Taken, a fanfic by squeekness

[squeekness]

(Eleven)

The X-men were moved to the alpha quarters as promised once Cerebus determined they wouldn't try to fight or resist. All their restraints were removed and they were allowed to roam about freely. They weren't so foolish as to believe they weren't being watched. Still, they settled in that night and tried to make the best of their situation.

Jacob was right when he said the alphas had better quarters. Their beds were significantly cleaner and they were given some Clan clothing and boots in good condition. Henry suggested that they dress like the Clan to be less conspicuous. Their Earth clothes were different and stood out. It was warm enough in the caves that it wouldn’t be a too cold for them to go without shirts. Besides that, they had no real way to clean their regular clothes. They had access to a lovely ice cold bath, but not hot water. It was better than nothing so they would just have to deal with it.
The Clan was infested with head lice, but there was nothing to be done about it. Soon, they would be scratching and complaining as much as everyone else. Henry hoped it wouldn't be long for the last push to be made so they could get out of here. He had the most body hair and was certain to be infested all over. They were given jobs and told they would be paid thirty credits a week, quite a princely sum they were later to learn.

The alpha squads accepted them readily and they became part of the family. There were many different kinds of alphas here -- telekinetics, teleporters, and men of great strength and wisdom. Henry was interested in the few pilots that were included in their ranks. Only two had been made by the Dognan and neither one was as powerful as Fallen. The others were children of the first two and even weaker. They looked completely human, but could produce small amounts of Ristle and were telekinetic. They flew ships, but always in twos and threes, never alone because they just weren't strong enough. Henry was convinced that if it was going to be a pilot that took them home, it would have to be Fallen.

Jacob gave them a brief history on the Clan. The Clan didn't create Station Nine, they found it empty and claimed for themselves, just as Beast had suspected. Whatever perks that existed then -- like scentless outhouses -- they accepted gratefully.

Until recently, the Dognan hadn’t cared that a few crippled white slaves from the pens had gotten out and settled down out here. They had plenty of new slaves any time they liked and cared not what they did. The Dognan used to fly out here and make sport with any slaves they could see, hunting them down like animals, but otherwise left them alone. The Clan had been living here in the caves for about two hundred years and over time had grown in number and power as they gathered their strength. They raided the furthest Dognan store houses and stole as much technology and comforts as they could. Still most of the conditions here were poor.

Everything had changed about twenty years ago when Cerebus took over and really organized the men. The addition of alphas to their ranks boosted them even more. With their unique talents, the Clan were finally able to inflict some serious damage on the Dognan. The Dognan were unprepared for the assault and the Clan took most of them down easily. There was one last stronghold left.

------------------------

Remy woke in his bed on the first day of his new life as a Clansman with a disgruntled sigh. He wanted to be back home in the worst way. He loved adventures as much as the next guy but this was getting to be too much. He missed his home, something he never thought a drifter like himself would ever feel. He snickered softly. Not home. Rogue. He missed that fiery Southern Belle more than he could say and he could really use one of her bright shining smiles right about now. He’d even settle for a rip roaring fight, flying tables and chairs and everything.

He closed his eyes and pictured her face, trying to hold it in front of him forever. If he could hold onto that one thing, he could keep going. He felt horrible when he thought about how casually he’d said good bye to her before they had left for that last mission. C*cky as ever, Remy had assumed nothing untoward would happen, he certainly never imagined he would find himself somewhere where he might never see her again. Just the thought of it made his chest hurt. He would make it back to her no matter how long it took.

He let go of her and sat up, putting his feet on the floor. He hated it here, it was so dark and dreary. Sometimes he felt like he just couldn’t breathe in here and would find himself shivering for no reason although it was plenty warm inside the caves. There were no windows and no sunlight. Thinking of the cloudy skies of Cerise made him realize a window probably would be a waste of time anyway.

He knew Henry wasn’t happy about the head lice but it was torture for him as well. With all the kids being rotated in and out of the orphanage, he’d been infested several times. Long hours he’d sat in misery while his hair was combed out for eggs. He’d even been made to endure a buzz cut a couple of times. That had been horrid, he loved his hair long and prayed he wouldn’t be forced to cut it now.

He grabbed the neatly folded pile of his new clothes and shuffled off to the bathroom. He washed up as best he could, shivering from the ice cold water. As bad as he hated bugs, freezing was worse. Ever since he’d been left alone in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic, he could never stand the cold anymore. He’d spent more than a week freezing his *** off in the remains of their enemy’s ruined base, numb, starving, praying for a death that had never come. He was found by some sledders who saw the ruins and wanted to check it out. They brought him back to civilization, but part of his soul would always remain there.

Gambit looked at his reflection in the large cracked mirror over the sink. His hand traced the savage scars on his chest that were a present from the infamous Victor Creed, also known as Sabretooth. They were a dark grey now, but he remembered a time when they had been a deep and ugly red, a more accurate mark of his terrible sin.



Sabretooth, the man who had mauled him so badly, was a vicious mercenary mutant with large claws on either hand, a five fingered Cuisinart that could put Freddy Kruegar to shame. He had been present on what was probably Remy’s biggest screw up of all time and gave him these as a parting gift. He’d been almost eviscerated and hadn’t been expected to survive, Sabretooth rarely had folks walk away from his five fingered "massages". These scars were a permanent reminder of Remy’s guilt and his inability to ever make up for such a horrific crime. It had happened years ago, long before he had joined the X-men and his keeping a secret of it had been the reason he’d been booted off the team once. He was back, but his heart was still heavy with it and he supposed it always would be.

"Gambit, you a t’ief an’ a killer. Best get used to de idea, ‘cause it ain’t never gonna change," he whispered softly to himself. He looked into his blood red eyes and saw the sadness there. He didn’t like it so he grinned and ran a playful hand through his hair in an attempt to shove all of his bad feelings down. "Self pity don’ suit you, homme. You gotta snap outta dis," he scolded himself.

He dressed in the uncomfortable leather pants and walked out. He felt uneasy and exposed because he was never without a shirt back home. He had covered up his scars like he covered up his crime and tried to think about them as little as possible. He paused to let a sleepy eyed Logan pass him by. He saw Wolverine check him out, his exposed scars in particular, and was grateful the man walked by him without saying a word.

[squeekness]

Gambit saw Henry sitting up from his bed. Henry smiled at him, but his grin faltered a bit when he saw Remy’s scars. It had been a long time since he’d actually seen them and it showed on his face. Remy locked eyes with him, his shoulders in an arrogant slouch, daring Beast to say something.

"You’ve got a class today," Henry said as a greeting.

"Dat’s right. Gonna teach dese losers how ta fight like de great an mighty X-men. Dey gonna be heroes, man. De meilleure qualite’, non? De best," he boasted. He went to his bed and picked up a long wooden staff in a leather sheath. Jacob had acquired it for him at Logan’s request and Remy used a leather thong to tie it to his back as the Clansmen did their swords.

"Well, at least you seem to be approaching this with the proper attitude. I myself would much rather be home in my lab. When I think of all the work I shall have to start over again...." He sighed. "Oh, well. One does need adventures to grow as a person. However, I thought I was large enough already. Well, you’d better be along. Don’t want to be late."

Gambit nodded at him and left. He walked down the rough carved hallways of Clan Station Nine and tried to perk up a little. He had taught students in self defense back at the Mansion so teaching wasn’t new to him at all. He was actually quite good at it, moving the students along with a surprising amount of patience. There was just about a million other things he’d rather be doing right now. He found the training room with no difficulty and looked over his class. He’d been given a small group of newbie alphas. They were only about six or seven in number and he didn’t recognize any of them from home. That didn’t bother him at all. He was something of a social creature when he was away from the X-men’s Mansion and had no trouble working with groups of strangers.

"Bonjour, mes amis," he said with a grin, hoping to put them at ease. "Dis ‘ere is Gambit. He gonna be teachin’ you some of de X-men’s best tricks, d’accorde?"

One of the larger alpha males looked him over. "Gambit, huh? I know of you. You’re that Cajun thief. I’ve heard all about you."

Remy groaned inside. He should have known he wouldn’t be that lucky. When rumors of his crime first broke, it spread through the mutant community like wildfire and Remy became isolated among his own kind. The only company who really tolerated him now were non-alphas who didn’t know what had happened and some of the X-men. Even a million miles and a dimension hop or two away from home and his reputation still preceded him.

Whatever, Remy thought, his emotional defenses falling neatly into place. He just grinned and swept a hand through his hair. "De femmes still talkin’ ‘bout me? Well, Gambit’s got plenty more of dat good lovin’ ta go around," he teased, winking at one of the female students.

"I heard you’re nuthin’ but a low life, thieving piece of murdering trash."

Gambit’s grin never faltered, but eyes grew colder. "Dis t’ievin’ piece of trash gonna kick your flabby white butt all ‘round dis room, you keep runnin’ off your mouth like dat."

"Is that a fact?"

"Oui, dat’s a fact."

"Peter, don’t..." a small white pilot said to the man, holding his arm back.
He looked at her in disgust and gave her a shove. "Somebody’s gotta show this scumbag what we do to killers of our own kind."

He lunged at Remy, but the smaller man side stepped him easily. Remy stuck his foot out and Peter took an ungraceful dive, landing on his face in a tangled heap.

Remy clicked his tongue at him in mock disdain. "Tsk. You kinda slow dere, fat boy. Too bad you ain’t as fast as yo’ mouth."

Peter got up and dusted himself off. He glared at Remy who stood by easy, a ****y look on his face. He decided that he was probably too slow after all and a change of tactics was in order. He raised two orange glowing fists, and fired off two bursts of plasma energy as if his hands were a gun.

Remy dodged the blasts quickly and easily, having faced much more powerful and talented foes than this. "Not much into a fair fight either, Petey boy? Dat’s all right, Gambit’s got you covered," he said arrogantly, sliding his new bo staff from it’s sheath.

They went to it and chased each other about the room. Peter was working very hard, huffing and puffing and it wasn’t long before it sank in that he’d chosen the wrong boy to pick a fight with. Gambit outpaced him easily, showing off and joking around. It was even more telling that Remy wasn’t even trying to use any of his mutant powers, he was doing this all by his hand to hand training and natural fighting ability. Gambit figured this was as good a way as any to give a demonstration of his skills. He also reasoned that the only way to earn any kind of respect was to beat this bully down. He wasn’t cruel by nature and didn’t let the fight drag out too long. He gave Pete a sharp crack to the back of the head with the staff and tripped him again.

Pete went down hard and lay on his back, panting. Remy approached him with fluid grace, not even winded, and put the butt of the staff against his chest. "Bang! You dead, sucker," he teased with an arrogant grin.

"What’s going on here!"

Remy looked up as Valentin came in the room in a huff, Wolverine in tow behind him. Valentin had heard all the racket from Peter’s plasma bursts and came in looking for the source of the trouble. He wasn’t too surprised to see Remy in the middle of it, Valentin had pegged Gambit as a trouble maker right from the beginning.

"Jus’ givin’ a little demonstration, boss," Gambit replied smoothly, backing off.

Pete sat up and looked at Wolverine. Logan was a senior X-man and bit more recognizable so Peter pointed at him. "You! You’re an X-man! Don’t you know who this guy is?!"

"Of course I know," Logan replied evenly.

"You guys came in together! How can you stand there and not take him out! How could you take him in and have him on your team!"

"‘Cause he’s saved my life more’n once. He’s proved himself ta me and the team," Wolverine replied with complete honesty. "He’s a better man than most --- in spite of what he may have done in the past. I trust him with my life and so should you."

"My brother was a Morlock!" Peter shouted loudly, spitting with his rage. "He was down there in the tunnels when that scumbag you call your friend led those vicious killers down there! My brother is dead because of him! I won’t work with him! I refuse!"

"You owe the Clan a ten year term of service and you will do as you’re told!" Valentin ordered, his size and aggressive posture begging no refusals. He didn’t know what was going on here, but this wasn’t the first time alphas from different factions collided unpleasantly. The best thing was to put it down quickly and get back to business. "We will fight this war and we will fight it together. After that, the two of you can settle up in any manner you like."

Remy took a step back when he heard Peter mention his brother. His face had paled and his shoulders slumped in a submissive posture Logan had come to know all too well. Remy often walked the Mansion this way when he was among some of his more unforgiving teammates. His teasing manner was gone and he kept his eyes down. "Je suis de’sole, homme. I’m sorry about yo’ brother. I know it probably won’ mean anyt’ing to you now, but I never meant what ‘appened. It was a mistake."

"How could you not know? You’re nothing but a lying scumbag! How dare you insult me by trying to apologize?!" Peter howled, unable to contain his rage. "You’re dead, LeBeau, you hear me! You’re so f--king dead!"

Remy just shook his head and walked out at a fast trot, taking his bo staff with him.

Valentin turned to Logan who had watched Remy leave with a strange look of concern on his face. "Is your friend going to give us any more trouble?"

"No."

"See to it that he doesn’t. I’ll reschedule his training class around those who would rather fight than train. He will still be expected to work here, understand?"

"Yeah, I understand," Wolverine grunted, a little surprised by Valentin’s willingness to work around this. He figured Valentin would beat Remy to a pulp and force him to obey. For the first time, Logan was thinking maybe there was more to Valentin than he’d first thought. It wouldn’t be the last.

To read more click here : www.fanfiction.net/s/2495701/1/

[squeekness]

(Twelve)

Remy took off through the gloomy tunnels of Clan Station Nine. It occurred to him that some of his discomfort was coming from the fact that these hallways looked an awful lot like the tunnels used by the Morlocks. He ran faster and faster as he was overcome by painful horrible memories.

The Morlocks were a group of mutants that had gone to live in the tunnels under Manhattan. They took their name from H G Wells’ Rulers of the Netherworld. These mutants were the last dregs of mutant kind, deformed and ugly and sometimes too dangerous to live out on the streets without inadvertently hurting people. They were so horrible looking they could never live out in the open without being hunted down and killed by the less forgiving bands of human mutant hunters. The Morlocks hid down in the tunnels, banding together for safety. They lived off of whatever they could scrounge and tried to get by as best they could.

An evil mutant scientist named Sinister had learned of their existence and as a geneticist, found them to be a blight on the face of mutant kind. They simply had to go. To this purpose, he enlisted the aid of a popular thief for hire, one Remy LeBeau.

Remy’s life had never been easy. He was left at the doorstep of Saint Anne’s orphanage only a couple of days after he was born. He stayed at the orphanage until he was eight, living in poverty half in half out of the streets. There were gangs of thugs all about and they were hardly a good influence. At the tender age of eight, he had the brass to try and pick the pocket of Jean Luc LeBeau, head of a local crime family called the Thieves Guild. Jean Luc was amused by the boy with the fiery red eyes and a few weeks later adopted him.

For eight wonderful years, Remy knew bliss. He was well cared for, surrounded in the rich southern heritage of a large and loving family. He suddenly had more cousins than he could count and they all accepted him. Jean Luc trained him in the fine art of thievery and found in Remy a natural talent. He showered Remy with love and the boy knew it and felt it. It all ended two days after his sixteenth birthday.

The Thieves Guild wasn’t always peaceful and a feud broke out. Poor Remy was caught in the middle of it and through no fault of his own, was exiled. He was told his leaving was the only way to ensure peace. He loved Jean Luc dearly and did as he was told.

