Disclaimer: I own nothing. Zip, zero, zilch! I've been convinced to write x-men by my fave little green guy, Toad. :^)



Plot Line: Alternate Universe: 21-year old Mortimer (Toad) never joined the Brotherhood and is still living in York. The x-men movie has taken place without him. The x-men find him and take him back to the mansion.



Out of the Shadows


To hate and to fear is to be psychologically ill...it is, in fact, the consuming illness of our time.
-Harry A. Overstreet

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York, England

Logan lay stretched out on the roof of the abandoned warehouse, trying to get a glimpse of the stars. They had been in York, England for three days now. They had had another encounter with a group who had taken it upon themselves to emulate the Brotherhood. Logan sighed. They were stationed in an abandoned warehouse for the remainder of the week. He hated the city. He longed for the wildness of the Canadian forests. Longed to inhale the crisp scent of pine and wood. The only scents he could pick up here were smog and dirt and...

Logan sat up quickly. He listened carefully and heard a slight rustle of clothing. He sprang to his feet, his eyes searching for the cause of the sound. He should be alone up here, it was 3:00 a.m., for cripes sake! Maybe it was a spy; if it were one of the x-men they would have just announced themselves. He saw a shadow dart past him. Logan took a second to pinpoint the shadow, then he attacked.

Three seconds later, a body was struggling beneath him. Logan had the person's arms pinned down with his knees and he had one fist under the person's chin and the other he held in front of his face, claws extended. In the moonlight, he carefully looked the person over.

The person beneath him was a young man, but it was obvious he was a mutant. His spiky hair was bright green and his skin had a greenish-yellow tinge to it. His large, bright, amphibious eyes stared back at Logan in surprise for a minute, then looked away quickly.

"Who are you?" Logan growled. He saw the young man shudder. Briefly, Logan wondered how old he was. Probably in his early twenties. " M-Mortimer T-Toynbee." He stuttered, still not making eye contact. Logan raised his eyebrows, startled at the sound of the soft, British voice. "What are you doing here?" he whispered menacingly. The young mutant named Toynbee started to shake and his fearful gaze flitted up to Logan's claws before he responded. "I-I come up here sometimes. I-it's one of m-my hideouts." Logan was becoming frustrated with the fact that Toynbee wasn't making eye contact. "Look at me!" he ordered. Nervously, Toynbee complied. Logan held his fearful gaze until he looked away again. He rose to his feet; stepping away from Toynbee and letting him stand. "Don't go anywhere." He threatened, holding his claws up for emphasis.

Logan took a minute to think. He had no idea if this frightened man was a spy or not. The only way he could be sure was for the Professor or Jean to scan him.

He walked over to Toynbee and grabbed his collar. " You're coming with me."
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Jean Grey looked up as Logan entered the lab, dragging a young man by the collar. She started when she saw the man's appearance. And instantly regretted it when she saw his head bow in shame.

She started ticking off a list of observations in her mind. He was a mutant (obviously), he was about 5.7, he was dressed in many layers of dark, bulky clothing, and he was afraid. "Logan!" she rapped out," what's going on?" Logan stepped towards her, pulling the younger man with him. " Found him on the roof. He could be a spy, I'm not sure." She walked forward to meet them, saying " Logan, you can at least let him go." Logan did as she said and suddenly, chaos broke loose.

The young mutant sprang quickly over Logan's head and once his feet made contact with the floor he kicked out at Logan, hitting him in the back and knocking him across the room. He turned and looked at Jean fearfully. Before he could do anything, however, Jean gave him a telekinetic shove backwards. Unfortunately, she overdid it and he slammed into the wall. By the time she reached him he was unconscious.
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Mortimer slowly came back to consciousness, like a swimmer twenty feet below the water's surface. He slowly blinked his eyes, focusing as best as he could on the figure in front of him. He let out a shout and quickly tried to back away. The woman reached out her hand to him. "Mortimer. Relax, we are not going to hurt you."

How did she know his name? Seeing the man from the roof standing next to her, Mortimer supposed he had told her. Mortimer stared distrustfully at the woman. Why should he believe her? *Because I'm telling the truth.* He heard the woman's voice say, but her lips didn't move. He had heard it in his mind.

