Conversations at Night

"Are you sure he's not mad at me?" Fred asked Todd.

"Sure I'm sure," Todd told him. "Believe me, if he was really mad, you'd know! Don't worry. You did okay for your first day. It will get better. Trust me. Look at it this way, you can at least last longer than the X-Geeks! They didn't even make it for the full two weeks they were supposed to be here!"

"They didn't?" Fred asked. "For some reason that's not a shock to me. Figures they'd take the easy way out. Course they got that fancy mansion and the rich guy to hide behind."

"Ah we're better off here," Todd waved.

"Yeah," Fred scratched his head. "Most of 'em didn't seem so bad. I like Shipwreck. He seems okay for an adult."

"Yeah they don't got their noses stuck up in the air or nothin," Todd told him. "Don't worry Freddy. Hey you should have seen how bad I screwed up my first day!" He lightly punched Fred in the shoulder. "Don't worry buddy. You'll get better."

"You think so?" Fred asked.

"I know so," Todd nodded.

"Thanks buddy," Fred sighed. "I feel better."

"Anytime," Todd waved.

"Toad can I ask you something?" Fred said. "Just between us guys…you and Althea really weren't doing anything, right?"

"Well…" Todd looked back at the door. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Technically no."

"Technically?"

"Shhh, keep your voice down!" Todd hushed him. "I mean…we did do some kissing but not the way they made it out to be. We kind of…well it was like an incentive for doing homework."

"What kind of incentive?" Fred whispered. "I won't tell!"

"Okay, but this just stays between you and me, got it?" Todd whispered. "Not even Pietro or Lance knows about it and I don't want Althea to know you know."

"I swear Toad!" Fred held up his hand. "Scouts honor!"

"Swear the oath?" Todd asked. "What I say I shall not speak…"

"What I say I shall not speak," Fred repeated the oath that had been created when they were back in the Brotherhood.

"And if I do, I turn into an X-Geek," Todd said.

"And if I do, I turn into an X-Geek," Fred repeated. This was followed with a few hand gestures and a clasping of the hands. "Okay now spill!"

"Well if we did a certain number of problems and stuff, we got to kiss each other," Todd told him. "Like a quick peck. No big deal."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Fred sounded disappointed.

"There's more," Todd said. "After we finished a section perfectly, and I mean perfectly…she'd let me touch her. Through her shirt mind you."

"You mean…?" Fred's eyes were wide as he pointed to his breast.

"Yeah," Todd smirked. "She didn't take anything off or anything. You see we came up with this system of fooling around without actually fooling around if you get my drift."

"Oh no way," Fred said.

"Way," Todd nodded. "We kinda got in trouble before when she walked in on me while I was taking a shower. That's how I ended up on that base when the you guys and the Geek Brigade showed up. They thought we needed a cooling off period."

"She didn't!" Fred's mouth was open.

"She did," Todd smiled. "But to be fair, I did get a nice view too if you get my meaning."

"You saw her…?" Fred's jaw fell even lower.

"Uh huh," Todd smiled.

"Sweet!" Fred laughed.

"Shhhh!" Todd shushed him.

"Sorry!" Fred apologized. "Man Toad, you have the coolest girlfriend ever!"

"Yeah well I wanna keep it that way so button your lip," Todd said.

"Oh it's buttoned!" Fred crossed his heart. "I swear Toad! I won't tell a soul!"

"You'd better not," Todd moved away and started getting ready for bed.

"Hey!" Fred noticed a picture on top of the drawer. "Who's that?" In the picture were Todd, Althea and another mutant he had never seen before.

"What?" Todd hopped over.

"Who's the weird looking guy?" Fred pointed to the snakelike mutant in the picture.

"Oh yeah that's Xi," Todd nodded. "I forgot you ain't met him yet. He's a mutant like us. Well not exactly. Cobra made him in a lab and he escaped. And uh…he ain't exactly a he."

"That's a girl?" Fred asked.

"Uh no…" Todd played with his fingers. "Xi ain't a girl either. Xi doesn't have a gender. We just call Xi a he cause it's easier. Weird huh?"

