(Three)
Four hours or so after the first wave of X-men made it home, Nick Fury showed up with the Professor. It had taken that long to put out the horrible fire at the Stadium, get the wounded shipped out and the bad guys caged. In all the confusion that followed the Rally, Sabretooth's body was never found and it was unclear if he had been taken or if he had somehow managed to walk away from Zander's sword. Things had finally settled down enough from all that that Fury could spare the time to come here for a short visit. He wanted to see Kimble for himself and verify that the troublesome Siskan had in fact been brought into custody. He took one look at the damaged hologram and just about made his mind that there was no real danger there. The guy looked half dead as it was.
Fury had brought some papers with him and a small meeting was held in the War Room. Charles was there with Logan and Remy. Seth and Fallen were included as family and Karen as the resident psychologist. Henry was also present as Kimble's doctor. Molly remained with Kimble back in the holding cells, she would call if there was any change in his condition.
Logan and Fury knew each other best here and it was decided early on that the two of them would handle most of the negotiations. Remy was nervous about Wolverine's loyalties but would just have to trust his teammate to look out for Kimble's best interests here. Logan nodded at Fury and the two men regarded each other now, both respectful and comfortable with one another.
"I want assurances Kimble won't be getting out right away," Nick demanded, spreading out his papers on the table in front of him.
"He stays in the lockup as long as you want," Logan said. "We had a deal made back in September. It still stands. You know you can trust me."
Nick nodded. "Sorry you didn't get him back then. It's almost unfair. I got Cameron Bishop and you guys got nothing."
"Not exactly nothing. If he'd been picked up then, all them folks back there woulda died today."
"What do you mean?"
"It was Kimble who warned us about the bombing at Yankee Stadium. That was his call, he was the one that phoned in. He went through hell ta get that warnin' out to us."
"How did he know what Sabretooth was going to do?"
Logan sighed. "He didn't until the last minute. He'd been in Sabretooth's custody awhile, that's why we were trying to track Creed down. Jael paid Creed to hand him over, but Creed changed his mind. He saw Kimble was valuable and decided to keep him fer himself. Kimble made the cloaks Creed's men were using today, Saby made him build them. Kim didn't know what they were for exactly, but when he found out, he warned us. It wasn't easy. All the damage ya see on him now came from Saby tryin' ta stop him from helpin' us. Only seven people were killed. Seven outta 'a crowd of twenty thousand. Cut the kid some slack, Nick. This is me askin'."
Nick considered his answer. "This isn't the first time one of your bunch got out of hand. A lot of favors were done here over this deal and I can't argue that it didn't work out for the best. Creed's still out there loose, but we picked up Davis and most of the crew Sabretooth was using thanks to your Nightcrawler. We got the barge and the helicopters that were used, most of the mules, too. Too bad the stadium burned down, but that happened after we got everybody out. We wouldn't have had that opportunity without Kimble. Your boy started the chain that made all of these arrests possible and I won't forget it."
"I'm holdin' you to that. It wasn't his fault what went down on Baltimore. He was messed up from Cameron, just like he's all messed up now from Creed."
The Head of SHIELD nodded his head thoughtfully. "All right. You've been saying all along Kimble killed that security guard in Baltimore because he'd been abused, brainwashed."
"Something like that, yeah. He was damaged in a fight and Cameron took advantage of it. Got proof." Logan handed him a thick stack of papers. "That's Kimble's file. A bunch of us put it together, it's pretty complete. There's a statement there that documents when Kimble was melted. Got some police reports made from the folks that were there at the bar when it happened."
"Do I want to know how you got those?" Nick asked, his one eye playful.
Logan just grinned. "Probably not. Anyhow, we got proof Kimble was melted and then Cameron did a fuck job on his head. He wasn't right when he shot that guard."
Nick nodded. "All right."
Logan next gave him a copy of the tape made from Creed's apartment. "This is a tape made after he was broken, but you can see the damage. He's fractured, four different people. It's pretty ugly on there, probably should lock that up. Got a statement there from Leon, too. He didn't sign it or nuthin', but Kennedy was there with me when he made it. It's trustworthy."
"We've known each other a long time. Your word is good enough," Nick said, being oddly candid. "Kennedy's a good man, too." He sighed and straightened, locking Logan with his eye. The negotiations were now beginning. "He stays locked up until his degree of dangerousness can be ascertained."