Once back on the streets, he was alone and all of his old pains came back to haunt him. He wasn’t good enough. He was shunned as a mutant and it chilled him down to his very soul. He was now living with pimps and whores, drug dealers and addicts and it drained the life right out of him. To survive, he moved from one job to the next, not caring who he was robbing so long as there was a challenge and some kind of payoff in the end. It was around this time that he and Sinister crossed paths for the first time.

Their relationship started out small. He would acquire things for a price and Sinister always paid handsomely in cash. Remy was always suspicious of the strange doctor, but the work was easy and the pay good, so what the hell? They’d been on good terms for while before that final terrible day and so Remy didn’t turn down the guy’s money when the man came to him with a list.

"Gather these men for me."

Remy took one look at the list and knew something ugly was going to go down for somebody. He recognized Sabretooth’s name immediately, having run into that monster more than once already.

"Sure t’ing, boss," Remy had replied, taking the man’s money and doing as he was asked.

When he showed up with the men, he was supposed to be done. He was just going to walk away and think on this no more. Sinister had other ideas. He asked Remy to take them down to the tunnels and get them past the Morlock defenses. Remy refused. Sinister countered with an offer Remy couldn’t turn down. He had something Remy wanted and needed more than anything. Something that was more valuable than money or any riches he could have offered. Something only he could provide.

Remy swallowed his pride, shut down his emotions, and tried not to think of what he was doing when he found himself agreeing to do as Sinister had asked. At least he’d been smart enough to ask for payment first. Sinister was more than happy to pay what Remy had asked for -- after all, what Remy wanted would cost Sinister nothing.

Later, as Gambit led the men down in the tunnels, these seasoned killers and mercenaries, his heart filled with dread. The men were joking and laughing, calling themselves the Marauders just for the kick of it. Remy tuned them out and tried to convince himself that this was just another job, just another working day. No way was this something legal, but that had never stopped him before. He was just being paranoid. How bad could it be?

Remy was shocked to discover just how bad, bad could be. It never came close to his feeblest imaginings. He used all of his thieving skills to get past the Morlock defenses and opened the main door. The men he’d so thoughtlessly brought down here slid past him and the slaughter of the Morlocks began. Gambit hadn’t known the true purpose of these guys, Sinister had mumbled something about collecting blood samples. The tough men comprising the Marauders were necessary because the Morlocks, though ugly, would put up a vigorous fight.

Gambit stood there in numb horror, bathed in blood both real and imagined, seeing that he’d been totally duped. There were no blood samples being collected today, at least, not in the traditional way. The Morlocks were not strong, most of them were weak betas, cosmetic mutants only, and they fell like wheat to the scythe.

Remy stood there, agape, unable to accept what he’d just allowed to happen. The evil killer Sabertooth was among the men he’d brought and he next turned on the poor stricken thief, slashing his chest and belly open and leaving him to die. Remy managed to gather himself and flee, grabbing a small child as he went. He made it to a hospital, badly wounded and barely alive, wishing he’d died.

When he woke up days later, the child he’d rescued was gone and he was lying in a hospital bed. He had been nearly eviscerated and it had taken over fifty stitches to close his horrible wounds. The only one who’d known he done anything wrong was himself so he buried it deep inside of him. He swallowed it down with most of his emotions in self defense and became even more heartless and cold than he had been before. When he recovered and went back to work, he found himself taking even more risky jobs, losing himself in reckless abandon, not caring if he lived to see another day.

He’d joined the X-men for kicks, loving the adventure of it. Falling in love with Rogue changed all that. For the first time, he began to feel like he might actually be worth something. It also made him feel good inside when he saw all the good things he’d accomplished as an X-man. He was helping people and making a difference in the world that could be seen and felt. It also opened up his heart so those feelings he had buried so deeply and he was tortured by the horrible thing he’d done. He was developing a conscience.

He vowed to make up for what he’d done by working as hard as he could with the X-men. His only fear was that Rogue and the X-men would find out what he’d done. He didn’t know what they would do to him and he wasn’t eager to find out. He knew one thing for sure, Rogue would never forgive him and would hate him forever. She’d seen what went down in the tunnels firsthand when the team at that time had gone down and drove the Marauders off. The horror of the slaughter had never left her.

When Gambit had joined the X-men, he said nothing of his past, hoping only to hide it. It was a useless attempt in a house full of such powerful and intuitive mutants. The fact that he was in love with a girl who had the unique talent of absorbing a person’s memories with a single touch undid him. One kiss. One kiss and it was all over. She knew he was hiding something, but didn’t know what. Only that it was very bad, so horrible that Remy had smashed it so far down in his own mind that she hadn’t been able to see it clearly herself. She hounded him for weeks, trying to get him to confess, but he resisted her.

He employed evasive tactics to protect himself from Rogue’s probing, but those didn’t last. When it finally all came out during that disastrous mission in the Antarctic, Rogue had left him there to die, condemning him on her own just as he’d feared she would. How he’d prayed for death then, had even attempted to accomplish that himself, but it seemed like fate had other plans for him. He was rescued days later and he scraped up a living back on the streets again, not really alive.

He didn’t feel a spark of anything resembling true living until he’d caught a quick glimpse of Rogue while in New York City. It sent a thrill right through him and he knew then his heart had been stolen long ago, before he’d even left. He sucked down his pride and came crawling back to the Professor, spouting apologies and groveling for the first time in his life. He was stunned when it actually worked. He did manage to earn his way back on the team, but he paid for it, oh yes. He was always paying for it with his constantly having to apologize and getting smashed over his head time after time with his guilt. He would never be free of it.

Back in the smoky caves of Clan Station Nine, Remy stopped running when he found a small unused boarding room. He hid himself in the far corner, scrunching up as small as he could. He opened a bottle of Clan whiskey he’d "liberated" on his way here and drank down two large gulps of it, wishing only to get as drunk as possible and pass out. He took the whiskey down and buried his face in his arms, unable to stop the tears of humiliation and shame that came unbidden, now that he was alone and could let his guard down. He cried and cried until he grew tired and fell asleep.

To read more click here : www.fanfiction.net/s/2495701/1/

[squeekness]

(Thirteen)

Wolverine crouched on the empty bed, looking down at Gambit dozing drunkenly in the corner. It hadn’t taken him long to track down his wayward teammate, but he wasn’t ready to wake him just yet. He could tell Remy had been crying and could still smell the odor of his distress. Gambit was hurting.



Serves you right, Logan complained silently to his sleeping friend, but he couldn’t stay angry at Remy for long. Lord knows he’d done enough killing in his own time to make him not the proper candidate to pass judgement. He knew Remy’s remorse was real and that Gambit had enough trouble dealing with his own guilt and shame without any more harsh words from him. He’d watched Remy skulking around the Mansion for over a year now, always putting up a brave front to hide how much he loathed himself.

Logan understood that he and Remy were the same. They worked as X-men to make up for the sins of the past. Remy had his Morlock Massacre, Logan had a lifetime of military work and berserker rages. Logan had never pulled a number as deliberately foul as Remy’s misadventure with the Morlocks, but he’d slaughtered a fair number of soldiers on his way out of the military complex where they had crammed all that metal into him without so much as a by your leave. Logan’s personal nightmares made Remy’s fever dream look like a trip to Disneyland.


Logan knew his main role on the X-men’s team was as a protector. He was the big junk yard dog that prowled the yard, keeping watch. He’d done more than his share of killing on missions and protecting the house from mutant invaders with a score to settle. He accepted it as his job and did it whenever it was necessary to spare the others. He took on the burden of guilt because he was suited for it. He swallowed it down with the rest of his emotions, leaving him hard on the outside.

He chuckled softly as he looked down at Remy again. Remy tried really hard to put up the same kind of front with his arrogance and disregard for the rules. Wolverine knew better. Remy was young, not even twenty-five. His crime had been committed as a teenager. His swagger couldn’t hide just how sensitive and emotional he really was. Logan thought it was hilarious actually that Remy thought he could pull off the emotional distancing that he had perfected to an art form. Gambit had been devastated when Rogue left him behind in Antarctica, it had been stamped on his face like a neon sign the first time Logan had seen him after his return. Gambit and Rogue were back together now, but not as closely as before. Logan wasn’t sure why Remy had even bothered, the two of them fought so bitterly sometimes. Maybe Remy figured if he could get the one who’d felt the most betrayed by his lack of trust to forgive him, he would have that absolution he so desperately needed.

"Enough useless wool gatherin’, old man," Logan grumbled softly to himself. "Time ta get this lost son back with the program."

Remy woke when he felt a heavy hand shaking him gently. He looked up with swollen bleary eyes into Wolverine’s face and snorted softly with impatience. He should have known Logan would track him down eventually.

"You all right?" Logan growled, his face betraying his concern.

"Sure t’ing, patron," Remy replied in a dry scratchy voice. He rubbed his eyes and stretched a little. He found the bottle again and drank from it.

Logan didn’t stop him. "Valley says he’s gonna move you around, keep you out of trouble."

"Whatever."

"We gotta get through this, Gumbo. We do this, we go home. Simple as that. We have to work together. I know you can train people, I know you can fight. What I don’t know is if you can keep it together long enough for us to get this job done."

"Not even de Arctic kept dis boy down. Dis place a piece of cake," Remy boasted arrogantly, his swagger a false bravado covering his pain.

Logan’s senses were much too powerful to be fooled by any of Remy’s false pretenses. "You ain’t here all alone. We’re gonna look after you."

Remy sniffed. "Gambit can take of his’self now. Dis is ‘is trouble, ‘is crime, comprenez? He’s de one who ‘as to pay for it. What ‘appens, ‘appens."

"We’re X-men, we stick togther."

"Not for dis. Dis ‘appen before I ever come to be wit you."

"I know. I was there in the tunnels trying to stop it."

Gambit shuddered with the memory of all the blood and carnage and closed his eyes. He was much too drunk to be having this kind of conversation. He buried his face in his arms again and wouldn’t look up. He was still teetering on an emotional edge and didn’t want to Logan to see him cry.

Wolverine put a hand on his shoulder. "We’re gonna look after you whether you want us to or not. Just do us a favor and don’t make us work too hard, all right?"

Gambit raised his head and nodded, wiping at his eyes. He was a little surprised by Wolverine’s gesture of comfort, Logan never touched people, the guy was too closed off. He figured Logan was just trying to get him leveled out so they could get out of this. It was impossible to believe he could ever be forgiven for what he’d done.

"You can start by comin’ back with me," Logan growled, retreating. "I wanna get some sleep an’ I ain’t leavin’ ya out here alone."

Gambit nodded again and rose unsteadily. He was still drunk and his legs were cramped from being folded under him for so long. He stretched again and followed Logan back to their room, keeping quiet. When they got back, he crawled into his bed and covered up, not wanting to look at anyone. Henry said nothing and left him alone. The next day, they didn’t speak of what happened and Remy went back to work.

The first week was brutal for Remy but he made it through. He was constantly harassed by Peter and some of the others. He never left their humble cave quarters without his new bo staff in hand and was in several fights and minor scuffles. He would come home from his new job bruised and cut, but never took as bad as he gave out. Gambit was fast, Gambit was skilled. He’d been trained almost from the first day Jean Luc had adopted him in the art of hand to hand fighting, it was all part of the thievery daily fare. Flexibility and wiry strength were a must when confronted with hard to reach places and tricky entrances. His problem solving skills were just as sharp when it came to a pinch or a fight, especially when it came down to his own personal survival. Remy’s inborn agility and flexibility only made him that much faster and more accurate than his opponents. He was simply too hard to catch up with and when they managed to get in close, he used every ounce of skill to punish them without mercy. It was a decidedly one sided battle.

The losers soon got tired of Remy’s abuse and the fights trailed off after a while and things settled down. True to his word, Gambit had taken care of his own troubles without the others having to step in and help him.
Valentin took a moment to take Wolverine aside and compliment him on his teammate’s strength of spirit. Remy’s ability to keep the alphas at bay so skillfully had made an impression with the hardened warrior, something not easy to do. Valentin had been harboring some doubts about Remy’s usefulness for the upcoming raid, but those concerns had now been laid aside. In a society where the strongest survived, Gambit had managed to hold his own.

Remy got into a routine of teaching classes and kept mostly to himself. As things quieted, his confidence returned and he was more like his old self, even if his eyes were a bit more haunted than they were before. Logan was satisfied with Remy’s effort to get along and left him alone.

To read more click here : www.fanfiction.net/s/2495701/1/

[squeekness]

(Fourteen)

After a week of working and helping to organize the upcoming big raid, Jacob decided his old friend needed a break. He offered to take Logan into one of the small towns in the station for a little rest and relaxation. Jacob asked them all to go, but Henry begged off. He wanted to read one of the books Fallen had given him. Remy wanted to go and Jacob just nodded at him without speaking. He walked them down to one of the few taverns in Station Nine. Even from the outside, they could hear men shouting and fighting. "It's kinda rough," Jacob warned.

Logan grinned. "My kinda place."

They went inside and made their way through the crowd to some tables in the back. They sat down and a tired looking female came and waited on them. She took their order and left, hunched over and passive. "Do all the women suck like this?" Logan complained.

"Mostly." Jacob grinned and gave a conspiratory wink. "If it's a real good time you're looking for, I can hook you up with my buddy Jack. But it will cost you."

Logan was a loner by nature and not one to form lasting relationships. His comforts came in the form of casual sensual physical contact or the occasional prostitute. He was not above paying for a little fun so long as the women weren't abused or mishandled. He had no tolerance for that kind of abuse and had been known to make pimps disappear if he caught them misusing the girls. It’s not that he hunted them down, but he hung out in rough bars and it was all around him. If he was in the right place at the right time, his sense of honor and protectiveness forced him to act.

"How much?" At the moment, Logan had just been paid and he had thirty credits burning a hole in his pocket. The Clan made coins from metal they had scrounged and had a crude picture of the Honor Sword on it. Counterfeiters were punished by death so the credits kept their value. The alphas were paid once a week.

"At least ten for the usual. But I tell ya, if you want to go for broke, he's got a Siskan you can have for fifteen."

Logan’s interest perked up at that. "A Siskan?"

"Yeah. He got one of the pleasure programs illegally. It's better than a real woman, I kid you not. Worth every penny. She'll give you the full treatment and then some. This Siskan is for alphas only. It's our best kept secret so don't spread it around."

"Sounds good ta me."

"Wait here." Jacob got up and left to make the arrangements.

"What you doin', patron?" Remy asked, shaking his head with mock disapproval.

Logan grinned. "Research."

"Research?"

"Yeah. I wanna see what all the fuss is about with these Siskans. I wanna know if that's what Fallen's got."

"I t’ink we both know dat's what she's got, mon ami."

"Well, I wanna know for sure."

"De Lucky Dragon's far away from 'ere. Ain't got not’ing ta do wit us."

Logan ignored him as Jacob returned. "You coming?" he asked Remy.

"Non. Gambit wait 'ere for you." He had seen a card game starting up in the back and was thrilled at the idea of some real entertainment. He got up and made his way over.

Jacob led Logan from the tavern to a small private cave not too far away. He was met at the door by his friend, Jack. There was a small discussion and Jacob asked for Logan's money. He paid the man and they went inside. The home was sparsely furnished with mats and furs, a small wooden table that had been constructed of wooden crates was the only piece of real furniture. Logan was taken to a separate room while Jacob waited.

