Grief
A week had passed since the incident. Yet while the Brotherhood silently contemplated the loss of their teammate, their rivals, the X-Men continued their lives without observing the loss of one of their opponents. Then again, they had some concerns of their own.
"I hate finals," Kurt groaned as he, Evan and Scott went to the cafeteria.
"Yeah I wish we could go to Hawaii to see Jean in the US Girls Soccer Championships," Scott sighed.
"It's not fair," Kurt groaned. "She gets two weeks in the sun and we get two weeks of torture!"
"Tell me about it," Evan groaned. "I am totally failing history! The Prof's gonna kill me!"
"I would have liked to see Alex for a while," Scott said.
"Is he still thinking about coming to the Institute?" Kurt asked.
"Nah, he wants to concentrate on his surfing," Scott said.
"I don't get it, mutants have been outed and all he can do is think about surfing?" Kurt said.
"Why not?" Evan asked. "All I think about lately is skateboarding. Hey! What's that?" He pointed to some graffiti on the wall. It was an exaggerated picture of a person with horns and a tail being stabbed several times. The words: MUTIES DIE were scrawled under it.
"That is sick!" Evan spat. "Hey isn't there some kind of rule around here that you can't put stuff up like that?"
"Well if there is it's not exactly being enforced," Scott sighed. "Everybody's still spooked at what happened at the Sadie Hawkins Dance, and now that everybody knows mutants exist…"
They walked away. "Yeah a lot of kids are really starting to say some nasty things," Kurt said.
"Not just the kids," Scott said. "Some of the teachers are even getting into it. I overheard Principal Kelly muttering something how there ought to be a law on us or words to that effect."
"Yeah like that's ever gonna happen," Evan snickered.
"Yeah well we gotta be extra careful from now on," Scott said. "Especially with the new and improved Brotherhood roaming about. Who knows when they're gonna start something?"
"Well if they do we just put those losers in their place and POW!" Evan made a fist and slammed it into his open palm.
"Are you crazy?" Scott hissed. "You can't say stuff like that around school! Look we all got lucky no one recognized any of us from that day. If people around here found out we could get in real trouble! All the kids around here are afraid of mutants as it is!"
"Not all of them," Kurt said. "Amanda has been really good about the whole thing."
"Yeah you're lucky you found someone who's pretty understanding," Scott sighed. "Well at least there's one person around here we can trust."
"I take it you've decided not to tell Taryn," Evan said.
"Can you blame me? I don't even know if we're gonna be dating that much longer. I like her but I…"
"You're still hooked on Jean," Evan shook his head.
"I can't believe she's still going out with Duncan," Kurt groaned. "You should have heard some of the things he was saying this morning in the hallways! She's a tele…" He looked around cautiously. "You know. How can she not pick up on something like that?"
"Yeah I thought she was getting tired of him anyway?" Evan asked.
"How should I know what goes on in her mind?" Scott snapped and he walked away.
"Oh man he's got it bad," Kurt shook his head. "And something tells me Jean feels the same way about him."
"Then why don't they just tell each other that and get it over with?" Evan grumbled. "Man sometimes I think those two will never get together."
Scott wasn't the only one with romantic problems. Rogue was fighting with her locker. "Come on," She snapped at it. "Come on you stupid piece of junk!"
"You may want to rethink your tactics, Chere."
Rogue whirled around to see Remy, the cocky Cajun Junior behind her. "What do you want Swamp Rat?" She snarled.
"Easy," He smiled. "Just lending my talents to a damsel in distress. Allow me." He tapped on her locker a few times and it opened as if by magic. "It's all in the touch."
"Yeah well I suppose it's easy to open a locker when you have so much practice being a thief," Rogue said.
To her surprise Remy gently took her gloved hand and kissed it. "Funny thing to say when it is you that have stolen my heart."
For a full moment Rogue stood there in shock, blinking. Then she remembered herself. "Gee that's an original line," She snapped pulling her hand away.
Remy casually shrugged. "So Remy not a poet."
"What you are is Brotherhood trash," She snapped.
