to go crazy here. Other than not being beaten, this place wasn't much better than Clan Station Nine. All work and no play. He had been trying to get by taking some pleasure with himself, but even that tiny comfort had worn thin a long time ago. He was going to have to do something soon or he was going to explode. For the first time, Kimble began to consider the possibility of sneaking off of the grounds.
'Bout time you wised up, Zander cackled from somewhere inside his mind.
Kimble startled. He didn't expect to hear from Zander while he was awake. It hadn't happened before. "Shut up. You ain't real."
I'm real enough ta know what yer thinkin'...an' what yer dreamin'. Zander continued, undaunted. I toldja they wasn't ever gonna accepts ya. So far all they done is proves me right. No one's gonna fuck ya here, use ya like you been made for. Certainly not that sweet Cajun thing ya got yer eye on. Ya wanna git yerself some? We gotta take our act outside.
"Cain't leaves. I needs ta power up too often."
How long can ya go, huh? Have ya even tried ta find out?
"No...not really."
Figgers. The first trick ta survivin', kid, is findin' out what yer weaknesses are. Stop lettin' these stupid alphas push ya around! Ya see whatcha want? Fuckin' take it! Stop bein' such a baby. You ain't as weak as ya think ya are!
Kimble couldn't fight Zander's logic. He still wanted to believe Zander wasn't real, he was just a voice in his mind helping him think. A kind of sub-personality. To think otherwise was to go down a path he wasn't ready to tackle just yet. Still, he could feel Zander in his mind like a real presence growing stronger all the time. Zander was strong and chafed against the restraints Kimble now found himself in. Kimble decided he would look to Zander for advice, but he wasn't about to let that strong spirit take him over. He was just too dangerous. Zander was his rage and the ultimate expression of his power. He couldn't control either one and so had to keep holding his rage and Zander in check.
(break)
Later that night, Kimble smiled to himself when he heard Henry finally leave for the day. Kimble had been hovering around waiting for him to leave so Fallen would be free to play with him. Her mood had improved after her visit with Seth and he was hoping she wasn't mad at him anymore. Kimble figured a little playtime would make him feel better and make Zander's rage cool a bit. He went down to the shop, but was disappointed when he saw Fallen curled up on the shop bed. He could tell by her breathing that she was almost asleep. They had been working hard all day and most of the night and she was clearly exhausted. Kimble stood over her, pouting quietly. He missed his Mistress terribly, but didn't want to wake her up.
He shuffled back to Fallen's bed in the cage, his head down and a little sad. He sat down on the bed and stared off into space before closing his eyes and activating his telepathic link with the ship, he had decided to look for Seth. Maybe his brother would want to play. Kimble was distressed to discover he really only had access to the Black Room and that was it. He couldn't go to the control room where Seth was working. Frustrated, he walked into the empty circle of light of the Black Room and called out to his brother.
It took three times, but finally his shouts were was answered. Seth dropped down into the light and greeted his brother. "Hey, Kimble. What's wrong?"
Kimble smiled, warmed by Seth's presence. He had almost forgotten what he looked like. He had missed Seth as much as he had missed Fallen and couldn't hide it. "Nuthin's wrong. I just wanted ta know if ya wanted ta play chess or sumpthin'."
Seth fidgeted. He wanted to get back to work and had no time to play. He was distracted by all he had to do and didn't notice Kimble's loneliness. "I can't right now. I've got to crunch the numbers from all the work we did today. We lost some time because of...of well, your getting Fallen upset. Why don't you come back in a little while. Maybe I'll be done by then."
"Shure," Kimble said, grinning to hide his pain. The reminder of his fucking up brought back a fresh blast of humiliation. He could also see Seth had better things to do. It was pretty sad when his brother who slept even less than he did was too busy to play. It seemed like no one had time for him anymore.
"Good. I'll see you later."
Seth flew off, eager to return to work and Kimble was alone again.
Kimble backed out of the light and exited the system, feeling even more lonely than before. He left the cage and walked out of the ship, not quite sure what to do with himself now. He made his way to the lower level and then phased up through the floor into the house. It was now quite late and the house was quiet. Kimble snuck upstairs, avoiding the senior alphas who disliked him so, and crept into Gambit's room. The bed was rumpled but empty, Remy had gone off to work and wasn't around. Spying and thieving was night time work.
Defeated again, Kimble crawled into Remy's bed, wanting to smell him and not feel so all alone. What was he going to do?
Leave, Kimble, Zander insisted again. Make yerself strong and leave this place.
Kimble didn't answer but sat up and picked up one of Remy's discarded shirts. It had his smell on it and Kimble buried his face in it. Now that he was home, Remy wore an aftershave that Kimble really liked. He had grown to associate that smell with his friend and having fun. Remy had made an effort to spend time with him, even if it wasn't for long – a card game here, a pool game there squeezed in between Gambit's workout sessions with his new squad and the work he did at night. At least Gambit went out of his way to brighten Kimble's day and the Siskan appreciated every moment of it.
Kimble wished in the worst way that Remy would give himself to him, willing it to happen as if it was one of his powers. Kimble wanted him so badly it hurt deep inside and he winced a little. One good blast of red hot love and passion would ease this terrible emptiness inside of him that was growing bigger by the day. He was so alone...so alone. Kimble knew his feeble dream just wasn't going to happen and it made him cry again. He knew this was stupid, to think about his friend this way, but Remy was the only one who even paid attention to him so it was natural for him to latch onto that love and want to keep it close.
He left the empty room, taking Remy's shirt with him and returned to the ship. He crawled into a distant corner in the Storage Room, his new hiding place, and curled up, the shirt under his head and let his mind go in a gentle daydream of love and passion. A smile teased the corner of his lips and he slipped off into sleep. The shirt was like a magic talisman. When he dreamed this time of Zander's ghost, he slipped on the shirt and felt Remy's powerful love, claiming it for himself. The girl departed quickly, banished for the moment. Kimble laughed and curled up, dreaming instead of those ruby red eyes and quick nimble hands. He shivered with arousal and dropped off deeper, completely asleep now and free.