The leather skin divider was pulled back and Logan went into the room. This room was almost lavish in its decorations. Of course, this was where the money was made. A pallet bed covered in soft furs was on the floor to one side and the walls had dark red tapestries depicting sexual acts in a beautiful and tasteful manner. A large inviting stone bath filled with steaming scented water was in the middle of the room, filling the air with the scent of flower petals. Logan shivered in anticipation, that one thing alone was worth the fifteen credits.

Standing next to the bath was one of the most beautiful women Logan had ever seen. She had long dark hair in an impressive drape down one shoulder and was dressed in a shimmering red silken kimono. Logan grinned, Jacob knew of the X-man’s preference for Oriental women and must have passed it on. Although this lovely lady was not Oriental herself, she had done her best to please. It was good enough for him.

She seemed to sense this somehow and smiled at him demurely. "I am Lanlin. I will be serving you today." She gestured to the bath. "Please."

He approached and paused as she came forward to undress him. He smiled and sniffed at her when she came close, using his feral abilities to give her a more thorough inspection. Like Seth, she had no scent, he could smell her perfume, nothing more. On top of that, he was aware that she was extraordinarily quiet – she had no heartbeat. Only someone with his level of hearing would notice that. It didn’t mean she wasn’t warm, he could sense and feel her heat as she moved in the room. It was kind of creepy considering she wasn’t truly alive.

Logan had nothing to fear from this unique and beautiful creature. Lanlin was gentle and careful as she removed his clothing and laid it aside. She eased him into the bath, making sure he was comfortable. He gestured for her to join him and she opened her kimono, revealing herself to him with a small smile. She was perfect in every way a woman could be for him. She was lean, but not scrawny and had nice firm breasts. The kimono shimmered as it left her body and disappeared, making Logan grunt in surprise. It had never been real.

She climbed in the bath, sliding in behind him and placing her silky legs around his waist. He groaned with pleasure as she washed him and massaged his back and shoulders with nimble and skilled fingers, knowing just where and how hard to squeeze. It had been a long time since he'd been spoiled like this. She chatted about nothing in a soothing gentle voice as she worked her hands over him. Now Logan could see why Fallen wanted Seth so badly. Lanlin was thoughtful, skilled and compliant.
She soaped up his hair and scrubbed his head, making all the itchies from the headlice disappear. He closed his eyes and moaned in happiness, unable to keep quiet about just how much he was enjoying this. He heard her laugh softly and he teased, "I suppose ya get this all the time, huh, darlin’?"

"Not really, no. Most of the men, they skip the bath and get right to the love."

"The love, huh?"

She took him from the bath to the bed and that's where the real magic was. She's not real, he kept telling himself, but it was hard to believe. Her body was warm and felt completely real to him, inside and out, even when he had gotten down to actually making love to her. He could feel the tiny hairs of her skin and the muscles and bones of her body as she moved around him. She reacted to his touch no differently than any other woman he’d been with and she shivered and responded to his hands moving over her as though to be touched by him was to be blessed by a god. She was certainly more than eager to serve him and seemed overjoyed to have his company, making him feel like royalty.

A slight sheen of sweat formed on her back as she worked him and her breath was real and fine in his ears. She shivered and shook in a perfect imitation of woman in climax and he began to wonder if he’d been lied to. Was she a real person? An alpha perhaps that could mask her scent somehow and silence her heartbeat? He’d seen weirder things in his travels. She kissed him passionately as though she'd known him all her life and showed no fear of him at all. That was a rare thing for him and pleased him most of all. She made him miss home, though. There was nothing as soft and kind as she was here in this horrible Clan Station.

When she was through with him, she massaged him again and whispered in his ear that strange musical language he'd heard before on the Lucky Dragon. He hadn't felt this good, this wonderful and tingly all over in a long time. He wanted to explore her, silently demanding that she reveal to him the truth, that she wasn’t real. He pulled her head back and looked deeply in her eyes. He almost wished he hadn't. This close, with all of his hyper senses, he could now see she wasn't real, not truly alive. There was a sort of deadness to her eyes that disappointed him. The only thing it did for him was take away any guilt he may have had for using her like this. If she wasn't alive, she wasn't truly a prostitute being used against her will.

[squeekness]

Remy grinned as he watched Logan come back into the bar. Logan couldn't hide his good spirits and contentment. His skin was glowing from a good wash and he smelled of soap and girlie things. He sat down across from Remy and just smiled away, saying nothing.

Remy snorted. "Dat good, huh?"

"You have no idea." He eyed the bag of credits Remy had out on the table. Remy had done very well at cards while he was waiting for Logan to return. "You should put that bag a credits ta good use, boy. Those ain't gonna be worth nuthin' back home."

"Merci, but non. Gambit 'ad enough fun for one day. ‘E’s ready for bed."

Logan got up with him and they made their way back to alpha quarters. Henry greeted them from his bed as they entered. He noted Logan's fine condition. "I see the two of you had fun."

"You should come wit us next time," Remy offered.

Henry raised his book. "I've got all I need right here."

Logan c*cked his head with a sly grin. "I had a bath."

"Congratulations."

Remy eased himself down onto his bed and stretched. "Dat's not all he got. Jacob knows somebody who 'as a Siskan."

Henry was immediately interested. "Really? How was it?"

Logan's grin got wider.

"Hmm? Interesting."

"Maybe you should find out for yourself, Blue. The bath alone was worth the fifteen credits."

"Fifteen credits? Good Lord! That's highway robbery! Most of the regular men only get paid five credits a week." He shook his head. "Well, how did to compare to Seth and Kimble?"

"This was much better. Hard ta tell it wasn't real."

"But it was the same? Fallen does have a Siskan pleasure program?"

"I think so, yeah."

"And it was damaged," Henry said to himself. "If she does indeed possess the one that killed those men, she could be in danger."

"She must know what she’s got," Gambit replied impatiently.

"I'm not so sure."

"Anyways, what does dis 'ave to do wit us? We ain't gonna see dem again."

"Au contraire, my Cajun friend. The good word is that we've been assigned to the Lucky Dragon as part of Valentin's squad on the big raid. I'm convinced now more than ever that Fallen is our best bet for getting out of here."

"You ever talk to 'er about it?"

"No, but I would very much like to."

"Why would she take us home?"

"To get away from Valentin."

"What if she don' wanna leave?" Logan prompted.

"I'll offer her a job. I'm sure someone of her various talents would prove useful to us."

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[squeekness]

(Fifteen)

Henry sat as his work station working on some of the detonators for the upcoming raid. It bothered him that his skills were being put to use constructing devices that’s only purpose was to kill people, but he agreed with Cerebus that the Dognan had to be stopped. They were getting out of hand, going to Earth and teleporting people out to be used as slaves. Any means to put that to an end was worth it.

Henry paused as his stomach growled loudly. "My pointed ears for a Twinkie," he sighed. The food here was simply unbearable and Fallen’s care package had been used up long ago. He’d finally broken down and was living off of bread and water as Gambit was. Neither one could bring themselves to touch anything more and they were both looking a little ragged and thin.

Wolverine was in his element and getting along nicely, but Henry was concerned about Remy. He was moody and quiet, keeping mostly to himself. He didn’t go back out with Jacob as Wolverine had done. Wolverine had grown quite enamored with the Siskan hologram and had gone back a couple more times already.

Henry was fond of Rogue and didn’t wish her heart any harm, but Henry would have been at least a little relieved if Remy had visited Lanlin as well. Anything to raise his spirits. Henry would see Gambit sitting alone at the cafeteria table way in the back, smoking and staring off into space as he absently rubbed a thumb along the scars on his chest. He’d made no friends here, Peter had seen to that, but Remy was a loner by nature when he was at the house. He didn’t socialize with the X-men except for Rogue. Remy was secretive and absent most of the time so Henry didn’t know him as well as he did other X-men. The X-men team was quite large, having up to twenty and thirty members moving in and out on various assignments all over the world and it was impossible for Beast to know them all well.

Henry had been on the mission to Antarctica where Remy had been left behind. He had watched in abject horror as the details of Remy’s horrific crime had been dealt out and how it shattered the team. Their opponent apparently knew Remy better than they did and was more than happy to humiliate the poor thief in front of everybody. It had the desired effect. Oh, how well they had been played, Henry thought as he looked back on it. The team was shocked and horrified by the traitor in their midst and they completely fell apart, bickering and arguing so much over the distraction provided, that the bad guy got away and poor Remy was abandoned to freeze to death. They went back for him eventually, but no trace of him was ever found. It came as a total surprise when a year later he showed up in New York City, quite thin, a little haunted, but none the worse for wear. He stayed nearby, making his presence known, and was eventually gradually reinstated as an X-man. Even so, it was never the same after that, not even when Rogue took him back. Henry knew that Remy took these big risky jobs as an attempt at absolution for his past crimes.

"So why are you here, Henry old boy? Hmm?" Henry asked himself, rubbing his eyes. "Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He’d been very surprised when the Professor had asked him to go along with Wolverine and Gambit, two of the less predictable and most unstable members of the team. Henry worked mainly in the lab and didn’t get asked to go out on missions as often. That was just fine with him. He preferred to help out the team by more scientific and passive means.

"I’m a bit shorthanded," the Professor had replied wearily. "These disappearances must be stopped. They worry me in that we still have no idea who’s behind them. So many young lives simply gone. We’ve lost a few good mutants, too. We must find out what’s going on and stop it."

How could Henry refuse such an impassioned plea for help? He certainly never expected to end up here.

His thoughts were interrupted as Zekian approached him and handed him a note without speaking. Henry read it and was surprised to see it had come from Fallen. It was an invitation for him to come to the Lucky Dragon. She had found something that would be of interest to him. She also promised him a good meal and a hot shower. Henry didn’t need to be asked twice. Without hesitation, he packed up his work for the moment and made his way down to the hanger bay.

Maylee was waiting for him on the ramp and greeted him warmly. She had just returned from class herself and had some books and papers in her arms. She brought Henry inside and made him comfortable. The first order of business was the hot shower as promised, for which Henry was very grateful. He was even more pleased when he was provided with special soaps that would kill the lice that now infested him head to foot. The relief was immediate and heavenly. Maylee brought him next to the galley and fed him, laughing gaily when he gorged himself. He had no idea when his next good meal would come and wasn’t about to refuse anything offered, especially since it was all so fresh and well prepared. Maylee gave him a large cup of tea when he was finished and sent him down to the shop to see Fallen.

Henry made his way down the trap door steps and to the shop. He was a startled to see a white skinned, dark haired stranger standing at ease at the work bench to the back. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at a male pilot and that it was actually Kimble. Kimble was out in the hologram and writing something down on long sheets of blue prints that were coming out of a large printer that Henry hadn’t seen before. Henry was a little shocked. Paper was very scarce here and he had no idea where Fallen acquired it.

Kimble was slouching comfortably as he worked, rubbing his wings together thoughtlessly while he leaned over the papers. Soft rock and roll music was playing and Kimble had one pawed foot tapping in perfect rhythm to the music. He was smoking absently, squinting slightly from the smoke. The cigarette was real, Henry could smell the smoke and wondered why if Kimble wasn’t real, he should even have the desire to smoke at all. Kimble held the hand rolled cigarette between two slender white fingers and flicked the ash without even thinking. He didn’t seem to have any of Seth’s fine motor skill problems and was at ease being out in the hologram.

The hologram program Fallen was using allowed for the differences between Seth and Kimble. Kimble stood tall and confident, flexing his large arm muscles as he scribbled quickly on the papers. He had a much heavier build than his brother and the dark coloring of his hair and sideburns contrasted sharply with the sparkling whiteness of his skin. The side burns made him look much older than Seth had appeared, more mature. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and Henry could see the Honor Sword mark blazing brightly down his chest. He had a pilot’s body and wings, and wore a pair of tight fitting black denim jeans. His furry toes were bare and Henry could see the tips of his toe claws. Kimble had untied his pony tail and his hair fell long and thick about his head and shoulders, reaching down to his waist.

A lock of hair fell down over his eyes and Kimble tucked it behind his ear in a slow and graceful movement, smiling slightly as if he’d enjoyed the stroke of his own fingers against his skin. He caught Henry’s approach out of the corner of his eye and his smile slowly grew wider. He stood up straight and turned unhurriedly to face his guest, drawing out the moment before offering his hand. "Good morrow, Dr. McCoy," he purred, his voice soft and low.



"Good morrow," Henry replied, taking Kimble’s outstretched hand and shaking it.

Kimble’s skin was warm and his fingers slightly damp from holding the pen he’d been using. The illusion was very good, Henry couldn’t tell Kimble was anything less than real.

Kimble took his hand back slowly, drawing his fingertips across Henry’s palm as if he was examining the doctor by touch as much as he’d been looked over by Henry himself, a mutual admiration. He leaned back against the workbench, resting his hands on either side of his body. He c*cked his head slightly with a sly grin and flexed his abdominal muscles as he took a deep breath. He let his eyes roam freely over his visitor, rudely staring at him without speaking as he looked him over. His eyes glittered with bright intelligence and he sniffed at Henry slightly, something Henry had seen Logan do when he was trying to figure someone out. The lock of hair came loose again and once more Kimble stroked it back, shivering slightly as if aroused from his own touch and the presence of his guest so very close.

If I didn’t know any better --- and I don’t --- I’d say this creature is flirting with me, Henry thought to himself. Fallen isn’t here so Kimble is acting on his own. Fascinating. "Well, this is a surprise," Henry said, breaking the momentary silence.

"A pleasant one, I’m hopin’," Kimble said in his lazy drawl. He gave Henry another one of his teasing, playful smiles. "You enjoyin’ yer stay at Nine?"

Henry grunted a laugh. "Not really. The conditions are quite primitive."

"Maylee took care of ya some, yer lookin’ pretty fine from here," Kimble commented flirtatiously, looking Henry over again and licking his lips like he was something good to eat. It was true, Henry’s fur was clean and brushed, the best he’d looked and felt for some time.

Henry squirmed a little, pinned down by Kimble’s almost predatory stare. He’d never been looked at quite that way by a man before.

"Give it up, Kimble. He wouldn’t be interested," Fallen said impatiently, coming out of the downstairs lavatory and into the shop.

To read more click here : www.fanfiction.net/s/2495701/1/

[squeekness]

"Good morrow, Fallen," Henry said, relieved by her timely appearance.

She walked up to him and shook his hand. "Good morrow. Don’t mind Kimble. He does that to shock people. He thinks it’s amusing. He doesn’t get out much and isn’t properly socialized."

Fallen had plenty of time to recover from her savage beating and in spite of a few fading bruises on her back, looked in good shape. Her smile was bright and warm and cheered Henry’s heart. He had been worried about her.

"Your Kimble here is quite impressive. Very realistic for an artificial personality."

Henry saw a look of dark anger cross Kimble’s face and was startled to hear the man actually growl at him. It was low and deep, reminding him of Logan’s own gravelly built in warning system. He realized he’d just made a mistake. Kimble was clearly offended at the suggestion that he was anything less than real.

Fallen gave Kimble a kick and he quieted, putting his head down submissively. He rubbed his wings together with aggressive impatience and pouted a little.

Henry bowed slightly at him. "Pardon me, I meant no offense. I am unused to the idea of a sentient hologram. The ones we have back home are not like you in this way."

" ‘S all right," Kimble said, clearly lying. He was still offended. " ‘S a common mistake."

Fallen barked at him in another language and Kimble turned away and went back to the papers.

"You did nothing wrong," she said to Henry, ignoring Kimble as he sulked. "He’s a child and hopelessly immature, nothing more. Forget it. I asked you here because Seth found some papers that may be of some help for you. These seem to be the blueprints for the Dognan complex Valentin is planning to attack."