Who were these people?
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Jean watched Mortimer, her hand still held out. He was staring at her, his strange eyes wide with fear. She had formed a link with him, had seen that he thought they were normal people trying to hurt him. She had spoken in his mind to show that they weren't.

"We won't hurt you." She repeated. She laid her hand on his arm and he flinched. A stab of pity shot through her as she realized why. Images were streaming into her mind.

Mortimer had been brutally abused. Mentally and physically. He had grown up in an orphanage, hated and feared. Alone. Except, of course, when they tortured him. Jean quickly broke off the link.

She inched nearer to him, looking into his eyes. " Let us help you." Mortimer took a deep breath and nodded.
___________________________________________________________

Charles Xavier raised his head at the knock on the door. Jean entered. She sighed. "Charles, I need your help."

He followed Jean out the door, to the temporary medical lab. The door slid open and he rolled inside. He saw a young mutant sitting cross-legged on the steel table, hugging himself and shivering. He glanced at Jean. * Who is this?* *His name is Mortimer. Logan found him on the roof and brought him down. I did a brief scan on his mind. Charles, he needs serious help.* *What did you see?* *First of all, I linked with him and found that he thought we were humans trying to hurt him, so I sent a message in his mind to show him that we were mutants just like he was. I laid my hand on his arm and suddenly all these images of pain and torture enter my mind, triggered by him being touched. He grew up in an orphanage. They kept a collar on him, Charles* Jean stopped, upset.

Charles gave her a brief nod and rolled over to where Mortimer was sitting. Mortimer glanced at him, then looked down at his feet. Charles heard Jean say in his mind *He hasn't had a conversation with anyone in six years.* He turned to her, staring in disbelief. He returned his gaze to Mortimer. "Mortimer." The young mutant flinched at the sound of his name, then looked reluctantly at him. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I'm going to go into your mind and I need you to try and relax, alright?" Mortimer nodded hesitantly and took a deep breath.

Charles focused on the mind of the man before him. As he formed a link, images began to filter into his mind. Images from Mortimer's past.

/FLASH/ The collar snapped around his neck, the cold, unforgiving metal leaving him unable to take a deep breath. A thick chain fastened to it and was attached to the wall. /FLASH/ He looked on from the shadows as a group of boys came his way. He started to back up but backed straight into the wall. In an instant the boys were on him. /FLASH/ He ran quickly into the filthy alley, springing for the wall. He was halfway up it when something hard struck his head; stunning him and making him fall. As his body struck the pavement, the blackness swamped him. /FLASH/

Charles opened his eyes slowly and stared at Mortimer. He was shaking again and saying something in German repeatedly. "Sparen mich, mein Herr, als ICH entfliehen vom Günstlinge über arg." Surprised, Charles translated the phrase as best he could. And shook his head sadly at the meaning.

Save me, my Lord, as I flee from the minions of evil.
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Logan watched the young man in front of him as he tried to take deep breaths and relax. The Professor and Jean had left about ten minutes ago. He glanced at his watch. It was 4:35 in the morning. Looking back at Mortimer, Logan remembered something. "Um, I'm sorry about, you know, attacking you...earlier."

Mortimer glanced at him. "I'm used to it." He whispered. Logan noticed that he had stopped stuttering. Then the full impact of the statement hit him. That must have been why Charlie had been so unnerved when he pulled out of Mortimer's mind.

"What does he want with me?" came the soft voice. Logan cocked his head at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?" Mortimer finally looked at Logan. "Why is he being nice to me? What is he going to do to me?" Logan leaned forward in his chair. "We just want to help you. I know I probably didn't give a good first impression, but I swear we just want to help."

Mortimer took a deep breath and nodded. He stared Logan in the eyes.

"Thank you."
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Mortimer shuddered as he followed the Professor and the others down the hall. The woman, Dr. Grey, had introduced him to two other mutants, Ororo and Scott. They both seemed nice, but Mortimer had never experienced kindness before so he wasn't really the best judge. He had seen a lot of evil and hatred, however, and they didn't seem to posses any.

The Professor had asked him to come back to the United States with them. Knowing that if he stayed on the streets much longer he would wind up dead, Mortimer agreed. Dr. Grey had treated him for malnutrition and he was still adjusting to the feeling of not being hungry.

She had told him when they got back to their mansion, they would get him some new clothes. This was starting to creep him out. Why were they being so nice to him?