"Agreed."
"I'll take Karen Richards' word for it, she files the reports. I want them on my desk in five days, tops. Any later than that and Kimble is moved to one of my facilities."
"Agreed."
"He doesn't leave the holding cells without permission from me."
"Agreed."
"He doesn't leave the house without permission from me."
"Agreed."
"He wears a tracking bracelet and is monitored at all times."
"Agreed."
Nick paused, glancing up at Seth. The young Siskan stood next to his Mistress. Her hand was on his arm possessively. "You guys told me a while back that a Siskan needs a Master, right?"
"Yeah."
"Who's his Master now? Charles?"
"Non. It's me," Remy said, stepping forward to make his claim.
"He used to be mine," Fallen said, still not sure this was best.
"Yeah, and you fucked it up," Gambit said, being harsh as a means to make his point in front of Nick. He held his chin up and fixed Nick with his glittering red eyes. " 'E's mine."
"I got a file on you bigger'n than this one of Kimble's back in my office," Nick said, his face hardening. He wasn't impressed with the young man before him. The big bruise on the side of Remy's face did nothing to ease that fear. He had known about Gambit for a long time and wasn't too happy with this decision. "You're a Thieves Guild brat, got your start nice and early. Got a string of unsolved robberies back in New Orleans with your name all over them. Got some Interpol stuff on you, too. That job you pulled in Hong Kong? Sweet. Too bad we couldn't pin it on you, but we all know who it was. I'll bet those Swedish friends of yours paid a bundle for those paintings."
Remy was silent, but a small arrogant smile of pride teased the corners of his mouth. He had pulled that Hong Kong job about three years ago. He told Charles he was going on vacation, he didn't want the X-men involved. He had stolen three priceless paintings from drug lords there and the Swedes who had hired him paid him well over twenty million dollars. The Swedes were only recovering property that had belonged to them in the first place - the drug lords had hired one Thieves Guild associate to steal them while the Swedes hired Remy to get them back. No longer belonging to the Guild, Remy could've cared less. It had been a challenging score and one he had enjoyed, never mind the money. What Fury didn't know of course was that Remy had given over half of his fee to many of the orphanages in New York City. Gambit's charitable donations didn't always stay local. He had seen a commercial on televison and a million more of it went as an anonymous gift to a foundation that was building hospitals in Africa, something that had made the thief intensely happy. He had seen the faces of the suffering children and he didn't even think twice about whipping out his checkbook. His present surge of pride didn't last, however, Fury wasn't quite finished. His next words robbed all the good humor from Remy's face.
"I understand you got a fine brace of scars ripped right across your chest, too. We all know who gave 'em to you if not the why. Got my suspicions, though. Mayhem and Wipeout passed through my facility not long ago. Your name was mentioned. Got anything you want to confess?"
Remy shivered inwardly, he couldn't help it. Those were two of the Marauders that he had led down into the Morlock tunnels. He wasn't quite sure what to say so he fell back on old habits and lied smoothly, "Never 'eard of dem, but Gambit's a popular fellow. 'E get blamed fo' all kinda shit."
"Who said they accused you of anything?"
Remy was quiet, his eyes hard.
Fury wasn't finished. "Why should I trust you? This might be more than you can handle."
"There are extenuating circumstances," Charles said, interrupting before things got out of hand. "The decision's been made. He belongs to Remy now. It will all be supervised. You have my word."
"I want reports," Nick said, not entirely happy.
"You will have them," the Professor promised.
Nick handed Gambit a paper. "Sign here."
Gambit took it and scrawled his name. This paper was a custodial document, legal and binding. It was official now, Kimble was his. Whatever happened from here on now, he was legally responsible for anything his new charge did. Gambit didn't take this lightly. He was outwardly calm, but inside he was quaking. He was now as good as Kimble's parent, the caretaker of an unruly teenager who happened to be insane. Lord have mercy, what was he getting himself into?
He stepped back and felt Seth touch him lightly as he passed. /It will be okay, you aren't alone. I love you and I will help you,/ Shi'ow-ri whispered to Remy, translating the message of the vibration that just passed into him. Gambit smiled at him, happy to know it.