Henry was immediately interested. "How did you come by these?"

"We found a crashed Dognan ship yesterday. I took the computer out and Seth was able to hack into it. He found these files. Maybe if you guys look them over, you can find a good way to get inside."

"I already done it," Kimble boasted, looking up at her with a grin.

"Really?" Henry asked, coming closer to look at the papers. He hoped that if he gave Kimble a good listen, he would see he was sorry he had inadvertently insulted him. He was surprised by his own feelings towards Kimble, he simply couldn’t help himself from regarding Kimble as anything but a real person. He behaved so lifelike, even if he was a bit childish and sensitive.

When Henry looked down at the papers, he was surprised at what he saw. The blueprints did look authentic and were very detailed. Kimble had been writing notes in the margins. His writing was very beautiful, he used a font Henry was unfamiliar with but it could be read easily even though it was decorative and carefully made. Kimble had made notations on most of the exits and entrances, but what was most noteworthy was a small commentary on the nuclear core reactor in the center of the base. Kimble had speculated that causing the reactor to overload and explode would destroy a good portion of the base with minimal manpower --- if they could get to it. Henry chuckled softly. How convenient that they had just the slippery little thief to do just that.

"I’m impressed," Henry commented. "You do very good work."

Kimble smiled, absorbing the praise with pleasure. His earlier anger was completely gone. "I do all right," he said with false modesty. He reached for a bottle of beer nearby and drank from it.

"Don’t encourage him. He’ll be unbearable," Fallen teased, giving Kimble a playful bump with her shoulder.

Kimble garbled something at her and she replied in kind.

"May I ask what is that language you’re speaking? It’s very beautiful."

"It’s Siskan," Fallen replied. "Kimble is a Siskan personality."

"That’s interesting. Logan said the alphas have obtained a Siskan pleasure program. Logan spent some time with this...program. He said it was very....gratifying."

Kimble grinned. "I’m shure it wuz. Lanlin’s no slouch, but I kin assures ya, I’m much better."

Henry wasn’t put off again by Kimble’s suggestion. He was becoming used to Kimble’s flirtatious arrogance and could see that it was just a playful part of his personality, not that he would actually do any harm. He was impressed that Kimble knew about Lanlin, though. He’d thought it was a secret held by the alphas. It boosted his curiosity. "Why would a Siskan pleasure program such as yourself be content running a ship, I wonder?" Henry directed at him. "Seems to me your talents might be misplaced."

Kimble grinned mischievously. "I gots lotsa talents fer lotsa things. Wants ta find out?"

"That’s enough!" Fallen interjected, exasperated by her spirited Kimble. She looked up at Henry and explained. "Kimble was damaged. He can’t do everything he used to."

"It don’ stop me from tryin’!" Kimble interrupted with a laugh.

"Even this hologram doesn’t work right," Fallen continued, ignoring him.

"It’s not finished. Only half the codes are working. There’s a missing access code. Once I find that, the ‘gram will be restored."

Kimble grunted. "Yeah, when Fallen’s done with it, you kin haves Logan come see me fer a comparison. Or come by yerself, if ya have a mind. I ain’t never had nobody with blue fur b’fore. Could be interestin’," Kimble offered, not giving an inch.

"Oh, you are impossible!" Fallen said, giving him a playful shove. "Don’t you have something better to do?"

"Not really," Kimble replied with a laugh, still enjoying the game.

"Yes, you do," Seth said, popping up on the viewing screen nearby. He was seated at his work station, neat and tidy as always. He was smiling, amused by Kimble’s fooling around. "The diagnostics I set up for Engine Two are ready. Time to do that scan and crunch the numbers."

"Later."

"Now, Kimble," Fallen ordered sharply.

"Aye, Fallen," Kimble replied, his disappointment obvious.

Kimble stood up straight and crossed his arms. He bowed his head and Henry was startled to see Kimble’s outer shape melt and turn grey as he left the hologram and returned to the system. The hologram material remained behind, converting itself into a cube. It settled to the floor and waited, ready to be used again.

"Fascinating," Henry repeated, awed by what he’d seen today. "He’s quite the character."

"He’s a blast and I enjoy having him around very much," Fallen said as she gathered up the papers for Henry to take back with him. "Just do me a favor and don’t tell anyone about the hologram. My Siskans are very precious to me."

"Your secret is safe with me," Henry said, thanking her for the papers. He wondered if he should tell her what he heard about a Siskan hologram going on a murderous rampage in the Station but decided it would be best to wait. Other than being rambunctiously playful, Kimble seemed harmless enough.


Henry returned to their quarters, refreshed and happy. At first the others complained because they got left out, but Henry didn’t come back empty handed. Fallen had given him a generous supply of lice soap and another care package of fresh bread and fruit. Logan bowed out to let the others enjoy. He could at least tolerate the Clan food and had been eating pretty well all along. Henry and Gambit didn’t argue but dug in cheerfully.

As he ate well for the second time that day, Henry told them about his strange encounter with Kimble. Gambit chuckled when Henry explained how flirtatious Kimble had been. "P’etetre, you should’ave taken ‘im up on it. You could ‘ave given us a full report, seen ‘ow your research measured up to Logan’s."

"Kinda tough to do that. At least mine was a girl," Logan said with a laugh.

"Well, he seemed harmless enough anyway. He had a lot of ideas that I think might be useful to us and his advice is definitely worth looking into."

To read more click here : www.fanfiction.net/s/2495701/1/

[squeekness]

(Sixteen)

Henry sat at his desk once more, trying to digest the Dognan blue prints Fallen had given him. There was a lot of work to be done and he wished he had some help. As if in answer to his silent plea, there was a soft knock on his table. He looked up to see a Clansman he didn’t recognize. "Good morrow, alpha. My name is Bruce. Valentin sent me to give you a hand."

"Good morrow. I’m Henry and I am so very grateful you’re here. This will take some time to work out," Henry said with a warm smile and offered his hand.




Bruce took it and gave a firm shake. He was a sturdy Clansman, in his mid-thirties and in good physical condition, though not as heavily muscled as most of the other Clan warriors. He had the tattoos and markings of medium rank and was quite intelligent. Henry learned that Bruce was in charge of most of the reconnaissance work and raid planning for Valentin. He had long rusty blonde hair tied back in the usual ponytail and green eyes that kept straying to Henry’s big blue face though he tried to hide it. He had been a Clansman all his life and had never seen an alpha such as Henry with his blue fur and huge size.

Henry and Bruce got along immediately, laughing and teaching one another as they worked, and got a lot done. Bruce was talkative and bright as they worked, freely sharing many stories of growing up in an area not far from here called Pastor’s Lake. He had an easy, friendly manner that wasn’t much like the others here who seemed to function on the idea that posturing and bravado was the means by which a real man was measured. Henry did not share that view. It was pleasant beyond words to spend time like this, in the company of a relaxed and open person. Bruce was quick to laugh and a real treat to be with. The time fly by.

Bruce was very well educated and seemed able to interpret the plans that Fallen had provided well. They worked for several hours, accomplishing quite a bit, when there came a soft knock on the table again.

Bruce turned to face his visitor with a warm smile. "Good morrow, Justin."

"Good morrow, Bruce," Justin greeted with a short laugh. Justin was a contrast to Bruce, being a medium sized Clansman, well built and heavily muscled. Clearly, he was more of a warrior than Bruce who was smaller and seemed weaker by comparison. Justin’s hair was long and black, loose about his shoulders and not as long as everyone else’s. He carried both a broadsword and a large bow on his back. His eyes glittered with intelligence and amusement as he looked at Henry. "Who’s your friend?" he asked Bruce, apparently had no qualms about showing his interest in the big blue mutant.

"This is Henry."

"Good morrow, Henry McCoy. I’ve heard all about you," Justin said, offering his hand.

Henry shook it. "All good, I hope."

Justin laughed again. "Fear not. The grapevine says you and Bruce here are going to save us all."

"Well, that’s a hard reputation to live up to, but I’ll try my best."

"I’m sure you will." Justin patted Bruce on the shoulder. "I’ll be down in the galley if you want to eat with me. They’ll be serving in an hour."

"I’ll be there."

Justin nodded at him and withdrew, his eyes lingering on Bruce’s face before he left. Bruce noticed Henry watching them and turned away shyly, his face flushing just slightly.

In that one gesture alone Henry knew these two were much more than just friends. Nothing had to be said, Beast was simply too observant to need them. All such well trained X-men were capable of assessing a person quickly like that, it was all part of survival training. Logan would argue that it was a matter of threat assessment, but Henry wasn’t like that. He maintained a neutral ground when it came to race or gender or, more importantly, sexual orientation. He was aware that not many men were so accepting of that one difference and went out of his way to show that he wasn’t one of them.

"You two known each other long?" Beast asked just to make conversation, keeping his voice neutral and light.

"We grew up together. The Clan is actually many Clans all gathered from different areas nearby here. We’re both from the Deer Clan just like Valentin. We all grew up not far from here by Pastor’s lake, that place I was telling you about earlier. When the Dognan war really started gearing up, Valentin convinced a lot of young men to join up with him. Justin convinced our parents to let us come here with him and join the fight."

Henry nodded, but he’d caught something in Bruce’s tone. "Doesn’t sound like to me like it was your decision.

Bruce thought carefully before he spoke. "Justin wanted to fight. I didn’t want to leave him behind. We’ve been close friends for a long time." He looked up at Henry warily, waiting for judgement. He knew Henry had caught on to him and Justin alarmingly fast, but Beast just smiled at him warmly.

"I understand, my friend. These things are never easy. It seems as though it worked out all right for you. You have a good position here."

Bruce relaxed noticeably. "It’s all right. All this technical knowledge is dry and more than a little boring, but it keeps me off the field. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never been much of a fighter, not like Justin there. He lives for the fight. He spends all of his free time practicing how to do it all better. I can’t help but wonder what he’ll do when the war is over, if we pull this off, I mean."

"I’m sure things will work out for you guys," Beast said, ever the optimist. He leaned back and stretched, cracking his neck and shoulders. "Why don’t you go along and join him. We can pick this up tomorrow. I’m in need of some rest myself."

"Why don’t you join us?"

Clan food. Henry couldn’t stop the shudder of revulsion that made him shiver. "My apologies, but your Clan food doesn’t quite agree with me."
Bruce just smiled. "I know what you mean. It took some time for me to get used to it myself. Pastor’s Lake was the best for hunting, but it’s been so long now I hardly remember what decent food tastes like. I’ve lost a lot of weight since I’ve lived here."

"No offense, but I hope I’m not here that long," Henry joked and steered Bruce towards the door. I’ll see you tomorrow."


"None taken. Later," Bruce said and left quickly, going the way Justin had gone.

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[squeekness]

The time passed quickly for the X-men as they and the Clan prepared for the final assault on the Dognan. Valentin kept a close watch on the alpha troops and was always around, making sure all was going well. He was in charge of the big raid and had full rights to use as many of the alphas and best trained Clan troops as he wished. He worked closely with Beast and Wolverine as they laid out their ideas and moved his people around to suit them, actions that only caused Wolverine's opinion of him to grow. He treated both Henry and Logan with respect and listened to what they had to say.

Valentin behaved very differently here in the Station than he had out in the field when the X-men first met him. He was obviously in charge, but didn't harass or abuse his men. Quite the opposite actually. He worked closely with them in the training and practiced just as hard as they did. His skill in weaponry was clear as well as the hard work he'd gone through to obtain it. There were no ugly episodes, not like how Valentin had behaved with Kane or his people. It was if that man didn't exist here, like Valentin suffered from some kind of split personality. If Logan hadn't seen him abuse Fallen so badly, his respect for Valentin would have come much more easily. As it was, Logan found himself liking Valentin very much against his better judgment.

Valentin was watchful of Gambit, but they hardly spoke. Valentin insisted that Remy come along with them out in the field, having watched his fighting skills with admiration. Logan knew it wasn't really Remy's thing, being that Gambit was more of a sneaky infiltrator than a hardened soldier, but it would allow them to stay together where Logan could keep an eye on his Cajun teammate.

Gambit continued to work with the alphas, brushing them up on their hand to hand skills, while also showing them some of his tricks from his days as a thief. There weren't many places he couldn't get into. He didn't share Logan's respect for Valentin, but Gambit had never seen real combat. He didn't realize as Logan did that Valentin was the kind of man who could get the job done in situations where most men would fall apart. Remy avoided Valentin as much as possible and concentrated on his work. He tried to keep his mind on his objective which was to get home in one piece and get back to his girl.

Logan worked with a small crew of alphas, teaching them how make plastique and other small bombs from the materials the Clan had stolen from the Dognan. As promised, they learned quickly and soon they had a good supply of explosives primed and ready for use.

Henry was used more for the planning stages of things and organizing, but he and Bruce also helped out with helping the clan to salvage what they could from whatever tidbits of technology Fallen managed to steal form the Dognan. It was quite a bit. There were two way radios and tracking devices, armor and weapons to compliment Wolverine's collection of explosives.

When the last plans were finalized, Logan came by to see Henry to learn what he and Bruce had come up with. They made good use of the blue prints Fallen had provided and came up with a strategy. The plan was to assault the Dognan stronghold in the three stages. First they would hit the main munitions and supply dump on the outside of the complex, near the ruined city. This would take out the steam out of the Dognan defense and hopefully make the next stages easier and less dangerous.

Next, they would blow up the living quarters where most of the Dognan soldiers were stationed. The Dognan wouldn't be able to fight if most of them were dead.

Then they would go for the main complex itself. This was more difficult because they would actually have to get inside. At first, Logan said this was impossible, but changed his mind when Henry showed him the scrolled blue prints of the complex. There were small marks and comments on the margins. Logan looked at the marks on the corners and turned to Henry, "Who's mark is that?"

Henry grinned. "Seth's. He organized the documents after he hacked them off of a Dognan computer. He's quite sneaky and clever, you know. Some of the remarks came from Kimble. What marvelous handwriting he has. He makes good use of the hologram, as I had told you. It was his suggestion that we hit the main reactor in the center. He was able to determine that destroying that would cause an explosion big enough to bring the whole building down."

"How're we gonna get those charges in there? Looks complicated."

"Easy. We'll have our Cajun friend sneak in through the ventilation shafts and plant the charges while the rest of you create a diversion outside. Shouldn't be too difficult."

"How we gonna get outta there on time?"

"Jacob and Reese. We 'port in and use what few pilots we have to move you guys around as we need to. All you have to do is make enough fuss for Remy to get the job done and then get out as fast as you can. It's so simple it has to work."

"Have you talked to Gambit yet?"

"I'll tell him after supper. I can't see how it would be a problem."

[squeekness]

(Seventeen)

"You want Gambit to do what?!"

Henry backed up a bit, surprised by the heat of Remy's reaction. The thief was outraged, barely in control of his temper. His red eyes blazed and his hands clenched and unclenched in fury. Beast and Logan, along with Valentin, had approached the fiery eyed mutant with their proposal on how to destroy the Dognan base. Henry had figured Gambit would be all over it, enjoying any kind of challenge, and was not prepared for this little snag in their plans.

"All ya gotta do is sneak in, plant the charges and get out," Wolverine repeated, not understanding what the big deal was.

"Gambit, he a t'ief. He ain't no killer, not no more. Dat place'll be loaded with dose cat guys!"

"Sometime's there's a killin' that needs to be done."