"So were you," Remy said. "Not the trash part but…"
"Look when are you gonna get it through that thick head of yours that I am not gonna go for you?" She shouted. "You and I are enemies! We don't belong together! We are on two separate teams! Got it?"
"Maybe one of us might change sides Petit," Remy said softly. He winked and walked away.
"AAGGGGHHH!" Rogue repeatedly hit her head on the locker. "IhatehimIhatehimIhatehim!"
"You know you're kind of funny when you do your Quicksilver imitation," Kitty giggled as she came up to her. She and Tabitha were together.
"Let me guess," Tabitha smirked. "You had another 'Gambit Daze'?"
"A what?" Rogue glared.
"You know when you get that look in your eye like a deer caught in the headlights," Tabitha explained. "Kinda like when Kitty and Lance hang around each other. Everyone else in the whole world disappears except the two of you."
"I do not act like that!" Kitty snapped. "Lance does that!"
"Oh come on," Tabitha said. "You do that too. Face it, you're as hooked on your bad boy as she is." They walked to the cafeteria together.
"I do not like him!" Rogue snapped. "That…that swamp rat tricked me when we first met! Nearly blew my head off!"
"Yeah and Lance nearly killed Kitty and her folks when they first met," Tabitha told her. "That didn't stop them from getting together."
"Some relationship," Rogue grumbled. "Sneaking around everybody's back and fighting each other. No way! That's not gonna happen to me! No way! No how!"
"Yeah well we haven't been exactly doing anything lately," Kitty sighed. "It's been a week and he hasn't spoken two words to me."
"Sore loser," Tabitha huffed. "He's just mad we beat them so badly the last time we fought."
"No it's more than that," Kitty said. "In fact…there's something different about the Brotherhood this week. I can't put my finger on it, but something's missing. I mean, look at Blob over there," She pointed.
"Kind of hard not to," Tabitha smirked.
"No I mean it," She said. "Notice anything different? He's just sitting there alone. And he's not eating. What's up with that?"
"Yeah that is strange," Rogue said. "You know now that you mention it, they've been unusually quiet lately. Heck Toad hasn't slimed any of our lockers all week. I wonder what's up with that?"
"I haven't even seen him in my freshman art class," Kitty said. "Maybe he's skipping?"
"No way," Tabitha said. "That's his favorite subject. He never skips that class. Weird."
Later that day Kitty ran into Lance. "Uh…Hey Lance," She said. "How are you doing?"
Usually Lance brightened at the sound of her voice. Today he just looked uninterested. "Oh…Hey Kitty. Okay I guess."
"Um so what have you been doing?" She asked.
"Nothing much, you know. Just… Hanging around," He shrugged, unable to look her in the face.
"Is something wrong?" She asked. "Are you getting hassled by the guys for seeing me or something."
"Kitty believe it or not, not everything revolves around you!" He snapped.
"Well excuse me for caring," She huffed and started to walk away.
"Kitty wait!" Lance grabbed her by the arm. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just…I've been going through some…stuff. Look I really can't talk about it okay. I'm just sorry."
"Oh," She said. "Um so do you want to meet together after school? You can always tell Mystique you have detention or something."
"Kitty," Lance sighed. "Look don't take this the wrong way. I do want to but…I just don't want to be with you right now. Don't want to rock the boat. Especially after…" He stopped.
"After what?"
"Look there's just something I have to deal with right now and I'm having trouble and I really don't want Mystique to find out and get angrier with me so I gotta go," He walked away in a hurry.
Kitty stood there in shock. "What the heck is going on? Now I know something's wrong!"
After school Lance was hanging around the bleachers with John and Pietro. "And then she says 'See what you get for five dollars?'" Pietro finished his joke.
John burst out laughing. "Oh man that is classic!" He elbowed Lance in the ribs. "Hey lighten up buddy! Come on!"
"Huh?" Lance was in a world of his own.
"Daydreaming about Kitty again?" Pietro smirked.
"Not exactly," Lance sighed. "I just…Maybe I should have talked to her some more. After what happened lately, it's still bothers me."
"Yeah," Pietro looked around nervously. "Hey you'd better be careful. You don't want Mystique railing on you. I mean if she could to that to Toad…"
"Hey we're not supposed to say that name any more!" John snapped. "I don't want us to get in trouble!"
