A/N: Nothing except plz R/R!!!!!


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I arrived at the construction site five to eight. I parked the jeep and went into the office. I asked for Mr. Callor, the supervisor. The receptionist told me that he was busy at the moment, but would be done shortly. And sure enough, a few minutes later, he came out with some other older guy. I stood up, and he saw me.


"Ah, Mr. Alvers, this is Mr. Youngblood, he'll be showing you the ropes." I shook hands with the man, and smiled at him. "It seems the day has started, so I'll let you two get to work." He left and returned to his office.


"So, Mr. Youngblood, what do I need to know?" I asked him as we left the office.


"First off, call me Murray, none of this Mr. Youngblood shit, ya got that?" I nodded and smiled. "Now, what's you're name?"


"Lance. Lance Alvers." I told him.


"Well now Lance, may I ask why you're doing this? Because if you don't have a solid reason, you ain't gonna last long." Murray told me.


"I need money. I don't care what I have to do to get it." I told him the truth.


"You're what, 18? Why do you have to worry about money?" We arrived at a the equipment shed, and he handed me a hard hat.


"I'm 19, and I need the money for...." I didn't want to tell him that I needed it because I was raising four teenagers. He might call social services or something. "Something."


"Well, whatever it is, you better want it bad to take this job. You saw how much they pay us."


"It's better than nothing." I told him. He smiled.


"I think you and me are going to get along."


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The work was hard. At the end of my shift, my back was so sore I could barely drive. I had to hurry over to the school and pick the others up. I turned my favorite radio station, 96.7 QCM, to pass the time. The mix of old and new rock helped me calm down and relax some. I was going to need it, if I was to be doing this six days a week.


I arrived just as the last bell rang, releasing all the kids from the school. I pulled into the parking lot, and noticed my usual place was taken, so I parked near the door. I wasn't supposed to, but I didn't give a damn. I mentally dared any teacher to come over tell me not to park here. None came. I smiled inwardly. The jeep rocked as Freddy climbed in, followed by Pietro and Tabby.


"Where's Todd?" I asked them.


"Dunno, he was right behind us." Tabby said. I sighed, climbed out, and walked into the school. I spotted Todd getting bullied by Duncan and his friends. I started to head over there, when they walked off, leaving Todd in a heap on the floor. Todd stood up and noticed me. He gave me a glare and walked by me, heading outside. I followed, climbed into the drivers seat, and went home.


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The next day went pretty much the same, and the next. Then on Thursday, I had to go and get Todd from the nurse's office. Duncan had beaten him up again. Todd refused to talk about it, or anything for that matter. I tried pressing him to talk, but he just became more stubborn, so I backed off. Nothing happened on Friday, or at least no one told me anything. But I knew something was going on. Every day Todd was limping, or had a black, or a bloody nose. The others either didn't notice, or didn't care. Probably both. Not like there was much they could do that they hadn't already. Pietro's told them to back off, Tabby's bombed their lockers, and Fred's intimidated them. But nothing has worked. I knew I had to try something.


And so, over the weekend, I came up with an idea. At night after work I would teach him how to fight back. And not just with fists either. I'd teach him how out wit them. It wouldn't be too hard, Duncan and his gang weren't exactly on the list of intelligent people. I waited until I could catch Todd alone. I'm sure he didn't want to talk about it in front of the others, whether they cared or not. Finally, on Sunday afternoon, I caught my chance.


"Hey." I said to him. We were on the back porch. Todd was sitting on the porch swing, staring out at the field behind the house.


"Hey." He replied. I sat down beside him, and the swing began to creak dangerously. I jumped up and sat on the railing, which also creaked, but nothing more than normal.


"I want to talk to you about Duncan and the others." He glanced up at me, then looked away again.


"There's nothing to say."


"Yeah there is. If you'll let me, I'll teach you how to fight back." I told him.


"I don't want to talk about it!" He shouted, and hopped to the other side of the porch. I started to follow him, but then stopped.


"Fine. You know where you can find me if you ever want to." I went inside and turned TV on. A few minutes later he came in and sat down beside me. I turned the volume down.


"My dad used to beat my mom up. It was a constant thing. I used to see it all the time. She wouldn't fight back. She let him do it. He'd beat her bloody, and wouldn't let her go to the hospital. I'd help her clean herself up. Then one day, she told a friend, and the friend told her to stop taking it. To fight back. That night, I watched as my dad begun to beat her again. She started fighting back, which pissed him off even more. He took something, I don't remember what, and hit her over the head with it. I could hear her skull crack. He must've too, because he left. I went over and held her. She died in my arms." I was shocked at this. I knew Todd was orphaned like me, but I didn't know it had happened like that. "Don't you see Lance? I can't fight back. It killed my mom, it'll kill me."


"Look at me Todd. Just because you're mom fought back that one time and died, doesn't mean that she wouldn't have down line by not fighting. Don't you want the beatings to stop?"


"Yeah, but I'm scared Lance. I'm scared to fight back." He looked at me, and it was obvious. He was truly scared.


"I know you are. And I don't blame you. I would be too. But you have to overcome your fear. That's what Duncan and his friends prey on. They know you won't fight back. And it's time that you do. Don't let them walk all over you. Besides, you're a mutant. They ain't. You got the advantage and it's about time you use it." I told him. He said nothing for a minute, then looked at me.


"When do we start?"


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For the next few weeks I taught Todd everything I knew. And slowly but surely, he received less beatings. And less. Until, for an entire week, he didn't have any. It was good. I was catching up on the bills, and I was getting use to the soreness from work. I was building up muscle too, with was definitely a perk. I should've known it was too good to be true.