"Bull****! Dat's a load of f--kin' crap an' you know it!"

"If you won't do it, all you have to do is bring someone in who will," Valentin said evenly. He was exasperated at how sensitive alphas could be. They never seemed to understand war and how these things must be done. Sacrifices had to be made.

Gambit's face turned colors Henry had never seen before. Valentin had made a serious error.

Gambit bellowed ragged Cajun curses in his fury and then the room exploded in red flame and dust. They barely had time to duck under the heavy table. Remy had charged over a dozen cards and flung them at them. The cards exploded loudly, causing chunks of rock and debris to go flying from the walls and ceiling. When the dust settled, Remy was gone.

"Well, that went smoothly," Wolverine quipped, dusting himself off. He had to hide the sly smile that was threatening to leak out. It had been in ragged French, but there had been a certain satisfaction in hearing Gambit tell Valentin to go screw himself.

It was true Valentin didn't get it, though Remy's anger was easy enough to read. He complained in exasperation, "What's going on? I thought you said he would help us!"

Henry sighed and gave Valentin a brief run down of Gambit's history, the Morlock Massacre in particular. Valentin's brow creased with frustration.

"This isn't the same thing!"

"To him it is."

"I'll go talk to him," Logan offered and left.

He followed Remy's trail easily, all he had to do was follow the smell of frustration and anger, Remy was really pissed. Logan sighed with impatience. They should have guessed that Remy would have a problem with this scenario, it just didn't occur to them until it was too late. Remy had gone quite far before he ran out of steam and slowed down. He had traveled as far as the outer hanger bays, sneaking past the guards. Logan found him on the edge of a carved, stone ventilation shaft for the hanger, his legs dangling and his head down.

Wolverine sat next to his teammate without saying anything. He knew Remy would speak when he was ready.


Gambit sniffed and took a deep breath. His eyes were shiny with angry tears that he didn't bother to hide. "You done kicked me out for bein' a killer! You left Gambit behind to die for doin' dis very t'ing! How dare you ask dis of me!?"

"I wouldnt've left ya behind fer that," Wolverine said quietly. He hadn't been there when the mission went down and couldn't honestly answer what he would have done. The bad decision had been made in the heat of anger, poor Remy paying the price.

"Non. Non. You would ‘ave killed me instead!" Remy snapped.

Logan put his head down and sighed. "I don' kill fer no stupid reasons, kid."

Gambit snorted. "Neither do I."

"You gonna tell me why you let Sinister talk ya into doin' what ya did? You ain't never said."

Gambit slowly shook his head. "It wasn't for nuthin' stupid. Wasn't for money or nuthin' like dat. ‘Sides, I didn' know nobody was gonna get killed or I never would've done it."

"Then why?"

Gambit didn't reply.

Logan sighed again. "Look, kid. Doin' this thing isn't like what you did before. This is war. Out here, only the strongest survive. If you don't do this for us, we'll have to go in full throttle and a lotta folks're gonna die. You can do this quiet. You can do this sneaky." Logan waited but Gambit still said nothing. He was listening, though. "Think of this. We don't owe those Dognan creeps nuthin'. How many of our own people did they kill when we were stuck in that holdin' cell, huh? What about the pens? What about all them slaves they keep makin'? We gotta take these sleazebags out. If we don't, they're just going to keep comin'."



"I can't."

"Then take a team in like Valentin said. Just one or two guys, that's all."

Gambit looked up, his face strained from trying to keep those traitorous tears from falling. "Gambit's got a bill too big already to ever pay back. He can't make up for dis one too."

"You don't have to. Lives saved fer the lives lost."

Remy shivered as he heard Wolverine speak those words. Logan must have heard him muttering those words to himself many times out on the road.

"Do this, Remy. It's the right thing ta do. Remember, there ain't honor in a killin' if ya do it fer hate or cuz ya wanna hurt somebody. This isn't about that. This is about survival. It ain't bad if ya don't love it." Logan rubbed his hands together slowly. "I know you don't believe this, but you've more than made up for what you've done. Three hundred Morlocks dead but six million people saved during that Genosha thing we did five months ago. You're square, Remy. You been square fer a long time now."

"I didn't do Genosha alone. De whole team was in on it."

"Doesn't matter, but if it does to you, than do this. Do this and be square."

Remy put his head down and slowly nodded. Logan patted him on the shoulder and left him, figuring Remy would want to be alone.

Gambit sat on the stoop and looked out over the grey sky of Cerise. He was strong in his heart and in his will, and it had done him some good to hear Wolverine speak so well of him. He was lonely, he was tired and very, very homesick, but he would do what was asked of him.

Jus' gotta get t'rough dis one t'ing, he whispered to his heart, Jus' dis one t'ing, an' it just a little, little t'ing like all de other little t'ings you done. We do dis, den we go ‘ome. It's gotta be, it jus' gotta be, ‘cause I don' t'ink I'm gonna make it ‘ere on m' own.

Remy looked out at the sky once more, shuddered from a chill felt more on the inside than out, and rose to follow his friend.

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[squeekness]

Book three ~ Endgame

(One)


Henry sat at his work station, fumbling through the last of the detonators. The date for the big offensive had been set for the next day and as much as he didn’t like the idea of warfare, he was eager to get these done.
Beast was a creature of deep feelings though he didn’t always articulate them. Here he was creating devices made to kill and yet you wouldn’t know from the look on his face that the very act of doing this disturbed him greatly. Remy was not the only one with reservations about large scale killing, but Beast hadn’t been able to get the acts of the slavers out of his mind. He recalled all too vividly the sounds of them killing off the humans that had been undesirable as slaves and the pens had been a horror. Those people had done nothing wrong other than be in the wrong place at the worst possible time. As much as he shared Gambit’s revulsion to killing and war in general – as a doctor he’d had to repair too much of the collateral damage that many battles and stupid petty squabbles had left behind – he understood that sometimes it just had to be done.

Logan was aware of his teammates’ reluctance to fight and had gone out of his way to remind them both about the callousness of such slavers. Any race that felt itself so superior that it could kill and enslave with such a lack of compassion and sympathy for the rights of others was one that had to be destroyed. The Dognan moved from world to world, how long before they decided they wanted more than just a few slaves from their own precious Earth and stole the rest of it?

Henry knew this, he did, but there was always that lingering doubt that not all of the Dognan men approved of such practices. A race that thought nothing of slavery no doubt used conscription as a means of replenishing their ranks. They could be killing many innocent people along with the guilty. Henry knew his history, Nazi Germany no doubt had it’s share of innocent Germans, but the regime as a whole had to go. This wasn’t much different.

The one thing that did give Henry some selfish comfort was the knowledge that he wasn’t going to be active in the field. He would be co-ordinating the various teams from the Lucky Dragon and not out in the actual fighting. It made this a little easier to bear.

Beast closed his eyes and rubbed them for a moment. These thoughts were painful and he was trying not to dwell on them. He also knew that this thing had to be done for them to earn their way home, as distasteful as it might be. He had tried to explore other avenues of getting their freedom a bit more cheaply, but the alternatives here were almost non-existent, there simply was no other way besides their co-operation with the Clan.

Beyond his initial outburst, Gambit, too, had gone quiet on the matter. He did as he was instructed and kept his thoughts to himself. The haunted look was in his eyes a bit more than before, however, and it was no secret he was ready to just get this over with.

Lucky for him that would be the very next day. Another reason Beast was eager to finish today’s work was that they had all been invited to spend what they hoped was one of their last nights here with the Clan on the Lucky Dragon, being treated to Fallen’s superior hospitality. It was an invitation none of them had even considered refusing.

The plan was for them to sleep overnight with Fallen and then she would fly them to the staging area in the morning. Beast was looking forward to some decent food and a good night’s sleep – not to mention the luxury of a nice hot shower.

"You ready, Blue?"

Henry looked up into Wolverine’s eyes, seeing his teammate had arrived to collect him a little early, no doubt thinking along the same lines he was. Logan had packed up their few meager belongings and was taking them along just in case this finished quickly. Remy was quiet but tense behind him, a small backpack and his bo staff in hand.

"Yes, I just have to pack up the last of this stuff."

They helped Beast gather the remaining ordinance for the offensive. Henry was in charge of the timers and detonators for the explosives, but he and Bruce had also scrounged some more two way radios and tracking devices that might come in handy. Bruce wasn’t coming along with them to the Dragon, this had been an X-men only invite, Fallen’s way of apologizing for their rough first meeting.

Maylee met them along the way, she was returning from her classes and had been told to keep an eye out for them to make sure they didn’t get lost, and they followed her to the large hanger bay. The Lucky Dragon was parked in it's usual place, ready and inviting. The ramp was down but the hatchway was locked. There was a small intercom box just outside the door and Maylee clicked a button on it. "Seth, it’s me."

"Hey, Maylee. Did you find everyone okay?"

"Yes, they’re all here."

"Good. You know the rules though. You’ll have to wash up first. Fallen's in the workshop. You can use her lav. Take turns."

"Okay." Maylee clicked off and there was a loud snap as the hatch unlocked.

"What was that all about?" Logan grumbled.

"Fallen has this thing about being clean. She thinks all the Stations are filthy. She won't be happy unless we shower first. Is that a problem?"

Unanimously, "No!"

Maylee lead them into the ship and directly into Fallen's lavatory. Logan noticed immediately as he entered that the air quality in the ship was much better than in the hanger, something Henry had mentioned from when he had visited here so recently but it hadn’t meant anything until he experienced it now for himself. It was much cleaner and he assumed she must have filters running.

In all the time they had spent on the Lucky Dragon before, none of the X-men had gone inside Fallen's private lavatory. It was located to the back of the cage room, a private area just for her. The lav was generous for a bathroom, almost as big as the cage area itself, with plenty of room for everyone. There was a good supply of hot water so they could take as long as they liked to wash. Maylee smiled at them demurely and left.

While he waited for his turn in the shower Logan took some time to check out the room. Fallen's lav was large and had lots of shelves. Towels, clothes and bedding were stacked neatly on one and a generous supply of medical supplies were on another. There was a medium sized viewing screen mounted on the wall near the shower --- so Fallen could talk with Seth, Maylee had explained. The sink area had a large vanity with a long mirror. She had a lot of items in jars along the top of it, he saw some hand rolled cigarettes in one and helped himself. He saw another jar with old style metal syringes and wondered why she would need so many. A closer look at her collection revealed she had quite the assortment of recreational drugs. He sniffed at the jars and winced at the smell, many of them were opiates and no doubt the source of her habit.

Wolverine saw her washing machine and crammed all of their clothes into it. This machine was simple yet quite efficient, Maylee told them that it could wash their clothes in a matter of only a few minutes, something that would make Fallen a million bucks and then some if she were to sell this technology back home. Logan was happy just for the privilege of using it, these small luxuries were the most welcome after living in the grungy Clan caves all this time. The Lucky Dragon was like a time machine warping them back to civilization. He couldn't wait for their next meal. Even he'd grown sick of the horrible Clan food. He smiled at Remy as he stepped out of the shower and hopped in, grateful.

After everyone was cleaned up, they all felt refreshed and comfortable. As they left the lav, they were startled to hear loud, thumping dance music drifting up from the lower level. The affect on Gambit was immediate, he broke out into a wide smile and his pace quickened. He was a veteran of the many dance clubs nearby the Institute. Gambit loved a scrap, a chance to flex his muscles to the maximum, but more than that he loved to dance. It was a release for him and he could surely use that right now, all these weeks stressed out at Clan Station Nine had left him quite miserable.

Logan, knowing this, had to suppress a smile as he rushed to keep up.

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[squeekness]

(Two)

The X-men made their way down the stairs and to the workshop, Maylee following behind them. The song was some kind of techno country music and Gambit recognized it immediately as Cotton Eyed Joe from the Rednex. It was a quirky tune but full of fun and their new friends were enjoying it and then some.

Kimble was out in the hologram again and he and his pilot Mistress were line dancing --- or at least Kimble was. Fallen was having serious trouble getting the steps right and she was goofing up like crazy, laughing at her own incompetence. The awkward pair had their backs to the hallway and didn't immediately notice the approach of their guests.

A computer screen was turned on on the long work bench in the back and an instructional animated figure was going through the dance steps on the screen. Kimble was pointing at it. "See? This way."

He stood back and went through the steps with exaggerated slowness, as if explaining to a retarded child. He took her hands and they tried again but poor Fallen was completely lost. She was making mistakes and laughing hysterically.

"No, no, no!" Kimble scolded through hearty laughter. "Yer not even close!"

He let go of her and went through it again, this time at full speed. His co-ordination was much better than Seth's and he flowed through each move with confident efficiency and in perfect time with the music. He was wearing those tight fitting black jeans again. They didn't seem to restrict him in any way, but exaggerated the odd bend of his legs. Looking at them, Logan surmised the clothes had to be part of the 'skin' that was Kimble's design, just as Lanlin’s kimono had been. There simply was no way denim pants that tight could ever be made to fit over crooked cat legs like that. Kimble wasn't human, but still danced with ease and grace.

"See? It's easy!" Kimble boasted when he finished the quick series of steps.

"Easy for you! You've got the files!" Fallen protested in response.

"That ain't it at all," he tried to explain. He took her hands once more and led her through the steps again. "Yer just bein' stubborn!" he drawled in his strange accent. "It ain't surgery, Fallen! Jus' dancin'." They danced awkwardly, Kimble forcing her to go faster and faster until she was a reckless tangle of limbs. She fell against him, gasping, and he held her loosely in his arms, his embrace comfortable and easy. They were both laughing loudly and having a blast.

The song ended and then started over, looping. Gambit took his cue and cut in on Fallen's other side, clearing his throat to get the hologram’s attention. Kimble looked up at him as he entered the line and smiled warmly, not the least bit upset over the interruption. His eyes glittered instead with amusement as he looked Remy over with the same unconcealed interest that he had Henry. He raised an eyebrow in invitation and Remy accepted, not the least bit intimidated by Kimble’s intense glance over. Remy knew both the music and the steps for this dance, he bowed and started right in. He counted off and the three of them began the dance together. Kimble and Gambit were in perfect time, but Fallen was hopelessly lost and not improving with practice.

"C'mon, 'Enry!" Remy shouted over the music and dragged a hapless Beast into the fray.

"Well, it's been some time...." Beast stammered, but managed to work his way feebly through the dance. Henry was quite nimble himself and no slouch on the dance floor, but he was unfamiliar with these particular steps. At least he was doing better than Fallen, she kept doing things backwards and was bumping back and forth between Remy and Kimble like a bizarre albino pinball. She was laughing uncontrollably, tears streaming from her eyes. She was swaying wildly, dizzily.

Kimble was laughing, too, but not as hard. He watched her with a mixture of dismay and amusement. "She's hopeless!" he announced, the verdict final.

Fallen took the hint and bowed out of the line. She staggered to the bench, her sides heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She was topless as usual and sweat gleamed on her bony torso. It didn't seem possible, but she looked thinner than before. There were some open beer bottles on the bench and she took one and drained it in one thirsty gulp. Henry joined her, glad for the excuse to make his escape. Logan weaved his way around the two remaining crazy people and leaned next to Henry.

Maylee had moved across the floor, behind all the action, to sit on the shop bed, her eyes glowing with excitement. She was watching the two remaining dancers intently. She wanted to join in, but Kimble intimidated her. He'd always made her nervous. Maybe when she got the steps figured out, she would join in. For now, she was content to watch.