Some more papers were handed out and signed. Charles was in charge of Kimble's incarceration and rehabilitation. Karen would be the psychologist in charge and she would file reports directly to SHIELD and Nick Fury himself. Henry McCoy would provide medical reports on Kimble's physical recovery from the injuries he had received. Logan would act as liaison between them all.
On top of this, Kimble was now a documented mutant. He was issued identity cards and a Social Security number, making Kimble, for all intents and purposes, a real person now. This was done to help keep track of his records as they passed through the SHIELD computers.
"So you didn't pick up Creed?" Logan asked Fury when they were finished.
"Nope. We sent a crew out looking where you said his body would be. We found some blood and some bloody chunks, but that was it."
Remy shook his head. "No way 'e gonna walk away from what Kimble done."
"What was that?"
Remy realized his mistake quickly and again lied so smoothly, only another X-man would have known it. "Kimble's telekinetic. 'E grab a piece of pipe, he use it like a sword. He almost slice Saby in two wit it."
Logan stepped up, pushing Remy back a little. "No. That ain't what went down."
Fury crossed his arms in irritation. "What's going on.?"
"There's a reason Sabretooth had Kimble with him. Jael paid him to steal Kimble from us."
"What's that?"
Logan began to explain about Kimble's little sword trick.
Remy cursed sharply, but felt the Professor's hand touch him and with it, a telepathic message. It's better this way, Remy. We can't alienate Fury with lies. We need him to fight against Jael.
Wolvie boy's gonna scare Fury so bad, he's never gonna let my Kimble get out!
It won't happen. Fury has always been a reasonable man.
Remy didn't want to hear it. He leaned back against the table and put his head down. He sent out a complaint, not to the Professor, but to his advisor inside. I ain't gonna lose my Kimble.
/It won't happen, we won't let it,/ Shi'ow-ri answered. /It's your love that will set him free, not this man./
The Professor cocked his head slightly. He had caught her first words right before Remy's mental shields came down. It was enough to make him wary. He didn't get a chance to add anything more, Logan was finishing up and Fury was speaking.
"Sabretooth's one tough bastard, he can take a lot. But actually, we're guessing Jael picked him up, wanting some payback for botching up the job. We know he had spies in the area, stands to reason he'd know where Creed was."
"Probably right."
"I'll let you know if I hear anything." Fury turned on Gambit. "You're in custody of Kimble not even five minutes and you've already lied to me. We're not exactly getting off on a good start here, son."
"Just afraid you ain't gonna give my boy a fair shake is all. He ain't no monster, c'est la ve'rite'."
"I'll be the judge of that. I catch you lyin' to me again and I'll have your ass, that's a promise. Now, one last thing before I go, you guys know about the bounty, right? The one on Creed?"
"Yeah."
"It's not just on him, it's on Kimble, too. Guess now I know why. You guys had best be careful. The goons'll be coming out of the woodwork, itching to collect."
"Security won't be a problem," Wolverine promised. "But thanks fer the heads up. We'll keep our eyes out."
"If you get into a jam, just give me jingle."
"Thanks."
Nick shook hands with everybody and left, satisfied.
Fury's grilling aside, Gambit was breathing a little easier, Kimble was no longer a wanted man, he would be a prisoner in Xavier's makeshift mental hospital. It was probably the safest place for him to be at the moment. Who knew what freaks were going to come out of the woodwork to try and cash in on the bounty? He was safer here with the whole team protecting him than anywhere else.
The next twenty-four hours saw a lot of activity at the Xavier mansion. One of the first things Wolverine did upon his return was beef up security around the house. He wasn't about to wait for Jael to show up before deciding there weren't enough defenses in place. All the X-men that had reported to the stadium were now in patrols around the house or staying within the mansion itself. No one would be able to try anything here and walk away.
It didn't take long for the riffraff to start showing up. Not even an hour after Nick Fury left, the raids began. Jael had issued a substantial bounty on Kimble and there were many eager to collect. They met only resistance and were sent packing. In spite of his exhaustion, Logan was out there with his crew, viciously fighting them off and taking out his frustrations on whatever target presented itself. He was upset at Kimble's condition, pained that he saw only guilt and shame coming from the pilot. He felt responsible for some of it and let that anger dissipate out in battle. The bodies began piling up and SHIELD was called out with a paddy wagon to come pick the losers up. Logan made a crack that Kimble had been the best lure to get some of this garbage off the streets. Fury was going to have build another jail.