"Toad you forget I once lived in a circus," Fred snorted. "Believe me, I've seen it all. So where is 'he'?"

"In Japan," Todd told him. "He went with Stormshadow to help him take care of some business."

"Who's Stormshadow?" Fred asked putting the picture back and getting ready for bed.

"He's a ninja!" Todd said proudly. "He taught me a lot of other stuff too! He used to work for Cobra until he found out they double-crossed him. Now he works for the Joes."

"Boy Toad you know a lot of weird people," Fred scratched his head. "No wonder mutants ain't such a big deal around here!"

"That's nothing," Todd waved. "Wait 'til you meet some of the other Joes around here."

"I guess," Fred sighed as he got into bed. "Better get some shut eye."

"Yeah, night Freddy," Todd turned out the light with his tongue.

"Night Toad," Fred sighed. After a minute passed. "Toad?"

"Yeah Freddy?"

"Do you think I'll ever get a girl?"

"Hey I got one, so it's possible," Todd said.

"That's true," Fred said. "Thanks buddy. I feel better now. Good night."

"Good night."

"Toad?"

"Yeah?"

"What's happening with Lance now?"

"He's okay Freddy. I know he is. Trust me."

"And Pietro and Wanda?"

"No problems," Todd said. "I know you're worried, but Lifeline's watching out for them. Nothing's gonna happen."

Todd had no idea how wrong he was.

************************************************************************

Pietro sighed as he tried to fluff his pillow for the thousandth time. It had been a long day. First Lifeline shot some more healing energy into his body, which wasn't so bad. Then he took him to see their resident shrink. That was when things started to go downhill.

Pietro being Pietro had decided to have a little fun with the shrink. He deliberately said nothing when Psyche-Out started talking to him. He thought the silent treatment would make the shrink go a bit nuts. However immediately Psyche-Out shut up. And then he did the most insane thing imaginable. Psyche-Out took out a coloring book and started to color it with crayons.

Pietro's mouth fell open. He was deliberately ignoring him. Of course Pietro couldn't stand for anyone to ignore him so he started asking what Psyche-Out was doing. He ignored him and continued coloring him as if he wasn't listening. Pietro kept asking which turned to shouting and finally he grabbed the coloring book away from him.

"HA!" Pietro crowed holding up the book in his hand. "Whatcha gonna do now?"

Psyche-Out calmly got up and walked away from Pietro. "Hey!" Pietro managed to move his wheelchair around. "Don't ignore me!"

Then Psyche-Out started drawing on the walls. "What kind of shrink are you!" Pietro shouted. "You're supposed to be helping people and instead you're doodling on the walls with crayons like you're a four year old?"

"I'm not the only one acting childish," Psyche-Out pointed out.

"WHAT?" Pietro yelped.

"I can play games too," Psyche-Out told him, calmly drawing on the wall. "You don't want any help so why should I waste my time forcing myself on you? So nyahhh!" He stuck his tongue out at Pietro and then went back to doodling.

Pietro was furious, and being stuck in that wheelchair wasn't helping. He couldn't run or get after him. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!" Pietro screamed.

"Says who?" Psyche-Out asked.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Pietro shouted. If he only could move out of that chair he could have torn the room apart.

"Well a little cooperation would be nice," Psyche-Out turned around.

"And what kind of cooperation would that be?" Pietro snapped, folding his arms.

Psyche-Out sighed. "It's too soon. You're not ready yet."

"Ready?"

"You need help Pietro, but I can't help you if you don't want it. And I'm not gonna force myself on you," Psyche-Out told him. "But you can't hold out forever. You're gonna have to talk to me sooner or later."

That was it. The next thing he knew he was back in the room. The whole day was excruciating. Wanda was gone when he came back so he had no one to talk to. He couldn't move and there was no TV around. There were a few books by his bedside, some of his old favorites and one he'd never read before so he read them. He deliberately slowed down his reading from his normal pace in order to kill time. Still he was finished with them all in two hours.

After he finished he decided to try and take a catnap. He dozed off quite easily. The sound of thunder awakened him. He sat up, startled. "You're finally awake," Wanda was in the bed next to him.