"Not supposed to say his name," Lance spat. "He was with us from the beginning and now we're just supposed to forget him like he never existed? He wasn't so bad! Okay he was annoying, but he was…well that was the way he was!"
"Hey it's getting late," John changed the subject. "We'd better head home."
"Yeah everybody's gone to that stupid pep rally," Pietro yawned. "How lame is that?"
"What rally?" Lance looked up.
"The one across town, the big one for the game against Weston High," Pietro rolled his eyes. "You know, the one where after they scream and yell they go over to the school and throw toilet paper everywhere?"
"Oh that," Lance said. "Wouldn't catch me there."
"I dunno," John snickered. "Causing destruction to another school sounds like a bit of fun to me."
"Where's Fred?" Lance asked.
"I dunno," John shrugged. "Maybe he went off with Remy and Peter back to the house."
"No he's didn't," Pietro said. "He's over there near the school." He zoomed over to Fred who was just sitting there. "Hey Freddy!" He said cheerfully. "Fred, Freddy, the Fredderman!"
Fred said nothing. "You know that's what I love about you Fred is your sparkling wit and engaging conversation," Pietro quipped. "Come on! Talk to me man! What's eating you?"
Still Fred said nothing. "Well okay," Pietro shrugged. "Don't tell me. But we gotta get back. Mystique wants us to…"
The next thing Pietro knew he was sailing across the room. "What did you that for man?" He shouted rubbing his head. To his horror Fred was throwing chairs with such force they were imbedded into the wall. Pietro barely managed to escape being knocked about. "FRED HAVE YOU LOST IT?" He screamed.
A table flew at him and he ran out the door. "Ask a stupid question," He gulped. He ran back to the others to get help.
Meanwhile the X-Men were doing a little remodeling of their own. "Why are we doing this again?" Evan asked as he picked up a box.
"We don't want anybody to accidentally find Forge's old lab," Scott told him. "If someone finds it they might trace it back to mutants. We should have done this long ago."
"Well at least we got all the computer parts out," Kurt said.
"Kurt why don't you and Kitty go and see if you can find some stuff from the janitor's closet to help us clean this up better?" Scott asked.
"Okay," He said.
"And no porting!" Scott warned him.
"Relax Scott," Kitty said. "Everybody's at the pep rally. There's no one else here."
"Well just to be safe," Scott told them. "You never know."
"You're no fun anymore," Kitty smirked. "Come on Kurt, let's get the stuff."
They walked inside and found the janitor's closet. Kitty phased through the door and got some supplies. They were about to head back when they heard the noise. "Someone's here!" Kitty gasped.
"Yeah and by the sound of it, a person who's not too happy!"
"It's coming from the second floor!" Kitty said.
"Hang on!" Kurt teleported there. They saw several classrooms trashed. "Man what happened?"
"Does that answer your question?" Kitty gulped as they saw Fred fling a desk at them. Kitty held onto Kurt and they phased right through. "Something tells me we're gonna need help!"
"Gotcha!" Kurt nodded and they bamphed out of there.
"Kurt what did I say about teleporting?" Scott snapped when they arrived.
"It's the Brotherhood!" Kurt called out. "They're trashing the school!"
"What?" Evan yelped. "Oh man! They never learn do they!"
"We gotta stop them! Let's go X-Men!" They ran inside the school.
They found the other Brotherhood members at the bottom of the stairs. "I ain't going back up there!" Pietro yelped at Lance.
"Freddy cut it out!" Lance shouted.
"Alvers!" Scott shouted. "What are you maniacs doing trashing the school?"
"We aren't trashing the school!" John snapped. A chair flew down the stairs. "Blob is!"
"Believe it or not Summers we're trying to stop him!" Lance snapped.
"Yeah Blob's gone totally bonkers!" Pietro snapped. "If we don't stop him he's gonna make it hot for all of us!"
"I don't believe you!" Scott snapped. "Why would he do something like that?"
"Well because…" John started.
"Who knows why?" Lance cut in. "Just stay out of our way while we take care of this!"