Dr. Grey led him onto their jet. That had been another surprise for Mortimer. What kind of people owned their own jet? Mortimer shook his head to clear his thoughts as Dr. Grey helped him prepare for takeoff.

'Here we go.' He thought.
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Ororo glanced at the man named Mortimer Toynbee. He sat across from her and was looking downright terrified. She laid a hand on his arm and felt him tense. He turned to look at her and Ororo found herself fascinated by his large, strange eyes. "Are you alright?" He turned away and nodded. Storm sighed.

'I hope we can keep our promise.'
_________________________________________________________

X-mansion, 1 week later

Scott knocked on the Professor's door. Professor Xavier had been called away almost immediately after they had brought Mortimer here. He had just returned today and had sent for Scott. *Come in.* said Xavier in Scott's mind. Scott opened the door and walked in."You wanted to talk to me?" Professor X nodded. "Yes. I was wondering how Mortimer was doing."

Scott cringed mentally. This was the last thing he wanted to bring up. How was Mortimer doing? Fine, if you didn't count how 4 days ago he had freaked when classes let out and he was surrounded by people. Fine, if you didn't count how Mortimer had locked himself in the room they had given him immediately after that. Just fine. Scott had considered blasting down the door, but Jean told him hat would do nothing but destroy any trust he had in them. She had tried to talk to Mortimer several times, only to be told to go away. Scott knew that Professor X and Jean were both convinced that Mortimer could be rehabilitated. He wasn't so sure.

"Scott?" came the Professor's voice and Scott realized suddenly that he hadn't acknowledged the Professor inquiry." Oh! Um, well, he..." Scott paused, then slumped his shoulders." He's not doing well. A few days ago he was in the hallway when classes got out and well...you know how the kids stampede out of the classrooms? Well, that happened and he...kinda freaked." Professor Xavier frowned slightly. "What do you mean by 'freaked'?" Scott sighed and looked at the floor. "He locked himself in his room four days ago." He mumbled quickly. Professor X shook his head. "Come with me."
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Mortimer huddled in the corner, reliving the incident over and over, and remembering ones that had come before it, ones he hadn't been able to escape from. He shuddered.

*Mortimer.* He heard the voice in his mind. Mortimer's head jerked up. Professor Xavier. *Mortimer, open the door.* Mortimer shook his head, hugging himself and rocking back and forth. 'Go away.' He thought. 'Just bloody go away.'

He heard soft voices arguing outside the door. A moment later, the door opened. Surprised and terrified, Mortimer leapt to his feet. He watched as Scott entered the room. Alone. Mortimer stared at him, confused. "W-what do you w-want?" he asked, stuttering with fear. Scott held up his hands to show he meant no harm.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Mortimer backed up until he hit the wall. "Stay away." Scott took a step towards him. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Mortimer screamed. Scott froze. Mortimer was shaking uncontrollably. One thought reached through his fear, however.

'He listened?'
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Scott stood staring at Mortimer, who was cowering in the corner. Why was he so afraid? His scream had startled Scott who, until now, had only heard him speak just barley above a whisper. Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. "Look, we-I only want to help." With a sigh, Mortimer slid down the wall until he was in a crouch. "I'm sorry. I just can't trust people. They never given me a reason to." Scott walked over and shut the door. He turned to Mortimer." Will you trust me?"

Mortimer raised his dark eyes to meet Scott's. "Why should I trust you?" came the soft-spoken inquiry. Scott sighed and sat down on the floor crossing his legs. He ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "I can't answer that. But I can tell you that you're going to have to trust someone, sometime. You can't survive on your own. Please, just trust me." He held out a hand. Hesitantly, Mortimer met it with his own. Scott gripped the hand tightly.

"Thank you."
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3 days later

'Thank you, Scott.' Jean smiled to herself. Whatever Scott had done, it had worked. Mortimer seemed to relax a little now, though mostly around Scott. He stayed away from groups of people, however; they still freaked him out. He also insisted, even though it was summer, on wearing layers of dark clothing. Take today for example. It was eighty degrees outside and Mortimer was wearing a dark gray, long-sleeved T-shirt, a black sweatshirt with a hood, a black jacket, dark blue jeans, black boots, and black, fingerless gloves. Jean shook her head sadly. 'He still feels like he has to hide.' She thought.

