section7mfu | H Is For Hyper

"Holy Cow Napoleon! That's a centrimetrical atmospheric diodal manipulator. Where did you get it?" Brandon Lightner was from the labs at UNCLE New York.. He was very excited about the gadget brought to him by the CEA, Napoleon Solo.

"I mean, I expect stuff like this from your partner, Mr. Kuryakin. I mean, he's the scientist and sort of the brainiac… ' Brandon talked fast and sometimes he overshot himself.

"I mean, you are a smart man, Mr. Solo, um.. Napoleon. I just mean that,well, with his degrees and all, well… I mean, Mr. Kuryakin is, um… well, Doctor Kuryakin. Right?" The hold wasn't quite as deep as Brandon feared, but he was in danger of falling into something.

"Look Brandon, I know Illya is a doctor of physics. But sometimes I get to bring home the goodies, you know what I mean?" He smiled, that charming Solo smile intended to put people at ease and, in some cases, make them stop talking.

"Illya will be down in a bit, but I wanted to find out what this thing does. We recovered it at a THRUSH agent's apartment, and it seemed like an odd thing for him to be carrying around on his own. What does it do?" Brandon was taking it all in, his eyes glued to the 'gadget' in question.

"Didn't doctor, um… Mr. Kuryakin explain it to you?" Surely Illya knew what this thing is.

"Illya was a little out of commission, he ran into something big and very solid." In truth, the THRUSH whose apartment they had broken into had arrived back at the scene, taking out the Russian with one punch as Napoleon shot him with a sleep dart. Both of them were now in Medical, one in the agent's section, the other in restraints.

"Oh… Okay. Well, let me explain it to you then." And so he did, a long and meandering speech about weather and pulses and something totally incomprehensible to the otherwise 'smart' Mr. Solo.

"That's great Brandon. You hold onto that, investigate it and write a report. I'll let Mr. Kuryakin know it's in good hands." Napoleon was relieved to leave the lab behind him as he headed towards Medical to check on his partner.

Illya was awake, his face turning blue from the punch and the ice pack on his cheek. He groaned a greeting to Napoleon.

"So, did Brandon fill you in on the device?" Illya could tell from the look on Napoleon's face that most of it had been like a vapor to the disinterested man. Napoleon liked to know the gist of things, but he didn't insist on understanding all of the science behind it.

"Brandon is a good kid, but I was glad to get out of there. You can go down and check on things when your head clears."

What Illya wanted was a stiff drink and a long nap. That guy had delivered a wicked left hook.

"Fine by me. For now, I'd like to go home. Get me out of here and I'll buy dinner." Napoleon feigned a shocked expression. He intended to take advantage of the moment however, and quickly arranged to take his partner home. Dinner was a nice end to an otherwise hectic day, including the science talk from Brandon.

"Thank for dinner Illya, it's always good when it's from Luigi's. Now, take some aspirin and get some rest. You'll need it to spend a day in the labs with Brandon." Illya had to smile at that. He had once had that kind of enthusiasm for science, although it had waned slightly with his involvement in enforcement. Perhaps a day with someone whose intensity ran with the same curiosity and enthusiasm as he had once possessed would be good for him.

"I shall make the best of it, my friend." The two friends said their good nights and mentally prepared for another day.

Illya got into his bed and fell asleep almost instantly. In his dreams, he was once again a young man with a dream of exploring the secrets of the universe, or even the multiverse.

He slept very well indeed.