"Oh no!" Scott snapped. "If you think we're gonna…"
"Scott like can we argue about this later and take care of the Blob first!" Kitty shouted as the sound of breaking glass came from upstairs.
"Right," Scott nodded. "Kurt take Rogue and see if you two can't drain off some of that anger!"
"Got it!" Rogue said.
"Now as for you losers…"Scott snapped.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Lance rolled his eyes. Soon they were arguing with each other.
Kurt teleported with Rogue upstairs. They heard sounds of metal being smashed. "That's our boy!" They ran to the school's lab and saw Fred trashing the place. "Knock it off you yahoo or the gloves come off!"
"For once Rogue we are in complete agreement."
Everyone turned to the voice. Mystique stood in the doorway. "What do you think you're doing you stupid lummox?"
Fred glared at her and walked up to her. He then backhanded her into one of the desks.
"You…struck me?" She snarled, blood running out of her mouth. "You are going to pay for that!"
"What'cha gonna do Mystique?" Fred snapped at her. "Kill me like you killed Toad?"
"WHAT?" Rogue yelped in shock.
"Toad's…dead?" Kurt looked at her. "Mother…you killed him?"
"That's not what happened!" Mystique hissed. "You lumbering oaf! You've…AAGGGHH!" She screamed as Fred grabbed her wrist. "Let go of me!"
"Yeah you got a real nice mom here furball," Fred snarled. "Gets her kicks beating up people. Well I'd like to see you beat me up!" His hand gripped tighter. Mystique screamed in agony.
"Let go!" Kurt shouted trying to separate them. "You're hurting her!"
"GOOD!" Fred threw him across the room with his free hand. "What's wrong Mystique? Don't like to be on the receiving end do ya?"
"Kurt get help!" Rogue called to him. Fortunately Kurt managed not to be injured. "Stop it Blob! You'll kill her!" She felt sick when she heard the sound of bone crunching.
"That's the idea!" He snapped.
At this Kurt teleported out. He found himself back in the halls with the other X-men. "CYCLOPS!" He shouted. "Blob's gone ballistic! He's gonna kill Mystique!"
"What?" Scott asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Blob's attacking her! He said she killed Toad!"
"Are you serious?" Evan spat. He glared at Pietro. "Is that true?"
"Technically no," John said. "Actually Magneto took care of that wuss."
"WHAT?" Kitty shouted. "Lance what's this all about?"
"Start talking Alvers!" Scott grabbed his arm.
"Fine and as we're talking Blob will kill Mystique and trash the school and mutants will get the blame," Lance snapped. "Unless you want that to happen I suggest we call a truce and stop him before things get really ugly!" He broke away and took off upstairs, the X-Men followed them.
They didn't have to go very far, they saw Mystique being thrown out the window. Fortunately she managed to shapeshift into a bird. But she was wounded and barely made it to the ground where she changed back. Her arm was at an unnatural angle. "Oh man," Evan gulped. "This is nuts!"
"Guys let's get her out of here!" Lance shouted heading for the outside.
To the X-Men's horror they saw Fred walking downstairs. They tried to stop him but he easily swatted them away. He headed outside. The Brotherhood was crowded around Mystique. But none of them were doing anything to help her.
"You stupid fools!" She shouted at them. "Destroy him!"
"And how do we do that?" Lance snapped at her. "You know maybe Blob has the right idea!"
Before anyone could say anything a table was thrown at her. She barely moved aside in time. "Blob you…" She stopped when she realized he wasn't the one who threw the table.
Standing in the doorway was Rogue. By the look in her eyes and the sight of her ungloved hands everyone could tell she touched Fred. Fred was still on his feet behind her. He had a twisted smile on her face. "I thought Rogue here might see for herself what happened," He laughed.
"Rogue, listen to me," Mystique pleaded. "I can explain…"
"Yeah why don't you tell me Mystique?" Rogue snarled. "Why don't you tell me how fast you started beating Toad when Magneto snapped his fingers? How much fun you had kicking him and using a whip on him? How much he pleaded and begged…His eyes…I can see his eyes! And when you were finished…MURDERER!" She lunged at her, only to be held back by Scott and the rest of the X-Men. "Murderer! You just let Magneto toss him out of that jet like he was garbage!"