Karen watched her lover battle, knowing it was best to let him work off his frustrations. He hadn't killed anyone, he was just beating them to a bloody pulp. He said nothing to her but when he came in to rest, would simply stand very close to her, sometimes leaning against her with his eyes closed to better breathe her in. He wanted her, but was too riled up to just reach out. When he was ready, he would come and she would try to ease his pain.
Charles wasn't too happy with all the activity taking place outside his walls. He knew the team could handle it, so far Jael hadn't pulled out the big guns. Hopefully the terrorist had suffered enough of a setback after being forced to relocate that he would think twice about showing up here himself. The Professor wasn't quite sure what to do about Kimble, though. He had considered moving him somewhere else but this place had the best security of all of his schools and had the best medical facilities. He didn't dare risk moving the pilot until the extent of his injuries could be determined.
Also taking place was a small private funeral ceremony for two of the lesser X-men who had been killed at the Rally. They were new additions to the team and hadn't been here long. Like a number of the castaways that had come to Xavier's, they were buried in a private cemetery that adjoined the grounds. Charles had manipulated the system to make this burial ground legal. Those mutants that had been registered in some way were buried there as family instead of in the flower field as the Clansmen had been. The service was somber, but Charles always had good and inspiring things to say about those who passed away in the cause of peace. They would be remembered fondly.
In the meantime, Kimble stayed in bed in the holding cell while the X-men waited for him to discharge the plasma he had remaining in his body. They didn't understand fully all of the transformations he had gone through. They thought perhaps the plasma was disorienting him and he would do better once it had dissipated. In the meantime, Fallen came in and gave him sips of Ristle in the hopes he could be coaxed into using that as his power source as he had before.
Henry had examined him, cataloging his injuries. His feet had been horribly damaged, he would cry out and whimper whenever Beast touched them even when he was gentle. The doctor was at a loss. Fallen's attempts to repair him with her Ristle just didn't work. Remy came and had a turn, but his Ristle was no better than hers. Kimble just didn't seem to be able to absorb enough energy from either of them to do him any good.
Henry would bleed him a little every few hours just to see if the plasma was breaking down. It had to be a visual test because Kimble's blood would just shimmer away. Over time, there was less and less orange streaks in his fluid. In theory, he should be getting better, but it wasn't happening. Instead, Kimble was growing colder. Henry forced his uncooperative patient to swallow a probe and took his body temperature. Kimble's inner core temperature was falling. Henry was at his wits end. This should be a good thing, but instead it was making Kimble sick. The core temp was higher than it had been when Kimble first arrived here, but even when he raised the heat in Kimble's cell, Kimble would just sit and shiver.
Kimble wrapped up in his blankets all the time and slept, crying out broken apologies in his dreams. He flipped back and forth between the Kimble and Lin personalities and over time, Kimble came less and less. Fallen would hold him, hopelessly perplexed as the Lover called out for forgiveness or begged for someone called Kristalay to hit him, he deserved it so. As he grew colder and Lin came more often, the tiny childlike personality begged her to leave him, that it wasn't safe to be around him. She refused and he didn't fight her. As much as Lin protested, he wanted to be held and cuddled. He would cling to whomever was holding him in quiet desperation, always repeating how he had been so bad.
Fallen found the changes in Kimble hard to understand and hard to deal with. She still wasn't convinced his personality separation was real, she wanted it so much to be a game, one Kimble could be convinced to abandon with enough love and caring. She wanted to ask him so many things about his adventures while he was gone, but he was so wrecked she figured it was best to wait until he recovered enough to speak of them if he wished.
The pilot never did. He was increasingly sluggish and unresponsive. As the first day bled into the second, he stopped talking. Even Lin's tiny voice grew silent. Other than Leon's sketchy tale, they had no idea what had happened to Kimble while he was gone. Fallen would sit with him for long periods, but all he wanted was to be held so he could feel her heat. He wouldn't talk to her in spite of all her efforts.
He refused to eat, but wanted to drink all the time like he was unbearably thirsty. The first day after his nap, he had gulped down a cupful of water only to vomit it right back again. He was on ice chips after that. Ice chips and a tonic that Henry had devised from the whiskey and Rishna concoction Remy had tried, they were the only thing that gave the Siskan any relief from his pain.