Kimble and Gambit continued to dance. They were going at it with much more gusto now that the feebles had left. Gambit paused and showed Kimble a new series of steps that went with the same music. Kimble watched him carefully and then imitated him exactly, revealing he possessed a near perfect memory. He went through them again and Gambit nodded his approval. They danced again, quickly and in perfect unison.



"Oh, sure!" Fallen complained. "Now you're showing off!"

"He learns fast," Henry commented.

"He has almost unlimited learning capabilities," Fallen explained, leaning in closer to be heard over the music. "Plus he has all of Lucky's resources now that he's in the system. His 'brain' is much larger than ours if you put all that together. When he's motivated, he can learn almost anything. He especially likes games and dancing. Anything fun. He is an entertainment program after all. This is what he was designed to do."

Gambit went through another series of steps, thrilled to be dancing and playing around with the hologram. He wasn't the least bit put off by Kimble's playful and flirtatious kidding around. If anything, Kimble's eagerness to be with him only added to the fun. Gambit's gloom and dread of the upcoming mission evaporated and he laughed and laughed. He wanted to see just how much Kimble could do. The new steps that Remy showed him now were much more difficult than the ones Kimble had been trying to teach Fallen.

Kimble watched him, rapt, and picked them up just as easily as the last. He obviously enjoyed the challenge and was thrilled to be interacting with someone new. They continued to dance, rotating through the whole series of steps and Kimble completed them all with great skill. Kimble seemed to be having a grand time now that he had a competent partner. He laughed and joked with Remy, both of them at ease even though they didn't know each other well.

Logan was watching this with keen interest. Kimble learned fast, imitating Remy's slick moves with that computer perfect recall of his. Far from being thrilled by Kimble's ability to shmooze on the dance floor, Logan worried more over some basic truths. Dancing and fighting weren't all that different, especially the way Remy played it. Both required speed, grace, and accuracy and Kimble had no problem with any of these it seemed. Logan wondered if Kimble had any files on fighting techniques and just how strong he was. Because of his aggressive nature, Wolverine judged all men this way. They were categorized by threat assessments.

Kimble's outgoing and c0cky demeanor made Logan wary. This was no passive and compliant hologram, not like Lanlin had been. Kimble's eyes were bright and he always seemed to have that sly, teasing grin. He was just a little too free, too independent in his spirit. He did what he wanted, not always what Fallen ordered him to do. Perhaps this was how these holograms behaved when they were integrated into a family as Kimble was, but Logan doubted it. There was something unique and different about Kimble that hadn't been there in the other hologram. Logan could see the hologram restraints were still in place, but he had no doubt Kimble could break out if he wanted to. It was there in his eyes. He had too much confidence, too much free will to be penned in forever.

Logan also recalled the argument Kimble had with Fallen. He'd threatened to click off, but was stopped by her plea for him to stay. If she was truly in control of him, Kimble would never have had the ability to leave or even the capacity to think about it independently of her. That was it, really. Kimble was a program, but showed that he functioned and thought separately and independently. Games and programs didn't do that last Logan knew. He wasn't sure what all this meant, or if it was even a concern, but he just couldn't shake the unease Kimble gave him. Even Seth hadn't made him feel this way.

He also noted how fast Remy was captivated by Kimble's charm. He couldn't recall the last time Gambit had laughed so hard or when he looked so bright and alive. Wolverine figured having a hologram like this wasn't much different than having a dog, the way they greeted you so bright and eager at the doorway when you first walked in. Problem was, some of those dogs would later bite you in the ***. Logan had no reason to believe Kimble could be any different. He only hoped that Gambit wasn't so captivated by this bizarre creation that he wouldn't get swept away by a false sense of security.

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[squeekness]

"Where did you get the steps and music for this dance?" Henry asked Fallen, interrupting Logan's thoughts.

Fallen smiled as she answered, "Seth found it in one of the Dognan computers. Apparently they have extensive files on human culture and behaviors."

"Seth has contact with the Dognan?"

"Yes. Well, he listens in on them all the time. In this case, Cerebus gave me a computer drive from a downed ship for analysis. I got the military files he wanted, but Seth found this stuff in a junk folder. The Dognan seem to like our music which is fine by me. These extracted files are my only source for music. Of all the things I miss most about home, music is the worst."

"How long have you been gone?" Henry asked gently, respectful of any pain she might still feel.

"About twenty years or so," she answered as quietly as he'd expected. "Clinton was President."

"Clinton?" Henry asked, puzzled. Back home, their President was a guy named Robert Kelly. He had risen to power on an anti-mutant platform, a cause of great concern for them all.

She smiled at him. "My Earth is not the same as yours," she explained.
"We don't have alphas or X-men, just stories about them. I believe now someone from my world could see into yours. It's my only explanation for your being here, real and alive."

"What year was it when you left?"

"2000."

Beast raised an eyebrow. "That's the same year it is for us now. If you came to our world, it would be like you never left."

"Wow," she breathed, genuinely surprised. "That’s freaky."

"May I ask how old you were when you were taken?"

"I was about 33 I guess."

"Let's see. You were 33 when you were taken. You said you've been gone about 20 years. Well, I must say you're in very good condition for someone who's about 55 years old."

"The Dognan conversion process retards aging. I also don't get sick as much as the Clan people do. Probably the only reason I get away with smoking as much as I do."

"I'd like to hear about the conversion process sometime."

"No, you wouldn't. It was awful," she said softly, dropping her eyes for a moment.

"Have you ever thought about going back home?" Henry said, changing to a less painful subject.

"Can't. My Earth was destroyed. They're all dead," she said quickly, forcing it out.

Oops, Henry thought to himself, instantly sorry for his mistake. "What about one of the other Earths? Ours, for example. Would you like to go there?"

"Sure. Seth and I have talked about it a lot since you came." She sat back into a chair, watching Kimble and Gambit play. They seemed tireless. "But I am one who is slow to change. I am comfortable here, even with Valentin," she added softly. Before Henry could speak, she continued. "Besides, I don't know if I can jump anymore. Kimble seems to think so, but it's been a really long time. Even if I could, looking as I do now would make things difficult for me."

"That's true," Henry agreed. "But your abilities and technical knowledge would go a long way towards overcoming that."

"Who would hire me? S.H.I.E.L.D. or some other government agency?" Fallen snapped. SHIELD was a powerful American agency that had been designed on the X-men’s Earth to intervene in the human/mutant squabbles. It was telling that Fallen was aware of its existence, it gave credence to her claim that she knew the X-men for real. She went on to say, "They'd want me to make weapons and I refuse. I won't be responsible for the death of another person."

Something in her voice caught Logan's attention. He wasn't sure what it was, but it nagged at him. Her phrasing begged the question -- had she killed before? Is that why she wouldn't use her power to fight Valentin? It was the only thing that made sense around here.

"I'd hire you," Henry said simply.

(Three)

Fallen had been drinking as the doctor had made his offer and she coughed and sputtered with surprise at Henry’s words. Kimble glanced her way, protectively watching his Mistress but not slowing down. Fallen replied, "You would hire me? What would that make me? The Fallen X-Man?" She threw her head back and laughed, obviously not believing him. "Yeah, I'd fit right in with all you beautiful happy people," she said sarcastically.

"Beautiful?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, a hard glint coming into her eyes. "That's the way you're drawn. A Clan of handsome, beautifully tragic people fighting a never ending war against racism. Me? I'm just tragic, nothing more," she finished bitterly.

Kimble seemed to sense her change in mood and came over, using his thirst as an excuse to make sure she was all right. He grabbed a bottle of beer next to her, selecting the one that was the most full, and chugged the whole thing down without stopping. He spilled the last of it and almost choked as it dribbled down his chin. He grinned and wiped his face on his arm, sputtering.


"Slob!" Fallen teased with a laugh.



"Wuz raised inna whorehouse. Let's go, yer rested enough, girl!" he said with hearty laughter, dragging her back to the dance. She didn't fight him. She failed once more at the steps, but Kimble succeeded in inspiring her laughter.

"Whorehouse, huh? Bet that's not far off the mark," Logan joked humorlessly, thinking of Lanlin. "He's very protective of her."

"Yes, as every good friend should be, I suppose."

"Your job offer didn't seem to impress her much," Logan continued, keeping his voice low as he kept his wary gaze on Kimble.

"Sometimes all one has to do is plant the seed, my friend. Perhaps if Kimble hears as well as I suspect, he will persuade her," Henry replied.

He'd noticed the timing of Kimble's convenient interruption and had no doubt of what he’d seen in Kimble’s eyes. "He'd do anything to get her away from Valentin, I am sure of it. Perhaps I will speak to him directly about it."

Logan snorted. "Don't bother. We don't know anything about him. Look at him. He's one of those Siskan holograms, but there's something different about him. He could be dangerous."

"Different? Yes. Perhaps it's because Fallen is using him for something a little less recreational than you did with the other one, my friend."

"Sheesh, Blue. It ain't that, okay? Did you see his eyes? He's got too much spirit. It’s like he’s really alive or something."

"Is that a tone of fear I detect? You don't think you could take him down if it came to it?"

"Sure, I can. If he bleeds. We don't know that he does or anything else about him."

"I'm willing to take the risk to get home. I still believe Fallen may be our only ticket out of here. Besides, I haven't seen anything about Seth or Kimble to make me nervous yet."

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[squeekness]

Once more, Fallen bowed out and left Gambit in charge of her overzealous hologram. She stepped aside, enjoying the show the two of them were putting on.

Remy was all over it. He danced faster and faster and was amazed when Kimble easily kept pace with him. Kimble moved with a fluid feline grace that matched his own and it was impossible for him tell Kimble wasn’t real by his movements. The only giveaway was a certain lack of fine detail on Kimble’s body and clothing and Remy saw the hologram’s ‘skin’ flicker slightly a few times. It didn’t slow Kimble down any, he certainly didn’t freak out like Seth did. He just kept dancing and fooling around, laughing wildly and clapping his hands.

A moment later, Kimble abruptly stopped dancing and stood still, touching his ear as if listening to something only he could hear. His body gave a great shiver and then melted slightly, magically shifting its appearance into Seth's. Seth apparently wanted to give the dance a try and in spite of all the fun he was having, Kimble had generously given the hologram over to him.

Henry raised his eyebrows to Logan who only looked that much more aloof. "Neat trick," the doctor couldn’t help but comment.

Fallen took Seth's hands and smiled, her pleasure at his arrival obvious to all. "I was hoping you'd come," she said and kissed him. "Let’s dance, love. Show Kimble just how good you are."

"Okay, just take it easy on me," he laughed. He bobbled a bit, woozy and blinking. "Uh, gotta thank Kimble for the beer. I think I’m too drunk for this!"

"You’ll be fine," Fallen said, giving him another kiss.

At last, someone who danced worse than Fallen. Seth was still very slow and wobbly on his legs. Gambit grinned and showed Seth the steps, curious about how he was different from Kimble. Seth shared Kimble's near perfect memory, but not his skill. He still struggled as he moved his body around. He was also quite drunk on what Kimble had taken into the hologram, that had been no joke. His cheeks were now flushed and he had a good case of the giggles going on.


Remy was very patient with the new arrival, as ever a natural teacher. He was amused to no end on how tipsy Seth was, it only added to the fun and he was having a blast.

Seth ate up all the encouragement Gambit had to offer and started to dance when the song looped over again. The two different personalities were very powerful in their individuality, Seth seemed small and timid compared to Kimble's dynamic presence, another sign of just how different these two brothers really were.

Maylee was keenly aware of that difference and was excited Seth had come. She loved him best and enjoyed his company, especially when he was out in the hologram. She decided she'd seen enough to give the dance a try, figuring she couldn't be any worse than he was. She came up behind Seth and waited to cut in.

The young Siskan didn't see her and swung back with his arms, inadvertently elbowing her in the face. Maylee cried out in shock and surprise as her nose began to bleed.

Seth turned to Maylee and panicked when he saw the blood. "Are you all right?" he gasped in fear. It was only just a small dribble of blood, but he grabbed at her like she'd been stabbed. Blood from her nose leaked out over his hand and Seth cried out in horror at the sight of it.

The music stopped abruptly although no one had moved to shut it off. Logan looked around, confused and it next occurred to him that Seth or Fallen had shut it off just by thinking about it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Maylee said, laughing and feeling foolish for not looking out where she'd been going. Fallen tossed her a rag and Henry stepped in to pinch off her nose. It was more difficult because of her cat like face, but the bleeding was so minor, he wasn’t really concerned about it.

Seth was. He backed up, looking at the bright red blood on his hands in terror. His eyes were wide and he began to tremble violently. He made sharp hitching noises as he started to hyperventilate as he had before. All of his confidence had evaporated, lost by what he perceived to be a disaster. Fallen noticed and went to him. "Hey, relax. She's fine."

"I hurt her....I hurt her...Uhhh..." Seth wheezed. All he could see was the blood.

"It was an accident. See? The bleeding's already stopped." Fallen looked back at Maylee who held the rag up as proof. She wasn't bleeding anymore.

Seth didn't care. "I hurt her... I hurt May!" he wheezed breathlessly. He backed up until he hit the wall and slid down to the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears, smearing blood on his face. He kept repeating the same thing over and over.

Fallen followed him and crouched down. She put her hands on his cheeks and started chanting his catch phrase. "Shhh...Seth tay kunda Siska esk. Seth tay kunda Siska esk..."

Logan noted the word Siska and nodded to himself. Siska, meaning this was in fact a Siskan hologram, just as Zekian had spoken of. Wolverine watched Seth’s childish display of horror with a kind of disgust of the immature. He couldn't figure out why the two brothers were so different. Kimble made him wary because he was so outgoing, now Seth's little freakout made him even more untrusting of them both. Why would anyone over react like this unless they weren't quite right? These guys had some serious problems, no matter what anyone else thought.

After a moment, Seth calmed and was quiet. Maylee came over and crouched next to Fallen in front of Seth. She kissed him lightly on the forehead. "You okay, buddy?"

At the sound of her voice, Seth opened his eyes. He looked tired and frightened and he reached out and lightly touched Maylee's nose as if he didn't believe she was okay. "I'm so sorry I hurt you." He looked like he would bawl at any moment.

"It's okay. It was my fault. Next time I'll let you know I'm behind you. It was an accident," Maylee said. At twelve years old, she sounded more adult than the man on the floor in front of her. Her concern was obvious, just as she was clearly much more at ease with Seth than with Kimble.

Seth nodded and closed his eyes again. "I want to go back now," he said softly.

"All right," Fallen said. "Don't stay away long. Kimble will take care of you." She gave him a lingering kiss and hugged him. Seth smiled at her, grateful for her touch and then turned his head away. The hologram melted from Seth's shape into that of a solid square. The personality was gone, but the particles remained and waited to be used again.

"What was that all about?" Logan asked impatiently. He didn’t understand why Seth had made such a fuss over a nosebleed.

"He's very sensitive to any kind of violence," Fallen explained, giving Logan a dirty look. She had no patience for his lack of understanding and stood up to face him. "It's worse when Valentin's been around. He can’t take the sight of blood."

"Can't imagine why."

"I think Seth is paranoid about how his actions affect other people," Fallen continued, ignoring his sarcastic remark. "Understand that his on-screen personality can't be hurt or affect this outside realm. The hologram is different. When he's out, he's much more sensitive about what he does and how he acts. He's more timid, more easily frightened than Kimble. Although I think he panics too easily, I fail to see how his being upset over hurting someone is a bad thing. I'd rather have him like this than be a bully."