"Oh god…" Kitty looked at Mystique and then Lance. "Is that true?" Lance looked away.
"How could you let that happen?" Scott asked incredulously.
"Hey Magneto thought it was time to cut out the losers!" John snapped. "Besides, in a way that's your fault! If you hadn't stopped us on our mission the boss wouldn't have had to make an example out of him!"
"And I'm gonna make an example out of you!" Fred shouted preparing for the final blow. Not one member of the Brotherhood stood in his way.
"NO!" Kurt shouted. "You'll kill her!"
"That's the idea! Trust me Blue Boy," Fred shouted. "I'm doing you a favor!" He prepared for the final blow.
It never came. Fred froze at the last instant. His face contorted and then changed from an angry rage to a glazed look. He put down his fist and simply walked away.
"What the heck happened?" Lance asked.
"I dunno but I kinda hope it happens to Rogue," Evan grumbled, as he and the other X-Men struggled so that she wouldn't break away and go after Mystique herself.
"Come on let's get her home," Lance told the Brotherhood. They took her away.
Pietro remained behind. "If you don't want the cops to find you here I suggest you leave as well." Then he ran off.
"WE HAVE TO GET HER!" Rogue screamed. "WE CAN'T LET HER GET AWAY!"
"We don't have any choice," Scott said. "Kurt, get Rogue to the mansion now!" Kurt did so. "The rest of us grab what we can of the lab and go."
"I don't believe it," Evan said. "Toad's…dead?"
"So that's why we haven't seen him," Kitty said softly. "Lance said he was going through something terrible…"
Back at the mansion the X-Men had given the adults a complete account of what had happened. Xavier probed Rogue's mind. Even he was shocked at what he found. He had Hank take her down to the infirmary for a sedative to calm her down. "Is she gonna be okay?" Kitty asked.
"Eventually," Xavier frowned. "I knew Magneto could be ruthless and he didn't care about his charges, but I had no idea he would go that far."
"What kind of sickos kill their own people?" Bobby asked. Some of the newer mutants had overheard.
"I knew I should have taken her out when I had the chance," Logan snarled.
"Blob almost did," Evan said. "Maybe we should have let him. That is until he went weird. Turned into a zombie."
"Mind control?" Scott asked.
"No doubt about it," Logan grunted.
"Professor did you…?" Scott asked.
"No," Xavier's eyes narrowed. "It wasn't me."
"Well if it wasn't you then who…?" Scott asked.
"Someone with a very powerful mind," Xavier frowned. "Maybe even as powerful as mine."
Not far away three figures were overlooking Bayville High from atop a hill. Pietro sped up to him. "Done," He told him. "Made it look like the damage was done by jocks from Weston High."
"A rival school of theirs," Magneto explained to the others. "Go back to the others. Await my instructions."
Pietro nodded and obeyed. "I must thank you Destiny for helping me avert a terrible disaster," He spoke to Irene.
"I knew something like this would happen," Irene snapped. "You shouldn't have killed the boy. It makes them less loyal to you."
"Fortunately I have you to warn me of events such as this," Magneto told her. "And you my lady to assist me." He turned to a tall blonde woman in a white power suit.
"Don't call me that!" She snapped. "I am not one of your hired hands!"
"My dear Emma," Magneto rephrased his words. "I merely wished to thank you for your assistance."
"This was a one time deal Magneto," Emma Frost hissed. "I only did it to repay a debt. I have my own affairs to deal with without cleaning up your messes!"
"Perhaps I should have handled the situation better," Magneto admitted.
"You think?" Emma snapped.
"Are you sure the job is done?" Irene asked.
"Yes it was a simple job," She nodded. "I merely rearranged his memories a little to make him think that it was the fault of the X-Men. And I installed some loyalty into the others just to be on the safe side. All except the Cajun. For some reason I couldn't get into his mind. Not without him knowing anyway. I didn't want to take the risk."
"No matter," Magneto said. "His loyalty has never been in question."
"Fine," Emma walked off. "Then if you have no more need for me, I'll go. Just one warning Magneto. This is what happens when you act without thinking through the consequences! The Circle is angry enough with you for how you handled Trask and the Sentinel Project!"
