Ok here it is Chapter 6. Now this was never meant be like this, but when I realised for continuity for the TV show. Kit would need a few important things and know a few important things, it became something totally different…fan fiction is so much fun lol.

Thanks again to everyone who's read and reviewed…and here we go

Chapter 6

Kit, finally came too, admits the pain on his back, hesitant that Karnage would still be there. His breath felt ragged in his chest, but he could feel someone gently trying to wrap a bandage around him. Gingerly he opened his eyes and adjusted to the light, as he realised he was lying on a small bed in the Infirmary, though in reality the room was less than a room of healing, and was more of a mishmash of whatever Karnage and the Pirates had acquired in their raids.

Kit looked up and met the gaze of Mad Dog, "So you're finally awake?" He asked, turning to rinse the cloth he was holding, into the sink, spilling blood stained water over the sides in the process. "Will's impressed, by the way". He informed Kit, "He had a bet Karnage would stop at 27, though you were out by then".

Realisation hit Kit, as the memory of Karnage roared back into his mind. Karnage had…Karnage had. Kit felt tears brimming to his eyes, only to be met with a sharp slap across his cheek by Mad Dog. "Never cry kid, never, ever cry. To him it's a sigh of weakness, cowardice and he will make it worse".

Kit felt himself shivering; realizing the open would was leading to an infection. "Drink this" Mad Dog ordered, passing him a glass full of grey liquid "What is it?" Kit said, trying to swallow his sobs, his voice shaking. "Something for infection and pain, it's an old Pirate remedy". To Kit, the drink was foul, as he tilted it down his neck, tasting like sour lemons and castor old combined, he felt his stomach threatening to get rid of it, but managed to hold it down.

"Why?" He finally asked. "Why me?" Mad Dog took the glass from Kit, and said softly. "Because that's the way he is. He takes us in, promises us the skies…and makes our life hell when it frequently doesn't go his way. He is out boss, at times he can be kind…but when he brought you abroad, a young member of the crew breathed a sigh of relief, because Karnage had a new whipping boy". Kit's eyes widened. A new…

As Mad Dog turned Kit could suddenly see on the Weasels back, a few faint scars. "You too?" Kit whispered. Even though he held his back to him, he knew Mad Dog wore a resigned look on his face. "I was young; you do what you have to do…that's all I'm going to say".

Mad Dog, made his way towards the door and stopped suddenly. "Kit, if you're going to stay on the Iron Vulture, you're going to have to learn to survive, to do what you have to do…but remember this. He gets most of us, when were in our teens, when he gets a new one, it goes on to them…you're the youngest ever to step onto the ship". Mad Dog gave what could only be described as a dry laugh, before turning his head back to the small boy, trembling in the bed. "Just learn to tie your own bandages, because from this moment no one else will do it. You're on your own Kit…and this conversation never happened".

With that, the door slammed shut. Leaving the small boy alone in the room, Kit tried to ignore the pain and held back the tears. He wouldn't cry, he just wouldn't, what would happen if he died?

Then a sudden, very real fear gripped Kit. What if he did die? Who would care? Kit had no idea how long he lay there, gripped with fever and delirium, he had a vague memory of struggling to his feet to get some water. But no one brought him any food, or poked their head round the door to see if he was still alive.

Kit, as he laid there, a scratchy blanket around him, unable to know what time or even day it was, had never felt so ill or desperate. The abuse he had endured still hung in his mind, and for some reason, Kit felt himself clinging onto it. If he could relive the moment, he still wasn't dead, which filled him with a strange hope.

Kit's infection broke on the second day whilst he lay there alone, and on the third he unwrapped the blanket which was practically glued to his fur with the sweat, and saw himself for the first time.

He looked different, thinner, his eyes reflected someone older. As he fumbled around for something to wear, he found his blue sweater dumped by the door. Picking it up, he could see the holes created by the blows, the blood had hardened making it stiff. He thought about washing it, but as the memory of Karnage echoed through his mind, he decided against it. In one of the drawers, he found an old, think green sweater, with a patch at the elbow, it was too big for him, but there was nothing else.

Kit washed his face in the mirror and stared at his reflection, trying to find the courage to unwrap the bandages, as the wrapping fell to the floor, he turned around to assess the damage. He could see the marks already scabbing over, leaving his skin raised, but there were some still deep, still weeping blood. Kit threw the old bandages in the sink and began to wash them, rinsing the blood away he hung them to dry and quickly found some fresh ones. It took a while, but eventually he fashioned the wrappings and made his way, almost hesitantly towards the door. For the past few days, whilst he had been alone and delirious, the room had managed to become a type of sanctuary for him.

Kit stepped onto the deck and made up his mind to go straight to the mess hall, as the smell of what could have been lunch filtered through the corridors. Feeling the apprehension, turning his empty stomach, the sweater he had pulled on felt like an invisible barrier, as he turned the knob on the door, and stepped inside.