"Where did he go?" Henry asked.

"He's back inside the system. He'll be quiet now for a couple of hours and then he'll be back, good as new. I'll talk to him about this and he'll be better."

"Kimble comin' back?" Logan wanted to know.

"No. He'll look after Seth until he's ready to come back out."

No one was in much of a mood to dance after this so they all went back upstairs. Fallen and Maylee cooked another wonderful stew. As before, Fallen served no meat, but it was fine just the same. They also served fresh bread and fruit, making a nice well rounded meal, the best the X-men had eaten in days. They all ate until they were stuffed, their good humor returning after a while. Gambit took out his cards and they played and drank her fine wine until it was quite late.

Neither Seth nor Kimble returned to the screen. Fallen would keep looking up as if expecting them, but the control room remained empty. Eventually they all grew tired and wandered off to bed. Fallen set the X-men up in the barracks, making sure they were all comfortable before retiring herself. She gave Maylee her bed in the cage and went down to the lower level to sleep.

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[squeekness]

(Four)

Sometime in the night, Wolverine jerked suddenly awake. He'd heard a strangled cry from the lower level, something that brought him from a deep sleep to full attention. He sat up and listened, seeing that no one else around him was awakened by the noise. It was dark in the ship but he could see well in the dark, enough to notice the trap door was still open. He rose, sleek and quiet in the dark. This was his element and he could move about easily without being noticed.

Soft voices rose from below. Kimble and Fallen were whispering togther but it wasn’t enough to keep Wolverine from hearing that she was crying. Logan moved silently to the trapdoor and down the stairs. He slid down the hall and paused at the opening for the workshop. He wasn’t ready to make his presence known just yet, he wanted to see what was going on first. There were no lights on in the room but with his enhanced senses, he could clearly see the edge of the bed from where he had stopped. She wasn’t alone, the Kimble hologram was talking to her gently from a crouched position on the floor.

"S'okay, now, baby doll, I'm right here."

"Seth!" she called, her voice hoarse.

"He ain't come back yet. He's all nervous with the extra folks around. I'm here fer ya now."

Fallen was crying. She'd obviously had a nightmare, something Logan was all too familiar with himself. "Don't let them catch me!" Her voice had an edge of panic.

"Ain't nuthin here 'cept me," he soothed, leaning up onto the bed so he could touch her. "S'all quiet now. Jus' relax."

"No, they're always here, always..."


"Who? Who're you 'fraid of? Why won’tcha ever tells me?"

Kimble's voice had a familiar ring of frustration to it, informing Logan that she must have had this dream before. She didn't answer him but continued to sob. Fallen kept her secrets.

Kimble held her, kissing her and tenderly stroking her face. Taking advantage of her distress, his kisses grew more slow and intimate until he was making out with her full on the mouth.

She allowed it for a moment then gently pushed him away. "Stop that," she whispered.

"Why?" he asked her just as quietly. He wasn’t pushing himself on her, he was simply upset at her refusal to let him help her. "I kin helps ya. I kin takes yer pain away if you would only let me. It's what I wuz made ta do, you knows that."

"It's not you I want."

"Seth ain't never gonna do fer you like I can, baby doll."

"Ability has nothing to do with it. We love each other, that's all that matters."

"I loves you, too!" he protested in an almost childish whine.

"I know you do," she replied, holding his chin. "I can hear it in your voice and taste it from your lips. You have a kind and loving heart, but you will never love me like he does."

"Let me takes yer pain, girl," he insisted. "All ya needs is fer someone ta touch ya right. Show ya that ya don' need Vally's pain ta feel alive. Seth cain't do that, Fallen, but I can. I loves ya enough to wanna helps ya. I hates ta see ya like this."

"I know you care," she said, looking into his eyes. "But even you can't take all the pain away. It hurts me all the time now."

"That's cuz ya don' keep Vally offa ya. You gittin’ pregnant and rippin' yer body all ta hell with them horrible potions ta git rid of it ain't helpin’," Kimble complained with real concern.

Logan winced inwardly at the thought of what she'd done to herself. There was much they didn’t know about this pilot and her strange holographic men. He had no idea what drove her, what kept her going --- or what kept her sane. Wolverine just prayed she could hang on a little longer, just long enough to help them... and from the sound of things, herself as well.

"I didn't get pregnant this time," Fallen was arguing to her companion.

"No. But you ain't been right since the last time. Yer too thin. Usin' too much. I knows yer havin' trouble keepin' food down. You worry me, girl. Ya really do."

"I'm fine," she insisted sadly, rubbing his cheeks. "Thanks for caring, though." She sat up on the bed and rested her head back against the wall, sighing heavily. "I need a drink."

Kimble responded immediately, he rose and went to the shop bench, lighting two large double wick candles there. He grabbed a whiskey bottle from the bench, stuck it under his arm, and carried the works back over to the bed. His movements were quick and practiced, the sign of a good and conscientious servant.

Logan crouched down as Kimble passed near the doorway, fearful that the light might reveal him watching there. In spite of the extra illumination, the hologram didn't appear to notice him. Kimble set the candles on the floor and handed Fallen the bottle. He fussed over her, taking a blanket and seeing that she was covered, draping it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said, using a claw to open the bottle.

"Shure thing, kid. Anathin' fer you." Kimble sat down on the floor, his back against the bed.

Fallen took a large hit from the bottle and sighed in relief as the warmth of the liquor spread through her. She reached out and pulled Kimble's long ponytail onto the bed with one hand and toyed with it, running it through her fingers. He put his head back, loving the attention.



"You're the best friend a girl could have," Fallen whispered wistfully.

"Why's that? Cuz I let ya git drunk an' pet me?" Kimble teased, laughing a little at his joke.

"Actually yes. I enjoy this simple pleasure very much. But mostly it's because you're always here when I need you. I'm glad you wanted me to work on restoring the hologram. It's better talking with you like this instead of on the screen."

"Better fer me, too. You gonna sleeps down here all the time now? All I kin do is talks to ya when yer up top."

"I'll think about it." She sounded like a woman who didn't like to commit to anything.

"You seen Vally today," Kimble said, changing the subject. It wasn't a question.

"Yes. This morning."

"He give you any crap? That why you dreamin’?"

"No. He was too busy. Tomorrow will be a busy day for us all."

"You talk with Cerebus? He gonna make Vally leave you alone?"

"He said, ‘Stop resisting him and he won't beat you’."

"That's cuz ya don't tells him what he does. Jus' like you won't tells me why ya let him hurts ya like ya do," Kimble complained, turning to look back at her. "If ya won' tell me, you should tells Seth. I knows yer more personal with him than me."

"I don't want to start this with you again."

"Sorry. It's only cuz I cares 'boutcha, is all," he said, giving in. He was quiet a moment and then ventured to ask, "We gonna split or what?"

"What do you mean?

[squeekness]

"Yer almost done with yer service. We gonna split or hang around with these losers?" he asked, meaning the Clan.

"I haven't thought about it."

"Liar. You just don' wants ta tell me. We're stayin’, right?" he asked, his disappointment obvious.

"Where are we going to go?" she countered in exasperation.

"To the X-men's place. I heard that Henry guy talkin' to ya."

Logan's ears pricked up with interest. This he definitely wanted to hear and he dared to come one step closer to the edge of the doorway.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, my Momma used to say," Fallen replied to Kimble’s question.

"You wuz pickin' on Seth fer havin' no sense of adventure. Now look at you, chicken." He clucked in an exaggerated imitation of the bird.

She laughed and tugged on his hair. "You're such a pest! Besides, I don't know if I can jump."

"You kin jumps easy. Yer levels are higher than all them other pilots."

"Yes, but we always jumped in pairs with the Dognan. You want me to do it alone."

"So? I knows ya kin do it. I'll helps ya. Lucky's a fine ship, gots the best engines. Won't take as much fer you ta jump us."

"Valentin won't let us go."

"No, you won' let Vally go, there's a difference," he said, serious again.

"Are you jealous?"

"Only cuz ya gives him yer body. Ya say yes ta him, but no ta me. Huh. That's sumpthin' I ain't never gonna understand. I wouldn’t ever do ya like that, baby doll. No f'kin’ way. Ya say yer waitin' fer Seth, but ya spend th' meanwhile with that a--hole. That -- that ---- that --Ughh!! Fergets it," he grumbled irritably and put his head down, turning away from what he clearly didn’t understand.

"You don't understand because it's not about sensual physical contact, Kimble."

"Then what is it about, huh? Tells me!" he demanded.

"I can't. It's complicated."

"Oh? I'm too f'kin' stupid ta understand, is that it?" he said sharply. "You'd be surprised what I knows, lady!"

"I'm sure. I realize there's more to you than you tell me. We both have our secrets. As such, this is a private matter between me and Valentin. You'll just have to respect that."

"An' Seth? Alla this is hurtin' him bad. He ain't so tough as me."

Logan had to suppress a snort at that, the idea that Kimble thought he was tough about anything at all. Logan still didn’t know what to make of this hologram that stubbornly refused to see its own limitations.

Fallen was answering, "As you're so fond of saying, ‘we'll deal with it.’ Right now Seth is too afraid to come out all the time, so there's no point in changing things. Perhaps when he's braver, it will get better for all of us."

"So, you gonna dump my files when he comes out fer good?" he asked, a tone of insecurity making him quiet.

"Not a chance, mister," she said, yanking on his ponytail with affection. "You're my best friend, Kimble. I wouldn't do that to you. Besides, I wouldn't want to be anywhere without you. No one makes me laugh like you do. No one pisses me off like you do." she joked, laughing. "I always know I'm safe with you watching my back. No one knows this ship like you do. It took you a long time to learn, but no one flies like you do with me. We're a team. You're my Second. You always will be. I would do it, but I wouldn't enjoy flying as much if you were gone."

"You knows I wuzn't ever meant ta fly no ship like this."

"Yes. I know. But you're a survivor like me. We adapt to whatever comes our way. We do what we have to, to stay alive." She stretched and yawned, growing tired again.

"You should sleeps now," he said gently.

She leaned forward and set the bottle down. "C'mere," she said, pulling Kimble onto the bed with her so he lay behind her. She took his big arms and wrapped them around her tiny body like a nice warm blanket. "I'm so tired, Kimble. Tired inside and out."

"Sleep then. Fayed rowth, my Fallen. M’ Mistress," he whispered, confirming Logan’s guess of the hologram’s status. Kimble was owned like property, saw that as his place and served the woman he held with complete devotion. Logan had the idea then that Kimble may not be in love with her, but he would do his best to protect her, to honor his station. He could see the way Kimble touched her, he was so gentle. He held her close and kissed the back of her head. "I'll watch over yous. Ain't nuthin' gonna happens to ya with me here."

"I'm glad you came tonight..." she whispered, settling down. Kimble stared off into space, rubbing her arm with his thumb, thinking. He smiled when he heard her breathing change and she snored a little.


Kimble startled Wolverine in his hiding place when he spoke softly. "You kin leaves now, Logan. She's sleepin'."

Logan snickered softly, busted. "Right, then." He stood to go.

"She won' go. Won' leave Vally. I'll keep tryin' fer yous guys, though," Kimble's voice was sad and tired.

"I'm sure you will." he replied and left as quietly as he came. He went up the stairs and lay back down on his bed. He was tired but couldn't sleep now, he had too much to think about. He was surprised that Kimble had detected him. With all of his military training, Wolverine was not an easy man to catch by anyone’s standards. The room had been almost completely black, lit only by the two large candles. He casually wondered if Kimble, as a hologram, possessed some kind of extra sensory perception that no one knew about. He certainly wasn’t human so it would be foolish to judge his capabilities as one. He would have to keep an eye on him and be cautious whenever Kimble was out in the hologram.

On the other hand, he had no doubt that Kimble would honor his promise. Getting the X-men home served his Mistress as well and Kimble desperately wanted Fallen out of the mess she was in. Their goals appeared to be the same.

Logan yawned and settled down himself, ready now for some sleep. They were going to have a busy day tomorrow.

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[squeekness]

(Five)

The X-men slept well and were refreshed and happy when they woke. They rose excited and ready to get this battle over with so they could go home. They cleaned up and got dressed before wandering out to the galley.

Remy had passed on Clan dress this morning and put his X-men clothes back on. He was overjoyed when Fallen had returned his much missed leather duster, it had been left behind on her ship when they were taken prisoner by the Clan all those weeks ago. He wanted his long coat for the pockets and the flexibility of the spandex pants for greater mobility, leather never really was his favorite. He hadn’t liked the Clan dress at all, he was self conscious about his scars and he felt exposed without a shirt. His boots were also of a much higher quality, he wasn’t one to scrimp when it came to his protective gear. They were made of fine leather and fit snugly, giving his ankles support in case he had to do any jumping around. His chest plate was flexible, but reinforced with durable Kevlar and gave him a sense of security. If any shrapnel were to go flying, at least his torso would be protected.

The others seemed to have no such concerns. Well, Henry wasn’t going out in the field so that was no big deal, but Logan didn’t seem nervous about going out to plant bombs in little more than black leather pants and boots. There was something to be said for having a healing factor.
Fallen was waiting them in the galley and had some things out on the table. She had set out a nice breakfast of fresh bread and fruit, plus some ground grains as cereal. It was sweetened with some form of honey and was quite tasty. Henry was impressed, he had seen no bees here, never mind farmers growing crops. Most of what she had placed out for them must have been gathered and prepared by either her or Maylee.

Fallen had also put together some small backpacks with travel food and water for Logan and Gambit. The two of them would participate in the actual raids while Henry remained behind on the Lucky Dragon co-ordinating the various teams.

While he ate, Logan looked at what she'd put out for them. "What're those packs for?"

"Let it not be said the Clan treats its prisoners poorly," she teased.



"There's some food here for you and some water." She tossed Remy a leather bag. He caught it easily and smiled when he felt the weight of it. He opened it and saw it was full of marble sized ball bearings. "Those might come in handy." she suggested.

"Merci, mon chere," he said with a grin and slipped the pouch into one of his roomy pockets. Cards were good, but bearings even better, they went farther and carried a stronger charge. The stronger the charge, the bigger the bang. He was sorry he'd lost his retractable bo staff to the Dognan, it could've come in handy today. He had his wooden one, but it wasn’t the same.

"De rien," she replied to Gambit then laughed when he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Don’t get excited, that’s the extent of my French other than some swears. Don't be shy with those bearings, I've got plenty more." Fallen turned to Logan as well and locked them both firmly with her eyes. "Now, you two be careful out there. I'm counting on you coming back. I've considered Henry's proposal and a trip back to Earth is sounding more and more appealing. I need you as an excuse to get out of here so try not to get killed, okay?" she said only half joking.

"You'll take us home, then?" Henry asked, his eyes hopeful.

"Yes, if I get the opportunity. If we pull this off today, I might be able to get things rolling quickly so we can all be free of this place. It will take some luck and prayers, but I think I can manage it." She looked back at Wolverine and Gambit. "Be wary of Valentin. Don't let him bully you or use you unwisely."

"We'll be careful. Don't worry," Logan promised, his mood vastly improved by the thought of going home.

She gave them each a small black box. "Take these. Hide them. Those are tracking devices. Only use them if you get in trouble and don't let Valentin know you have them. You activate them like this..." She showed them a small button on one side. "Seth can find you anywhere on this rock. If you activate it, sit tight and we'll come pick you up."

