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Undertow	By : pronker Category: +M through R > Penguins of Madagascar Views: 11341 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I make no profit from this fanfiction set in Dreamworks' Penguins of Madagascar franchise. I do not own its characters, basic premise or settings.

Chapter List
- 1-1/?
- 2-2/?
- 3-3/?
- 4-4/?
- 5-5/?
- 6-6/?
- 7-7/?
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- 93
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- 95
Following zoo closing time the day after the Lesser Fullness of Grain Festival, Marlene concentrated on delivering the charcoal portrait safely to soothe her jitters over meeting Skipper's kids.
"Easy, easy, Rico, don't smudge it going into the hatch - watch the edges - I worked hard to frame this - "
Rico's wrywart made its way past the portrait as Marlene tipped it downwards through the hole.
"I heard that, Rico!"
Kowalski's baritone muttered something from down below and then he spoke louder. "'Eenie, it's okay. We've done this before."
Marlene relinquished her hold on the upper part of the frame as she watched her work slide down the ladder as if under its own power. When she rejoined it at the base of the ladder, she discovered Kowalski and Rico holding the framed piece as carefully as she herself would have. Some gizmo of Kowalski's leaned up against the wall, oh yeah it was his Anti-Gravity Ray thingummy.
She swept her gaze around the lair. The wall facing the portholes, no that's where the bunks were, so how about up above Private's stuffed fish? Two objets d'art on one wall, eh that's no good. She spun in a circle and then looked up. A ceiling application in between the decorative spikes? With floodlights?
Kowalski and Rico each held a corner while they smiled at their likenesses as if in a trance. Aw, that was cute -
"Hi dee ho, Marlene, glad you could make it." Skipper sounded as he usually did, welcoming and happy to see her. She turned. "Meet my son, Tactic."
Oh! Oh. "He's brown!"
"Why, yes he is. He's isabelline."
"Why is he brown and white rather than black and white?" she blurted. Good golly, Marlene, get a grip. It's a birth defect or something. Don't stare.
"Kowalski, science Marlene, por favor." Skipper continued to smile; she felt relieved about that. Private nodded a hello from where he was busy doing something at the microwave. He waved to Kowalski, who passed the portrait entirely to Rico and waddled close to lift a small fluffy figure from the team's youngest member. Rico continued admiring the portrait and then leaned it up against their multi-purpose revolving door. Marlene saw him enter a code she surmised was 'lock' so the door could not possibly spring open.
Kowalski approached holding a regularly colored penguin chick. "Marlene, this is Sally. Sally, may I present Marlene?"
"Hey, Sally." Sally burbled a baby noise and held out her flippers to Marlene. Sally was as cute as the baby fossa, but Marlene still felt off stride because of what she had said about Sally's brother. Marlene pretended not to understand that Sally wanted Marlene to hold her. She pumped the tiny flipper in greeting and then kissed its tip. "You are so sweet."
Kowalski continued, "Yes. She is. Say hi to Marlene, Sally, she is our friend." Sally looked curious but stayed quiet. "Er, about isabelline penguins, Marlene, a special genetic shift that makes them ultra rare is that the two main types of melanin, that means dark pigment to the lay otter, are eumelanin and pheomelanin and they show different percentages than run of the mill. Eumelanin makes black, gray and darker than dark brown. Pheomelanin makes a reddish brown color, like your own chestnut fur, you see."
Marlene studied both of her brown paws. "Okay, yes, got it."
He shifted Sally back and forth in the most natural fatherly movement she had ever seen him make. Sway, sway, shift weight from right foot to left foot. Huh, she thought. So that's how you do it.
"Isabelline penguins show different concentrations of the pigments in the color cells. Our baby boy is pheomelanin heavy, the darling." Kowalski nodded at Skipper, who offered Tactic to his lieutenant while accepting his daughter in a calm, confident grip.
Despite herself, she burst out, "So how about my white foot, huh? It's pure white and not a lighter shade of brown."
