Well. This sucked.

Of all the experiences Forge had while signing up with the Xmen, being thrown into the back of an MRD wagon was certainly a new one. The inventor sighed and looked down at his bound hands. And it had been such a stupid capture too. He should've listened to Wolverine, should have stuck with the group even though circumstances that caused him to sneak off had been understandably dire.

Maybe not to Wolverine exactly, but they had been to Forge. Another pothole and sudden turn sent his stomach to lurching. The driving skills of the guy at the wheel left something to be desired, Forge thought, as he tried to keep seated. One would think they'd put seatbelts in, especially if they were going to hire New York cabbies to do their transportation. Although, from what Forge already knew about the MRD, they liked to cut corners on issues of mutant safety and comfort - so he wasn't altogether surprised.

When the bumpy ride ended, Forge was hustled along through gates and past cells, having a lot to say and very little courage to say it. He concentrated on being the model prisoner for now and didn't resist, even when they used unnecessary force to shove him into a cell. This one was already occupied.

"Play nice with your roommate," the guard behind him warned. "More of your kind keeps popping up unexpectedly and we're running out of cells."

He said that as though it were all somehow Forge's fault. Right. Since he was clearly a lady's man.

The electric barrier powered back up and he was left to bond with said 'roomie'. Joy. Even more so when Forge recognized the guy.

". . . you're with the Brotherhood," he stated intelligently.

Mortimer lifted his forehead from the wall, where he'd been lightly banging it while swearing under his breath. It was safe to say he'd already recognized Forge.

"Yeah, so? You got a problem with that?" Toynbee sneered. He wasn't in the mood.

Forge seemed blithely unaware and sat down on the opposite bunk. If they could even be called that; they mostly resembled body-length shelves. He craned his neck to read initials scratched into the surface.

Mort watched him warily. Well, at least he seemed to be a quiet Xman. "You're the mad scientist guy, right?"

"Huh? Oh, guess you could call it that. Except I've never gotten to cackle maniacally and scream 'It's alive!' during a lightning storm. Well, okay I did try it once, and then Storm zapped me. Apparently it's not funny anymore."

So much for him being a quiet one then. "Weirdo," Toad muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, well, mad scientist," Forge pointed out, shrugging.

Mortimer smirked at him, but only a little. Encouraged, Forge posed a question.

"So what happens next?"

"What're you talking about?"

"Is this it? We're just . . . stuck here all night staring at the walls?"

"Oh no," Mort drawled sarcastically. "See usually we have an officer come around and write down orders for Chinese take-out." He rolled his eyes disdainfully.

Forge frowned. "Now you've got me craving egg rolls," he complained.

Mort was about to retort something rude, but then scowled at the floor. "Me too," he admitted unhappily.

Both mutants sighed plaintively.

"My name's Forge," one supplied after a moment.

Mortimer couldn't remember asking, but he shrugged. "Mort. Mortimer Toynbee. Or just Toad. Whatever you wanna call me is fine. Don't really care."

"Mort sounds nice," Forge said thoughtfully. The atmosphere was still a downer in here. He felt that something positive needed said. "We're not killing each other yet," he said hesitantly; he had the tendency to jinx these things.

"Do you snore?" Mortimer asked bluntly.

"Um . . . I don't think so? Nobody's really said anything if I do."

"Then we'll see." Mort laid down on his side, facing Forge. "So how'd an X-man end up in here?" He lifted an eyebrow curiously as Forge's face reddened.

"I . . . kinda . . ." Forge trailed off, looking at his left shoe. About a minute passed and he'd said nothing further.

Well. This had to be one fuck of a story. Mort raised his head a little. "Go on."

"We were trying to stop an MRD raid on Emma's school. Cause she died recently. And I really had to . . .uh . . ." Forge was actually fidgeting.

Mort blinked. Then the corners of his mouth quirked up. "You had to take a leak?"

"It wouldn't have been a problem! If Wolverine had just let me duck inside another building for one minute - instead of dragging me into a school with people firing guns and screaming - then I wouldn't have had to sneak off! I swear, I think Frost remodeled her school since I was last there. I couldn't find a restroom anywhere in that - oh, stop laughing!"

Mortimer had rolled off his bunk and was currently having a fit on the floor.

"Ahahahaha! I'm sorry dude! That's the - that's the stuff that happens to like anyone else!" Mort cackled helplessly. Forge crossed his arms and stared at the energy barrier, fuming.

"I didn't have to go before we left, so don't bother asking why I didn't," was all he had to say in his defense.

Unfortunately that just made Mort giggle harder. "I - I mean, that would hap-happen to me, not - not to an Xman!" he gasped.

"Mmrph." That was all Forge had to say about that .Mortimer at last regained composure and swatted lightly at the man's ankle.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't be sore! I get caught in stupid ways too," he offered. "A lot of stupid ways. Just not ever that one." Mortimer started snickering again.

Somewhat mollified, Forge relaxed. "Okay, so how did you get caught?"

"Uh, this time?" Mort sat up, sobering a little. "Well, I was sort of upset with one of my teammates." Dominic, though he didn't say that. The man had been even more insufferable after Pietro left for Genosha. "And I . . . I needed a cigarette. So I snuck into the back door of a bar to get to their vending machine. You know, 'cause I couldn't exactly walk into a gas station store."

Forge nodded and Mort continued. "These two chicks came outta the bathrooms and saw me and started screamin' their heads off. I made for the back door, but the bouncer was out on his smoke break and coming in that way, so I . . . I took off in the other direction. Where everyone else was. Big mistake."

He had a healing bruise on his cheek under his left eye, Forge noticed now. And split lips.

"They managed to bring me down, then someone called the MRD. Actually, I'm probably lucky the MRD showed up when they did."

The MRD were bad, but civilians taking a mutant's punishment into their own hands? For Mortimer, it could've ended so much worse. Forge winced. "Yeah, no kidding."

Mort was quiet for a moment, plucking at his gloves. Forge didn't know he'd been here a little over a week. "The Brotherhood will come for me though. So I'm not worried." He swallowed to smooth the crack in his voice. "I'm sure the Xmen will come for you."

"Once they figure out where I am, sure." Forge supplied. If they figured it out. Emma was gone and Cerebro was useless without her. Part of him was anxious that they wouldn't care to after tonight. Wolverine had to be pissed as hell right about now. The only reason he'd come to get Forge out would be to personally rip him a new one. In that case, Forge would quite frankly rather sit in a cell until Logan calmed down.

"Lights out!" called a voice down the hall. All the cell interiors went dark. Forge squinted and rubbed at his eyes to get rid of the spots in his vision. He heard Mort get off the ground to stretch out on his bunk again. "Goodnight," Forge ventured.

"Yeah, night." Mort returned quietly. His vision at night was better, so he looked up and tried to count the grooves in the ceiling. Maybe he'd come up with a different number than the previous night. And the night before that. So far, the number was always thirty-two.

As it turned out, Forge did snore. It was oddly comforting to listen to.