(break)
Kimble was dreaming. He was back in his prison cell on Siska, back in the box. He could feel the heavy restraining collar on his neck and the chains on his arms, there would be no escape. He heard the large wooden door open and looked up to see two members of the Siskan Council walk in with Sheyman right behind them. Kimble's former Master was free from illness, vital and alive. Kimble called out to him but stopped in mid-sentence when Sheyman gave him a dark look. "You been bad, Kim. Real bad. I hates ta do this to ya, but I'm gonna hafta putcha down, baby doll. Yer just too dangerous."
"Father, please!" Kimble pleaded. "I'll be good, I promise!"
"Sorry, Kim, but I just cain't trust ya."
Kimble watched in horror as his father came around him and hooked a box onto the collar. This was a pulse box, it would send out a large blast of electricity, enough to destroy him. This is how all the renegade 'grams were put down. He called out to his maker but it did him no good. Sheyman reached out to the box and flipped the switch.
Kimble jerked awake on his bed, gasping. He was suffering badly here from his injuries and the terrible dream hadn't helped. All it did was swamp him with more guilt. He groaned and curled up, sobbing. What did ya do to us, Zander? It wuzn't suppozeta happen like this!
I'm sorry. I didn't mean ta git ya all busted up, I just had ta git us back here and away from the Master. He wuz bad, Kim. He wuz a very bad man.
Kimble sobbed. The Master...ya killed him! How could you! Uhhgg...!
WE DONE THE BADDEST BLOODIEST THING! Lin wailed, his voice huge in the black circle of Kimble's poor shattered mind.
They gots ta kills us now, Kimble sobbed. All the things we done. We ain't no good fer nuthin!
Don't worry, Kim. If they won't do it, I'll take care of it, Lakotashay promised, happy.
Hey! I done what I had to! Zander protested. He wuz gonna kill yer Remy! Hell, I'll bet they're gonna gives us to him fer savin' his life! You heard Wolverine! We saved alla them women and children! We're heroes! Just like Kyle said we wuz gonna be!
We ain't no heroes! Kimble wailed. We're fuckin' garbage. The Siskan council said we wuz bad an' they wuz right! There ain't nuthin' good about us! We haves ta die, it wouldn't be right to keep us alive.
All we needs is a good Master, Lover, Zander said, a little more kindly now. That's what all the trouble's been.
We ain't good for no more Masters! Kimble said, his conviction firm. If they ain't gitten sick, they're shot and stabbed cuz 'a us. We're ruined, corrupted, fucked so bad in the ass! We killed the Master! Oh, man...Zander...what did ya do...! Kimble broke down into sobs, he was overcome with grief and pain.
I kept us alive.
We don't need ya fer that no more! 'Shay snapped. Let us die, we have ta pay fer our sins.
We's so bad, so very bad... Lin whispered in his tiny Siskan.
I kept us alive an' I'll keep doin' it! The rest of ya kin' all go fuck yerselves! I done what I had to! That's more'n you kin say 'Shay! You killed fer pleasure! Zander snarled, angry now at having to justify himself.
I did not!
Fer pleasure! Fer plasma! Or did ya fergit all that already!
"Shut up! You shut yer face!"'Shay screamed out loud, unable to hide her guilt and shame.
Kimble sobbed loudly, curling up on the bed in the holding cell. He wasn't alone, he could hear someone outside his cell now, speaking on the phone in an urgent whisper. A moment later, soft blue hands touched him, Henry had come. Kimble barely felt it, the tears were streaming from his eyes, hot and blinding. His head was tilted back and a sickly sweet liquid poured down his throat.
"Kill me, please...!" he whispered, his voice a dry croak. "It hurts so bad!"
"Rest easy, my friend. We'll take care of you. Sleep now."
Kimble just closed his eyes and wept. The tonic Henry had devised was fast acting. His head was buzzing pleasantly and the blackness took him, silencing the voices and washing away his pain.
Beast rose and stood over him, shaking his head in frustration. What were they going to do with him? He certainly had no clue. The Siskan's suffering was horrible to watch. Perhaps some quiet and some attention from those who loved him could put this to rights.