Kowalski did not even glance downwards at her foot, since she could tell that in his mind he had solved the mystery. "I've hypothesized that leucism caused your single white foot and not albinism, since your eyes aren't red and the rest of your color suits the norm for your species. Many animals show leucism in the form of spotted coats. I've been meaning to mention my theory to you, but you know how it goes, life got busy." He dandled Sally with a blissful expression.
"Lucy who?"
This bird was on a roll. "Leucism is fascinating, Marlene! Sometimes only a single feather could be colored differently due to the genetic shift. I hypothesize that one mammal's foot out of your four features a variant allele distribution - "
"Kowalski, stop." Marlene shut his beak with both paws. "I'm sold. So I've got leucism and Tactic has isotope - "
"Isabellinism," Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private chorused.
Speaking of shifts, her mood rolled over its speed bump of surprise into purest friendliness. "I'm glad to meet the kids, everyone. This is a special day for me."
"Awshux," said Rico as he hugged her and the other birds nodded. "Luvyu, 'Eenie."
Marlene's breath caught. "Right back atcha."
Private brought around a tray filled with buttery, flaky treats. "Salmon puffs for all! It's Roger's recipe so you know they'll be fillin'."
Each adult took two puffs to savor. "Mmmmf, yum," said Marlene. She sat on the bunk she knew was Skipper's because there were no personalizing lunacorns on it. Or did he share a bunk with Private? He'd confided that they did not share, at least anymore, at least for a while. She pushed the thought of them together-together away and munched her puff as she listened to the sounds of parenting.
"No, no, Tikki, yours will come later, with your lunch. It's your Papa's turn to feed you today, look, see how eager your Papa is over there?"
"No, no, Sally, ditto what your Daddy said about taking turns. Patience is a virtue, mija. It's called delayed gratification and I'll tell you all about it when you're older."
After their snack, Rico hung the portrait from a two-penny nail in the space just above the refrigerator.
"Nice job, Rico." His crooked grin pleased her, the family atmosphere pleased her and life was good. As she turned from admiring her work, she spied Sally and Tactic in their playpen in the lab. An errant belch from a test tube gave her pause. "Um, guys?"
"Wot is it?" Private answered. She couldn't read Private today through his opaque haze of politeness. Maybe she was being paranoid due to over exposure of Skipperness. She advanced cautiously.
"Is the lab safe for babies?"
Kowalski beamed. "Good question! I've hiatused noxious chemical experiments and instituted baby friendly ones. Observe."
The four penguins plus guest focused on the chatty test tube, which volcanoed blue and purple sparkles. Sally and Tactic cheeped nonsense as the sparkles orbited their test tube home base before floating to settle inside a flask. After a minute, the flask sent them skittering back. Two minutes later, the process repeated.
Marlene and the others clapped. "Yayyyyyy!"
Sally's and Tactic's jaws dropped as their pupils dilated to the size of Jefferson nickels at the mesmerizing sight. As the adults resumed chatting, Marlene noticed that Kowalski always kept an eye peeled on the open door to his lab to watch over his children. Marlene couldn't imagine that sort of pressure and diverted herself to small talk.
"Where did you get the crib?"
"IKEA." Skipper chuckled. "We had quite the time putting it together, too. I couldn't have done it alone."
Kowalski collared his love for a smacking kiss to the corner of his beak. "My big sugar cube gets the prize for ingenuity in figuring it out."
"Yeah, wot genius left out pictures in the instructions?" Private shook his head.
"Uh huh, go figure." Marlene whistled. "Looks pricey, too."
"Three ninety-eight!" crowed Skipper while clapping Rico on the back. "Can you believe it? Rico dived for the coins in the wishing fountain and surfaced with the exact cost including tax. Almost makes you believe in magic, right, Marlene?"
She smiled at her friend. "Oh yah you betcha." It was an injoke between them since they had watched Fargo one night. Skipper smiled back.
Marlene caught sight of Private's head swiveling back and forth between his commander and herself. Well, Skipper had asked her if she would continue being Private's confidante and she had agreed. Her heart warmed towards the young penguin and she swayed her hip into his. "How can they afford to make a crib like that for $3.98, right, Private?"
"Heh. Righto," he said.
- 93
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Undertow