"Finally? I just took a nap," Pietro yawned.

"Your 'nap' lasted nearly all day," Wanda told him. "It's night time."

Pietro looked out the window. It was dark and starting to rain. "It can't be…" He blinked. "I didn't even think I was tired."

"Trust me, you were out cold," Wanda was holding something in her arms. It was a black stuffed cat with wide yellow eyes and a silly grin. "You even slept through dinner."

"What's that?" Pietro asked pointing at the object.

"He's called Mr. Stupid," Wanda told him, hugging the stuffed cat closer. "Althea's dad gave him to me."

"Why?" Pietro was puzzled.

"I guess he thought I'd be lonely," She shrugged. "He seems okay."

"Wanda, what do you think about these Joes?" He asked.

"I dunno," She shrugged. "They seem okay to me."

"I think they're all a bunch of lunatics," Pietro grumbled.

"Look who's talking," Wanda pointed out. "I agree with Psyche-Out. You are so totally in denial!"

"You talked to the shrink?"

"Where do you think I was half the day?" She looked at him. "It wasn't so bad. Then I went to see Hawk and he asked me stuff about Magneto and the secondary base for a couple of hours. I hope they catch that bastard."

"You told them about the Brotherhood?" Pietro asked. "Magneto I can understand but…"

"Why not?" Wanda snapped. "After the way they all treated us? Why shouldn't I tell them about all I know? Most of them are lunatics anyway!"

"Did you tell them about the secondary base?" Pietro asked. "And where it was?"

"Yes," Wanda said without hesitation. Then she recanted. "No…not everything. I told them where that they were building a new base but…" She sighed and looked away. "I couldn't bring myself to tell them where it was. It just felt…wrong to tell them everything. I want to hurt Magneto, but… I don't know."

"Yeah," Pietro sighed. "I know the feeling. How can we turn on our own kind? I don't think I could ever do that."

"I never thought of it like that," Wanda said. "Maybe…"

A knock at the door interrupted her. They looked up and saw Lifeline carrying a tray of food. Shipwreck was with him.

"Hey there," Shipwreck nodded. "How are you feeling kid?"

"Okay I guess," Pietro sighed. "A bit hungry."

"Here," Lifeline gave him the tray with food. "This will help. I kept it warm for you."

"What are you doing here?" Wanda asked Shipwreck.

"I just came to check up on you kids," Shipwreck told her. "You are all going to be living with me and Roadblock and a few other Joes so I thought I'd get a head start. So to speak."

"I can't believe I slept all day," Pietro sighed as he ate.

"Your body needs to rest and recover," Lifeline told him. "I did an x-ray while you slept, I have some good news."

"I could use some," Pietro sighed.

"I think your bone's almost knitted together," Lifeline was surprised.

"How did that happen?" Pietro asked.

"I think your metabolism with my abilities healed your leg faster," Lifeline told him.

Pietro finished eating with his usual speed. "So what you're saying is that you can heal me? Fix my leg so I can get out of this cast?"

"Yes," Lifeline said.

"Can you?" Pietro asked. "I'm going crazy being stuck in here! I need to get out!"

"Well…"

"Pleeeeaaasee!" Pietro whined. "I can't take any more!"

"I'll try," Lifeline shrugged.

"Uh…Lifeline you think that's such a good idea?" Shipwreck asked into his ear.

"I can't just let him suffer like that," Lifeline told him.

"You're too damn softhearted you know that?" Shipwreck grumbled. "But I guess I can see your point. He needs to get his strength back so that Hawk can question him."

"Question me?" Pietro looked at him. "About Magneto…or his base?"

"Both actually," Shipwreck sighed. "You already hear about that?"

"Yeah," Pietro said sullenly.

Lifeline sat down next to him and put his hands on Pietro's leg. "Now this might hurt a bit," He explained before he started.

"I'm ready," Pietro said.

Lifeline's energy flowed through his body. Pietro let out a gasp as he felt his leg bone knit together. He felt so strange; it felt more like a leg cramp rather than an agonizing sensation. When Lifeline finished he looked at the leg. "I think it's healed now." He said.

