Lala143: Toad cannot touch Rogue. No one can touch Rogue and it would ruin some of the character's literary value if someone could. Very specific powers allow others to 'fake' it. I'm using a concept that a Neiman on came up with: Toad's ability to generate biological secretions can act as a 'super lubricant' that doesn't allow for skin contact. Just like Magneto can accenuate the electromagnetic fields that keep atoms of real matter from intersecting, therefore allow some one to come close enough and feel enough to trick them into thinking they touched him without actually touching him. It's a trick due to another character's powers, not actually touching.

As for X-23's 'acting nice', well that's what the story is about. As Gene Rodenberry once said, ~"Star Trek can never be about the ship. It has to be about people.

1

Todd was back near the creek. It was rather unique, and not just because of the dampness or even the amphibians and the insects they fed on that made it their home. Bayville, like most of the east coast, was lived in by humans for several centuries now. When there was undisturbed land, it was usually behind some rich man's fence - like the wood's surrounding Xavier's mansion. The creek was for everyone. It ran past the mansions' wooded lands, through town and even behind the boarding house. Well, a small trek behind the boarding house.

He came here because it was a rare occasion that anyone ever came to this section. There were deeper parts for the fisherman. There were other bends that passed fields for the picnicker. It was the shady, muddy section with it's buzz of nature that drew him. And that nearly everyone else found it an unpleasant place to step through.

So imagine his surprise when something very heavy fell from the tree he crouched under. It was soft like he imagined Wanda or Tabitha must be. But it was heavy, like some body had used their powers in a fight to pin him down. And it wrapped its arms around him like he should make it his immediate concern.

"No, don't be scared.", the girl that fell on (nearly into) his back instructed.

Todd had never been so bewildered in his life. "Uh, why not?"

"I'm just interested in you.", she told him. "And I asked my friends. They said to show a guy interest, you should touch him a bit.

"And for some reason, they led me over to some drama club guy. Don't know what that was about though."

"uh...huh...", he considered. "Do you mind me being scared?"

"Not if you don't jump away.", the girl draped over his back replied. "I'm told that's one of your powers and I don't know if I could keep up."

"So if I don't split, I can freak out?", Todd asked.

The girl seemed to think about this. "I didn't know we were at that point in our relationship already but/"

X23 barely landed on her feet as Todd jumped with all the might he could muster. The girl seemed to outweigh him by a multiple and that kept his leap to the trunk of a neighboring tree and then into the branches of another.

"What gives, yo?", Todd glared down at the girl. "You can't just keep it in school. You X-geeks gotta take it out on me here, too?"

"Take what out on you?", X23 asked.

"Don't act like this ain't a joke.", he countered. And that puzzled her. She was unaware of anything funny. But was he asking her to lie? People couldn't really go about things like that, building relationships on little lies they told each other...right?

Todd continued. "It ain't like hot girls just fall out of trees on me everyday. I'm not that stupid. You gotta be scheming something."

X23 could understand paranoia. Apparently, she did go about this the wrong way. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do this the wrong way. This is the first time I'm approaching a cool boy like this."

"Cool boy?", Todd arched an eyebrow.

"Well, you called me a hot girl.", she replied. "And my body temperature is barely above normal, just the added metabolism of having powers. Your body temperature is way colder than other peoples'."

The boy shrugged. "It's just another thing my power set does to me."

Todd penny dropped from the tree. With a single bound he was crouched in front of her. "But you got powers too? You're a mutant like me?"

"Not like you.", X23 told him. "But a mutant. Or at least that's what the professor told us we are. Mr. Lensherr says we're homo superior. They argue a lot about words."

"What can you do?", he asked.

Information pump attempt! Distract. Terminate.

X23 shook herself physically. Todd could see her flinch and then close her eyes in concentration. After a moment she looked at him and witness him gazing at her questioningly. She blushed. "Sorry. Bad thoughts."

"um..." X23 looked on the ground and found a sharpish rock. She then cut the back of her hand with it just to show Todd it healing.

"Cool, yo." He only knew of one other mutant with an outright accelerated healing factor.

"I'm cool now?", X23 countered. "I thought I was hot."

"Oh, nothing can keep you from being hot.", Todd hastily agreed.

"You can do more than just jump, though."X23 suggested shyly. "We could get to know each other if you show me yours and I show you mine?"

Todd grinned stupidly. "I like the sound of that."

And then a particularly juicy ant flew buy. He hadn't even realized his gaze had spotted it. Then he watch his tongue unfurl. Oh, no. And just when he was actually making conversation he was going to ruin everything by swallowing the bug. Dang it.

X23 just nodded. Then she pointed off in the distance. "You see that heron. It's got an injured leg."

Had she just ignored what he had done? Todd turned in the direction she pointed. His jaundiced eyes searched and searched and spotted nothing. He would understand if she just did the 'Hey Look' and split routine on him.

Todd turned back to the girl. "No, look.", she instructed. She took a knee next to him. Taking hold of his head, she guided his gaze. "It's white and grey."

Todd's eyes bounced all over as he only thought about the girl holding his chin. Then he saw...well, it could be a bird? Then the spot of white and grey wobbled, as if it couldn't walk right.

"You can see that well?", Toad asked.

"All my senses work that well. Sight, hearing...touch."

And with that she fell on his back again.

"Whoa whoa whoa...", Todd chanted as he wiggled out of her grasp.

"What?", X23 asked confused. "Everyone says you'd be thankful for a females attention. Don't let my muscle tone or the weight the adimantinum bonded to my bones adds: I am female."

Todd's eyes bugged. No one has ever accused Todd of being a genius. But healing factor + heightened senses + adimantinum bones = time to go. Multiply that by it wants to wrap its arms around your neck. That's just plain not being stupid.

"um...What's that?", Todd asked her.