They enjoyed their quick breakfast and ate well, knowing they weren’t going to eat so well if they ended up back at the Station. Seth and Kimble joined them a few minutes later from the screen, a welcome surprise. Seth seemed to have recovered from yesterday's trouble and was smiling and joking around with Kimble as always.

They briefly went over the day's plans. They had three targets to hit today if all went well. First was the munitions and fuel dump, the second was a large barracks, and the third was the main Dognan complex itself. The last would be the most risky, since the first two targets were fairly isolated. The last one was a huge building and much better guarded. The hope was that destroying these three main targets would so cripple the Dognan slavers that they would be forced to leave Cerise for good. The truth was, Cerise was so badly damaged from all the fighting, there wasn’t much left to keep. What little there was, the Clan wanted and was determined to have it.

They moved into the Main Room and everyone took their places. They settled in and the Lucky Dragon took off for the staging area. The flight was quick, only an hour or so. Henry was interested in the ship and how it was flown, he asked lots of questions and Fallen answered them with a laugh. She was in fact a powerful telekinetic and used her power to guide the ship as well as producing the Ristle as fuel for the engines. The ship could not be flown without her. Henry was sorry they didn’t have time to explore the ship further, he would have loved to see the engines and know them better. Perhaps after all of this was done, he might get that chance.

As they flew along, Kimble was joking around and in a good mood as he teased his brother and Fallen. He did in fact have quite the large library of jokes, both dirty and innocent, and he had them all in stitches most of the time. His good humor was infectious and they landed at the rendevous place in high spirits.

They were met outside the Lucky Dragon by Valentin and his crew who had teleported out to the site the night before. Several large squads of men were here to be used for this mission, clumped together with their leaders. Most of them were packing up the gear they had used overnight, folding up the tents and putting out the cooking fires. Logan and Remy joined the alpha squad that was headed up by Valentin and were paired off with their partners for the day. It was believed they would all fare better with the buddy system in place. Logan would go with Valentin and Remy with Bruce.

Bruce wore a modern headset radio that he and Henry had scrounged and was in link with Henry back on the ship. They would stay closely in touch throughout all three stages and Beast wouldmonitor their progress from the Lucky Dragon. It still surprised Logan to see the odd combination of Medieval and modern out here. Swords and radios, teleporters and bow and arrows. He just shook his head in wonder and kept moving.

Bruce was nearby and he joked and chatted with Justin as he waited for all the various squads to get ready. The two men were playing around, but with such a large crowd of men, showed no signs of intimacy and behaved as if they were nothing more than just good friends. No one seemed to know they were more than that and Beast wasn’t about to comment on it. Both men carried bows and shot off a few practice rounds while they waited, showing off. Both were excellent shots and confident.

Reese was there, too, although he would be used for the next trip later this day. It was decided to alternate the teleporters to give each one a break. Jacob would be moving them first. Reese sat crouched at Valentin’s feet, a dusty, humble human dog. Like before, he was dressed in the ragged pants and wore no boots. He didn’t speak, but growled and barked up at his Master. Valentin would nod and respond back, somehow understanding him perfectly. Reese kept a wary eye on Wolverine, sniffing at him and showing his teeth.

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[squeekness]

Logan returned in kind, not letting this dirty little creep think he was superior because he was Valentin's Third. He stood very close, invading the smaller man's personal space fearlessly and made sure it was Reese who backed down. Valentin let them play their little game without interfering. He was entertaining thoughts of making Logan an officer if he decided to stay. Wolverine certainly seemed very comfortable out here in this military atmosphere and Valentin had no doubt the man would be a valuable asset to the cause.

Valentin made sure everyone had their cloaking devices and that the timers on the charges had all been set properly. All seemed to be in order so they readied to depart. Jacob gathered them all together and concentrated, working his magic. He teleported them in close to the munitions warehouse, a site about two miles from where they had camped.

This was the first of their three targets for the day. The warehouse was located near the ruined city and not well protected considering what was supposedly inside. The Dognan had lost territory here to the Clan raiders bit by bit and were stretched out much too thin to guard it as well as such a tasty target deserved. In spite of this building having been built by an alien race, the structure was similar to any warehouse back home, as if one had been plucked off the earth as the humans had been and placed here. The warehouse was a long cinderblock building with many windows and doors, most of them open and unguarded. If their information was correct, this building contained weapons and fuel for some of the larger Dognan fighting ships. It should go up with a spectacular bang.

The Clansmen split off into their assigned pairs to plant the charges. Logan had prepared these bundles of explosives for this occasion, c0cktails of C4 and dynamite. Logan was playing for keeps. He had trained these men how to handle the explosives over the past weeks, hopefully well enough that no one would get blown up by accident. It had been a crash course, most government agencies back home wouldn't have remotely considered giving such dangerous ordinance to newly trained men, but out here they had to make due with what they had.

The Clansmen and their complimentary Xs were all cloaked and moved about easily for the most part. The Clansmen men had been well trained by Valentin as far as moving in silent groups was concerned and they moved stealthily and quietly. Logan couldn't help but be impressed and he could now see how these men who lived as little more than savages had gotten as far against the Dognan as they had. You can't retaliate against what you can't see or hear. They were sneaky quiet, moving like deadly shadows along the outside walls and up through the windows to get inside.

Wolverine and Valentin came up on a pair of Dognan sentries that were a little more wary then the others but dispatched them quickly and quietly. It was the only the trouble they encountered.

Remy followed Bruce as was directed, but was still uncomfortable. He didn't mind the sneaking around, but the explosives made him nervous. He knew those things were tricky and had always refused jobs back home where they were involved. More than one fellow thief in his Guild had blown off a finger during a pinch and he wasn't interested in the least in joining their ranks.

They went in through one of the unguarded doors and went over to where some large drums of fuel were placed. Gambit let Bruce do all the work as far as planting the bombs near some large containers of fuel and setting the timers. Remy stood over him warily, holding up his end by covering him in case of trouble. It was quiet in the nook they had chosen and they got in and out with no trouble. Remy couldn't hide his relief when it was over. Maybe all this was going to go more easily than he had feared.

Logan planted his own charges and stepped back to watch over the other teams as they worked. He saw Valentin nearby doing the same and was impressed with Valentin's skill and bravery. Out here, he was in charge, but had taken no less risk than his men. He walked silently among the sentries, taking out the threats and placing his explosive charges himself. Handling explosives was always a risky business even for the well trained, but he showed no fear or concern for himself. He did what had to be done and got out of there. The charges were placed with no fuss and all the pairs regrouped around the front.

"This is too easy, my friend," Valentin complained with a grin. "I almost feel sorry for them."

"I don't," Logan replied, remembering the pens.

They teleported back in a flash of bright light, reappearing not far from Fallen's ship. They had a spectacular view of the warehouse and watched as it exploded. All the fuel and munitions caught fire and a huge fireball burst out to the sky, going up red and orange and black. A wave of heat and acrid smell washed over them, but it was intensely satisfying. Phase One was complete with ease and no casualties.

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[squeekness]

(Six)


Reese, the feral teleporter, was used to bring them in for the next target. This was the barracks where most of the Dognan soldiers were housed. The Clansmen were grouped in a much larger party this time but acted quickly, only moments had passed since the first target was taken out and the Clan wanted to keep the rush going to keep the Dognan running around chasing their tails. Reese surprised Logan by accepting a sword this time and holding it ready. It was clear that in spite of his feral and animal nature, he was capable of holding his own.

Like Jacob, Reese teleported them in not far from the barracks complex. This part of the Dognan facility was located opposite the fuel and munitions dump and wasn't far from the bombed out city. The yellow glowing fence of the pens could be seen in the distance.

There were a lot of Dognan men running around, confused and panicked because of the munitions explosion only minutes before. The invaders were sheltered behind a storage shed and hoped the cloaks would keep them from being seen. Again they formed their pairs and split off, leaving Reese behind to wait for their return. He was much too valuable to sacrifice out in the field and the sword he had been given was for his own protection.


The Clansmen scattered quickly, each team going to a prearranged location to set their charges. Logan went with Valentin, Gambit with Bruce again. Logan and Valentin were closest to their designated planting spot and set their charges in place early. They startled when they heard a loud gun fight not far from where they had left Reese to wait for them. There was a shrill whine as Dognan warships came in from above and shouts from patrols could be heard all around. There were far more men here than the Clan had been led to believe.

"Damn you, Bruce!" Valentin cursed and he and Logan raced back to Reese. There they found a small Dognan squad standing around over his shattered body by the shed. Reese had put up quite a fight, but he couldn't hold them off, there were too many. Their transportation was gone.

The Dognan soldiers turned when they heard Valentin and Logan approach and Valentin realized they could be seen in spite of the cloaking devices. Somehow the Dognan had discovered the frequency of the cloaks and had rendered them useless. That was always the risk when you used someone’s technology against them. The team was in danger.

He and Logan didn't hesitate, they jumped as one and laid waste to their enemies. The squad hadn't been prepared for the ferocity of their attackers and were taken down easily in spite of being the larger party. The two human warriors were speedy and skillful, they finished their grim work quickly. When they were finished, Valentin stood back and leaned on his huge bloody sword, panting from the effort. He raised an eyebrow at Logan and gave an ironic laugh. "Never a dull moment, eh?"

Logan grinned. It was hard for him not to like this man who risked so much, so selflessly. Like a modern Alexander, Valentin had learned that men followed courage and his effect on Wolverine was no less.

Gambit and Bruce came up behind them, out of breath from running. They had managed to plant their charges but had to fight as well, both were scratched and bruised, but intact. Justin and his partner were right behind them, their eyes bright from the fighting.

Valentin turned on Bruce as soon as he saw him, slapping him with enough force to spin him around. Bruce reeled in a daze and staggered to his knees with a startled grunt. He hadn’t been prepared for Valentin’s anger and had no clue what was going on.

"You idiot!" Valentin howled, his earlier humor gone. "You said there would be no patrols! They can see us!"

"It's not his fault! How would he know they would get past the cloaks so quickly?!" Justin protested, defending Bruce. His partner could hardly speak, blood was streaming from his nose and he was doing his best to stop the flow as it dripped down his chin. "The Dognan must have figured out the frequency on the cloaks from the last run! They set us up!"

"I'm not interested in his pitiful excuses!" He glared at Bruce who cowered on the ground and pointed at him. "Whoever dies today is on your head!" He clicked on his headset to communicate with the rest of the team. "Fall back to the first marker, people! Reese is gone! We have to run for a pick up!" He reached down and hauled Bruce to his feet, shoving him towards the street. "Move it!"

They ran towards the ruined city, their only choice for survival was to get lost in the ruins and pray someone would come along and pick them up. Bruce was screaming into his headset, begging Henry to call in some air support to cover their escape. There had been some Clan pilots and ships on standby just in case.

The other team members joined them gradually as they went, a pair at a time. They, too had been met by foot patrols and not all of them had made it back. Only half of Valentin's original party now remained. The Clansmen were durable and sturdy, the wounded kept pace and didn't slow them down.

The group ducked down as the Dognan barracks finally exploded behind them, right on time. The Dognan patrols had interrupted their surprise attack, but hadn't been able to prevent all of the charges from going off. At least this disaster was a partial success.

They could hear the whine of Dognan ships barreling down on them as they hit the city. Buildings exploded as the ships fired on them and missed. They had to keep ducking down behind wrecked vehicles and buildings to avoid all the flying shrapnel and debris but they gave a silent cheer when they saw the Clan fighters flying in to cover them. They were caught in the crossfire of a bitter aerial assault but at least they were no longer the sole target.

One Dognan ship swooped a little low and close to them and Gambit jumped up, ready. He held three of Fallen's ball bearings in his hand, charged them, and tossed. The red glowing missiles exploded right in front of the ship's cockpit, blinding the driver. The ship jerked wildly and crashed into a building, exploding in a blue ball of flame.



"Score one for de Cajun!" Gambit cheered, proud of his handiwork. Taking down a ship in self defense was more than okay on his list in spite of the casualties. He was exhilarated by the explosion and clapped his hands. "An de crowd goes wild!"

They didn't stop to watch the battle continue, but kept on running. They seemed to be making good progress and traveled quickly. They ran out into the streets where it was clear and they could make better time. Too late, Logan realized the danger. He barely had the words out, "Watch out fer mines!" when the ground suddenly exploded out from under him.

He jumped wildly, snarling as he felt the shrapnel come up between his feet and rip into his legs and his abdomen. His speed kept him from taking the worst of it but the pain was horrible. He crashed to the ground and writhed in agony, feeling his blood pool around him with its sickening warmth. He was down, but not out. He just needed a minute to recover.

The others did not fare so well. One of Valentin's men next to him hit another mine and was shredded instantly, blood and gore flew in all directions. Valentin was next to him and gave a twisted scream as a large sliver of shredded metal impaled his thigh and lodged in his flesh. Men were bellowing and flailing all around, most of them wounded in some way.

"Damnit!" Logan cursed from his heap on the ground. He had tried to train these men about the mines but they simply hadn’t had enough time. There was a big difference between a class and actual field experience, and this accident was a glaring example. He began pulling the shreds of metal out from his belly and legs. He had to work quickly, it was such a pain in the *** when the flesh healed up around the shrapnel and made it harder to get out.

Valentin grumbled and clutched at his own wounded leg, assessing the damage. The injury wasn't that serious, just painful. He stood up awkwardly and tugged on the metal trapped in his thigh, but it was stuck fast. He would have to wait to get it out. A career soldier, he removed his belt from his waist and tied off the injury without further complaint.

"My, Lord!" one of his men cried out in loyalty laced fear and tried to help him.

Valentin shoved him away with aristocratic impatience. "Don't worry about me, let's get out of here!"

Gambit and Bruce helped Wolverine to his feet. He could stand but he wouldn't be able to run for a while. Remy was shaking, his earlier excitement gone. It was one thing to fire at a ship that crashed and exploded from a distance, it was quite another to see men screaming with their guts ripped out. One man had been cut in half, his entrails spread out between the two halves that were now twitching as he died. Remy felt his gorge rise and couldn’t stop himself from puking. He had never been good with blood, he had way too many bad memories with it. His only consolation came that he wasn’t the only one, Bruce was hurling right there next to him.

"Let’s get this train wreck moving!" Valentin snarled. They were out in the open and horribly exposed. The Dognan would be on them any minute.

Logan could sense Remy’s fear now that the thief had actually seen the wounded up close. There was no mistaking this for the war it was and Remy was not in his usual secure environment. It hadn’t surprised him that Remy was sick, it wasn’t an easy thing to see a man ripped apart like that and the kid was no killer, no matter what he’d been accused of. He gave Gambit’s arm a reassuring squeeze and felt him relax a little.

They moved away from the street and back to the buildings where they were better protected. They were going much more slowly and carefully because so many of them had been injured. Still they were getting picked off and their numbers were now drastically reduced.

Wolverine, even as injured as he was, watched his steps, making sure he was always in between Gambit and danger. He wouldn’t see his teammate come to harm, not if he could help it. When they paused here and there, Logan would yank more debris out of himself, grunting softly with impatience. It was already getting hard to get the stuff out, he had to rip and tear a little, only adding to his pain. Valentin watched him with jealous amusement. "Would that I had your ability, my friend."

"All it means is ya get hurt more," Logan joked wryly and tossed a piece of metal aside.

They reached the outer marker finally. Valentin looked around at the buildings, he saw one he liked and pointed. "There! We'll climb to the roof."

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