Her musings were interrupted as Ororo sat down across from her. Jean noticed there was a bag by her feet. She raised her eyebrows. Ororo caught the look and smiled. "I'm going back to Kenya for a visit." Jean smiled back at her. She knew Ororo missed Africa. This visit would be good for her.

Everything was going fine.
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X-mansion, 2 days later

18-year old Remy LeBeau jumped to grab the lowest branch on the huge oak tree. He pulled himself upwards and swung his leg over the branch until he was straddling it. This small victory achieved, he began climbing further up into the tree.

Remy turned around on the tree limb so he could reach another branch. And came face to face with a pair of huge, black eyes. "Agghh!" he jumped backwards in surprise. Unfortunately, he was still in the tree. Remy let out another shout as he began to fall, but before he could react any further, a smooth, cool hand grasped his own and pulled him back up on the branch.

He started again (this time he didn't fall) at the sight of a small man with green hair and black eyes. The man let go of Remy's hand averted his eyes, obviously uncomfortable with Remy's staring. Remy caught himself and quickly apologized. "Ah, homme, je suis désolé. Je n'ai pas su que n'importe qui était autrement vers le haut ici. Un-Êtes-vous un mutant? Quel est votre nom?" At the man's confused look, Remy realized he had spoken in French and the man hadn't understood a word he said. "Pardonnez-moi, mon ami. Remy forgot himself. Remy is sorry about that, he didn't know anyone else was up here." Looking away, the young mutant apoligized as well. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to scare you." Remy recognized a British accent in the soft-spoken voice. "What is your name, mon ami?" The man turned his gaze back to Remy. "Mortimer Toynbee. You?" Remy did a dramatic half bow, carefully though; he wasn't in a hurry to fall again. "To me friends, Remy LeBeau. To me enemies, de name is Gambit." Mortimer smiled slightly.

Remy smiled." Nice to meet you, mon ami." He held out a hand. Mortimer seemed to hesitate, then relax. They shook hands. Mortimer stared at him for a moment. "Why do you wear sunglasses?" Remy's smile faltered slightly. Sighing, he took off his glasses.

"If de eyes are de window to de soul, den Remy's a demon, for sure."
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Mortimer stared, shocked, into Remy's blood red eyes. "Cor. I'm starting to think I'm no the only one who's had problems because of his eyes." He found himself murmuring. Remy smirked and slid his sunglasses back on. "Ainsi, what's your mutation?" Mortimer cocked his head to the side in an inhuman fashion. "Mutation?" Remy looked confused. "Oui. You are a mutant, no?" Mortimer looked down at his feet. "Oh. Well, besides how I look, I can climb walls and jump really high and I have a 12 foot tongue."

Remy stared. " Stupéfier. Remy only has one mutation besides his eyes." Mortimer raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" Remy shrugged. "Remy can charge an object with kinetic energy and make it explode." Mortimer nodded, trying not to let on the fact that he had no clue what kinetic energy was. He had felt like such an idiot when Dr. Grey had learned that he couldn't read or write. He had absolutely no education whatsoever. Thinking of this made him embarrassed and he looked away.

Remy noticed his sudden discomfort. "Are you alright, mon ami?" Mortimer let out a short laugh. "What?" Mortimer looked back at him and gave him a small smile. "It's just that I've probably been asked that about 3 dozen times since I came here." Remy smiled back. "Remy?" "Oui?" "What does 'mon ami' mean?" Mortimer inquired. "My friend." Mortimer lowered his gaze, afraid to meet Remy's eyes. " I know this is going to sound 'orribly stupid but I've never had a friend before. And...and if you don't really think of me as a friend, then please don't say that." There was a moment of silence.


Mortimer felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Remy's crimson eyes burned into his. When he spoke, his Cajun-tinged voice was serious.

"Remy is, and is honored to be, your friend."
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Translations:

Ah, homme, je suis désolé. - Ah, man, I am sorry.

Je n'ai pas su que n'importe qui était autrement vers le haut ici - I didn't know anyone else was up here.

Un-Êtes-vous un mutant? - Are you a mutant?

Quel est votre nom - What is your name?
Pardonnez-moi - Excuse me

Stupéfier - Amazing

Ainsi - So

Oui - Yes

I'll be using a lot of French in the following chapters for Remy. I'll make sure to include translations. I know this chapter went kinda of slow at the end, but there will be more action in the following chapters.

- Cera