Turn! Counter.

X23 was already driving her claws through the air behind her. She hadn't heard anything bigger than the owl asleep in a tree twenty or so yards away. But with the abilities she had witnessed in the mansion and the military technology she had been...exposed, how far fetched was silent striding or a foe floating by dragging the air away from her so she couldn't smell one approach.

What she hadn't guessed was Todd treating her like a weapon. She understood why everyone else treated her that way. It was not what they called her poor attitude. Or how much of an investment was put into making her one. It was the smell. They smelled like food to her. What possible opinion could they hold of her? Imagine the resentment one of them they would have if they had to treat every savory steak as another person. Look at how other mutants and humans treated each other. She struggled everyday not to tear into them like Kurt and breakfast. Of course it was going to pour over. No matter how much she chose to respect them and their right to life, it's not like she was going to somehow stop being herself.

But Todd smelled so different. He wasn't food. His scent carried a certain strength, like venom and poison. Nothing about him was something that taunted the animal in her, her other power and another she shared with her 'father, super rage. He would be the one. The one that held her humanity. That could hold her without turning her into what her childhood tried to force her to be. She could have tenderness, comfort, even cuddling.

But not if he ran away because she did not know what to do.

Who would know?

He would.

And he was leaping away, splashing down the creek at top speed. Hoping the water would throw her off his scent. Fortunately, he had not outpaced her hearing.

X23 had many abilities. More than most. However, her time at the mansion had taught her a grand truth that evaded many mutants a lot older than her. Mutants were not built by their powers. They were worth how much they drove their powers. A threat as grand as the Juggernaut was singular, smashing things until he was brought down. Mr. Lensherr was so much more dangerous because he studied his abilities for nearly half a century: he didn't just throw metal at people, he bent the light around him into television transmissions and dragged the errant electrons in television cords to induce enough of a current to convey his threats of throwing metal at people. Her own abilities were harder to apply outside their first applications, like being able to survive adimantinum bonding. However, another was the combination of that very metal and her healing factor.

When a normal person lifts weights, they tear muscle fibers. The resulting micro tears let blood flow in and clot. The muscle grows new fibers through these clots and leaves the muscle larger and therefore the person stronger. With her accelerated healing, this process happened nearly instantly. When she was dragged through exercises by her captors, she never 'felt the burn'. Now that she had a metal coated skeleton, she was in her own personal gym every single second of her life and never a need for down time.

So she took off after Todd. She could hyper ventilate and allow her healing factor to keep her from over bonding her hemoglobin. She could pound her legs into the ground with all her might and regrow her cartilage with every step. She could retract her claws and not leave a mark. And she could drive every stride with the muscles of everyone that ever ran track.

It did not mean she was guaranteed to actually catch up to a mutant who had a power specifically to jump away from her.

She saw him bouncing ahead. Sure she might rip her vocal cords trying to yell at a full sprint. But her voice had not served her all that well so far.

"I'm sorry!", she screamed.

Todd splashed down. He stayed a moment. Then he leaped again.

"No!", she continued. "Don't leave me alone."

It was her tone. There is a kind of life that drives that tone in people. They only can say that sentence in that tone if they've lived a life where that sentence does not carry the 'don't' all that much of the time.

He turned to her. They were both soaking wet. The water did nothing to the leather pants, combat boots and hide jacket she wore. It just set a drenching of her hair and a sheen on her skin. Todd felt as soggy as he wanted to feel all the time but his 'team' would never let him.

Todd stepped with all four limbs to face her. "Do you mean it?"

X23 nodded while pointing to her throat. After a moment she could say something other than a hoarse roar. "Yes. I did not want you to be scared of me. But you were going to leave if I didn't let you. I...What am I supposed to do?"

"I thought your friends told you already.", he countered.

"They told me how to approach a boy.", she replied. "I should have asked how to approach you. But I'm not gonna ask them. I'll ask you.

"What should I do?"

"Meet me someplace public. With lots of light, in the middle of the day with a gang of escape routes. Maybe some police patrols, yo.", Todd offered.

"Alright.", she agreed. "It's a date."

Todd blinked. "A what now."

X23 blinked in nearly the same manner. "A date.", she said again with dawning realization.

"Saturday, ok?", she confirmed.

Todd nodded spacily.

"um, great.", X23 told him. "Look. I, uh, ditched out on one of Mr. McCoy's classes to come see you. I mean it was a useless one, first aid...wound treatment and care. But I have a healing factor, so why do I need to know that, you know?

"I'll...see you later."

And with that she turned and started sprinting the other way down the creek.

2

Professor Xavier pressed his fingers together as he considered another of his less adjusted students. Across the desk, X23 sprawled out her muddy form across one of the leather arm chairs. He raised an eyebrow. She gave him a questioning expression and then realized. She sat so both of her feet were on the floor.

"Dr. McCoy informs me that you were not present for his training.", he opened.

X23 nodded. "That's right. I was promised freedom if I stayed here. Didn't see the point in it, so I ditched."

"And what will happen if you need to help some one who is injured on a mission?", the man asked.

Her eyes lit up with understanding. "First aid is for healing other people!"

Then her expression dropped. "And I could heal people instead of kill them if I learned it. And you were going to teach it to me. Oh, Professor, I'm sorry.

"Will Mr. McCoy still teach me?"

Professor Xavier smiled. "He wanted to have you read this book, as punishment for skipping his class. I asked him to let me offer this to you in a different way. I'm think you've found mine more to your liking."

"Well of course I would.", the girl stated while thumbing through the book. "You're a telepath."

He was taken aback. "I would never/"

X23 dismissed his objection with a wave of her hand and started sauntering out of the room. "You can't help hear thoughts. No more than I can help smell your old man scent."

"My what?", he asked a door swinging shut.