"I'm not a member of your precious Circle," Magneto told her. "I don't care what they think."
"You should," She snapped. "If you had listened to me when I contacted you we would have taken out Trask and his tinker toy without a whimper. But noooo! You had to make a statement! And now we're finding ourselves trying to clean up your mess! If you weren't such a valuable ally to us…"
"But I am," He said. "We may have different philosophies, but our goal is the same. Mutant supremacy."
"Not exactly," She said. "But close enough. Do not get in our way again Magneto. Next time, we will not be as lenient. And then you will truly understand the power of the Inner Circle!" She walked away into the night.
The next day in a corner of the Mansion's gardens, the X-Men and New Mutants found themselves together for a strange service. "I can't believe we're doing this," Evan said.
"It's the right thing to do," Kurt said sharply. They were standing around a small circle of stones. At the head of it was a small statue of an angel. Some flowers were strewn at its feet. "He was a living being. He deserves some kind of grave, even if we can't find his body."
"I still say it's stupid," Evan grumbled.
That's when Tabitha slapped him.
"Hey you don't want to be here then don't!" Tabitha shouted. "Rogue and I lived with him. We have a right! At least Kurt here has the decency to feel bad! Which is more than what I can say for you!"
"Tabitha please," Xavier said softly. "We're all upset at the situation. I wish things were different with Toad."
"Yeah well I'm gonna make Magneto and Mystique wish they were never born!" Tabitha stormed off. "That's a promise I intend to keep!"
"Tabitha!" Scott called out.
"I'll get her Scott," Ray told him. "Knowing Boom Boom she'll probably blow up a few things just to get it all out of her system." He took off after her. The sound of a few explosions in the distance told him he was right.
The X-Men quietly paid their respects. One by one they went inside the mansion. Except for Rogue. "You coming kid?" Logan asked.
"I just want to be alone for a little while, okay?" Rogue asked.
"Of course child," Ororo nodded. They walked away.
Logan and Ororo hung back for a moment. "We should have prepared them for things like this," He sighed.
"How do you prepare for things like this?" Ororo asked, a bitter tone in her voice.
"Storm, I know you don't want to hear this," Logan said. "But Magneto wants nothing more than all out war. And these kids are going to have to be the ones to fight him. Toad just happened to be the first casualty."
"You're right," Ororo said bitterly. "I don't." She walked away. Logan shook his head and sighed. He looked at Rogue then walked away.
Rogue stood at the grave. "Toad…" She said softly. "I…I wish this hadn't happened. Maybe I should have treated you nicer. You didn't deserve this. Nobody does. I just hope that wherever you are…you finally find some peace." A tear slid down her cheek. Then she had the strangest sensation she was being watched. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a shadow over her. "You?" She whirled around and saw who it was.
"Hello Rogue," Remy said softly.
"What are you doing here?" Rogue snapped at him, putting up her fists for a fight.
"Easy," Remy held up his hands. "I just came here to pay my respects. At least one of the Brotherhood should be here."
"That's a load of bull!" Rogue shouted. "You killed him!"
"No Mystique and Magneto killed him," He corrected her. "Not my idea. I wasn't even there. Remember? Or did Blob's memories fade already?"
Rogue backed down. "No," She said softly. "I'll never forget that memory. The Prof asked me if I wanted it erased, but I said no. It's the least I can do for him. He deserves to be remembered if nothing else."
Remy walked past her and took something out of his jacket. It was a CD. He placed it on the small grave. "It's a CD of some of his favorite songs," Remy explained. "It was in his room. I figured it would mean more than flowers…"
"That's…that's real nice of you," Rogue told him.
"Some of the others wanted to come," Remy explained. "But …you know."
"Yeah I get the picture," She said. "Is that why you really came?"
"Believe it or not, yes," He said. "I feel bad about what happened. We all do."
"Apparently not all of you," Rogue snapped. "Of course if it was an X-Man all of you would be celebrating!"
"Remy is a thief Chere," He told her. "Not an assassin. I don't celebrate death. Not even my enemies." He walked away leaving Rogue alone with her thoughts.