As the sight of the small boy, a hush immediately descended on the Pirates, none of them, apart from Mad Dog, had ventured towards the room to see if Kit was still alive. Even though, some had committed some serious crimes over the years, they all drew the line at the thought of dumping the body of a child overboard.

Kit was used to sitting on the third table, and ventured towards it, even though it meant crossing the path of Karnage, who was dining on better food than the men. Until Karnage finally noticed his presence and broke the silence, "Ahhh young Cloudkicker". He stated, in his singsong voice. "I'm pleased to see you're so much better, you must take better care of yourself on the Iron Vulture. We are Pirates, not mothers" He laughed the last word, it being the cue for the rest of the Pirates to join in.

Kit sat down at the end of the table as some scraps of food were passed to him, even though his stomach strained with hunger, he could barely swallow a bite. As Karnage had denied all knowledge, of the abuse he had inflicted on Kit, and with Kit not having the experience of handling abuse like this, began to wonder if this was part of an initiation, accept a beating from the Don and become a real Sky Pirate…maybe Mad Dog was just scaring him, Yes that was it, he thought as he took a few more bites.

As the days settled into the weeks that followed, Kit could feel his back healing and wondered if it would be the first and last time Karnage ever touched him. Kit kept himself busy, studied maps like a demon and ensured that his planning of the raids went successfully. He had even begun, to put the beating to the back of his mind, content to leave it as a distant memory…until the day a raid failed and he heard the demand of "Bring me the boy!"

Even though Kit had no part in the planning of the raid, he was still brought toward Karnage, and even though he now he knew what to expect, he had already begun to steady himself.

As the men pinned him down, he still struggled, even though he now knew what was coming, the feeling of dread had returned. As Karnage produced the cane, the men began their chant, "One, two three". Even though his back stung, Kit never took his eyes off Karnage as he continued the strokes and Kit felt the wetness on his back all over again. Kit blinked back the tears as the men began to count the blows, but his time he didn't black out, and by the twenty second lash, Karnage got bored and threw the cane to Will. Stepping back and into his chair with a flourish, he addressed the boy, still lying, bleeding on the deck "Well young Cloudkicker, I'm impressed. Perhaps you do have want it takes to be a Pirate".

Kit silently raised himself into a sitting position, and with the aid of no one made his way to the infirmary. There he replaced the bandages, drunk the drink to ward off any infection and slept there that night, and even though he had faced off against Karnage, he could feel something still growing within him.

The next day as he walked onto the deck, he could see the men, even those who had held him down, gave him small nods of respect. As the months passed, it became a familiar pattern, Karnage would be beaten, and Kit would be caned, as Kit soon learnt to act indifferent, almost bored.

Even as the stokes were going across his back, Kit cast himself in a fantasy world where he was flying through the sky, away from the Pirates, away from his life. It was one moment where he was enduring the wrath of Karnage, where the idea of a foldable blade, which could skim across the skies, came to him. Kit almost gasped with excitement as the idea unfolded itself, light enough to be carried, and easy to hide. True to Mad Dog's word, he became an expert on tying his own bandages, as that night Kit pushed the pain out of his mind, found some paper and pencil and began to design his idea.

It was easy to find left over metal on the ship, as he began his creation, he designed it to be as big as his head and the size of two hand spans. Needing books on aerodynamics, he moved under the cover of night to acquire the books from Will's room, since he was the only regular visitor to the infirmary, he stashed everything under the mattress. As Karnage best his back into oblivion, he imagined the metal, there waiting for him, knowing that this beating would eventually lead to his reward, he took deep breaths and bore the brunt of it. Learning to successfully block out the pain, he could be up all night wrapped in seeping bandages, connecting the metal together, with the air of a screwdriver and a soldering iron he had stolen. Fashioning the metal together, Kit had spent his life living at the whim of other, but with his creation, that alone gave him strength to withstand the beatings.

He began to hide the fact he despised Karnage, the man who would beat him and act all nonchalant afterwards, even treating him as the pet he once was, when he first stepped onto the ship. As the months past and Kit turned 12, a moment unnoticed by the crew, who never celebrated birthdays apart from Karnage's. Kit looked at himself in the mirror and realised how different he now looked, the naïve, desperate young boy he once was, was long gone and had been replaced by a cocky young man. Even though, the beatings by Karnage were still gruelling, the fact he had managed to survive them all, had made him more confident. Kit didn't recognise the boy he once was under his hard exterior, as the months passed and Kit still worked on his Airfoil as he had coined it.

It was a brief moment, whilst they were enjoying a spot of relaxation at their Island lair, of which Kit due to his height was given the task to ensure all the booby traps, protecting the rest of the world from their spoils of war were in place, when Karnage announced he was attempting his most daring raid yet…he was going to attack Cape Suzette!