"I…I think you're right," Pietro blinked. "It feels normal."

Lifeline got out a tool and cut off the cast. His leg looked perfectly normal. "Can you stand on it?"

"I…I think so," Pietro wobbly sat up and tested it. "So far. So good…" He stood up, temporarily losing his balance. Finally he managed to stand on his two feet. "I'm better," He said in wonder. "It's not broken anymore."

I can walk…He thought. And if I can walk…

Suddenly a huge gust filled up the room. Papers, blankets were thrown around in a gust of wind. It didn't take them long to realize that healing Pietro's leg wasn't the smartest move they ever made.

"PIETRO!" Wanda screamed.

************************************************************************

At the same time General Hawk was in a meeting with Duke and Psyche-Out. There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Hawk said.

Low Light entered and saluted. "You wanted to see me General?"

"Ah yes Low Light," Hawk nodded. "As you know we are putting together a permanent team of Joes to look after the kids."

"So I've heard," Low Light remarked. "So what does that have to do with me?"

"So far we've decided that Roadblock will be the team leader," Hawk consulted his files. "Shipwreck and Spirit will also be on the team as well as the Blind Master. There will be other Joes that will help out in teaching part time of course. But we're trying to put together two or three other permanent members."

"Like I said, what does this have to do with me?" Low Light frowned.

"Low Light I've decided that you will be one of the Joes permanently assigned to the kids," Hawk said.

"This is a joke right?" Low Light asked.

"Nope," Psyche-Out said. "It was my idea."

"WHAT?" Low Light shouted. "May I remind you people that my job is a marksman? I'm a trained sniper, not a babysitter!"

"Well that will come in handy when and if you have to defend the kids," Hawk said. "They need someone to protect them as well."

"That's a lot of bull!" Low Light snarled. "You have Roadblock and Spirit and Shipwreck to protect them. Hell you even have a few ninjas around to train them! So why the hell do you need me?" He glared at them. "I know what this is really about. You can't fool me! How dumb do you think I am?"

"The nightmares have come back haven't they?" Psyche-Out said softly.

"So what?" Low Light snapped. "A few bad dreams and suddenly I'm delegated to day care?"

"That and a few other things," Psyche-Out said. "This is for your own good Low Light. Those kids can teach you a few things as well as you teaching them."

"I don't need any help!" Low Light snapped.

"They think the same thing," Psyche-Out said. "See you have a lot in common. You've been hiding from your dreams way too long Low Light. It's time to face yourself."

"You can't do this!" Low Light's fist pounded the table.

"I just did," Hawk said sternly. "Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be! Besides you owe me one, remember? Think of this as calling in that favor."

"What favor?" Duke looked puzzled.

"Nothing," Low Light snapped. "It's…personal."

"Well now that that's done we need to go over a few more things," Hawk said. "We can fill up the remaining roster later. Right now it's this secondary base of Magneto that has me worried."

"Psyche-Out did the kids say anything more about it?" Duke asked.

"No, but I think they do know where that base is," Psyche-Out told him. "But they don't want to narc on their fellow mutants. It's Magneto they want to get back at."

"We have to make them tell us where that base is," Duke said. "Innocent people could get hurt if they don't!"

"Duke in their minds we're still the enemy, remember?" Psyche-Out told him. "If we force them to tell us now, any chance of their rehabilitation will be gone forever. We have to earn their trust first."

"So we have to wait?" Hawk sighed.

"In the long run we'll get a lot more information if we're patient with them," Psyche-Out sighed. "They have to realize that it's not just about mutants vs. humans. They have to learn that everyone's life could be in danger on their own."

"But if we wait people could get hurt," Duke said. "As much as I want to help those kids we can't…"

A blip emanated from Hawk's communicator. Hawk turned it on. "Hawk here, what is it?"

"We got a problem!" Shipwreck groaned. "It's Pietro! Lifeline healed his leg! Big Mistake! The kid's run off!"

Next up, what happened with Pietro? Will he be found? Why did he run away? What will happen to him? Will this story ever have a plot? More to come!