Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Marvel and/or 20th Century Fox. Any others are mine, all mine . . . Sorry. Got a bit carried away. Also deepest apologies for dredging up another old character of mine, Nocturne.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arioch 7: Daimonikos
Arioch hadn't been right the last few weeks, Toad thought again to himself. Something's wrong.
He couldn't discover what it was. Even as close as they'd become. Still afraid of rejection, still not confident enough to directly confront her, he watched her grow distant. She had become secretive. She'd made numerous trips to the mainland without an escort and, to his knowledge, without Magnus's permission. Her drinking, which had slowed considerably, picked up again.
He watched her change, and didn't know what to do.
Toad wanted to swipe the bottles of alcohol away from her. He wanted to demand to accompany her to New York, or demand she tell him what she did there. He wanted to force her to look at herself in a mirror, to see how wane and sallow she'd become. He wanted to shake her awake when she cried out in sleep.
Instead, he silently watched amber liquid disappear down her throat. He held her while she slept, not waking her, until her thrashings and outbursts subsided each night.
He was worried. He was scared. He wished his resolve were stronger so he could make her understand how she upset him; he wished he could make her understand he would do anything for her, to make her better.
Anything at all.
But paralyzed by his insecurities, Toad only watched.
~~~~~
Steadily drinking whiskey one night a few days later, Arioch glanced at a clock and literally jumped up.
"Ohshit!" she slurred. "I gotta go."
Toad, who'd been observing her, feeling helpless, hurried after her as she made her way to the door.
"Quinn—don't," he urged. Even to himself he was unsure what he was asking. He reformed the statement. "Please don't leave again."
She ignored him, stumbling slightly as she walked.
Immediately Toad was at her side, supporting her carefully. She looked so pale. "Please," he repeated, a pleading tone evident in his voice. "Don't leave. You're so weak—"
"I'm not weak!"
Harsh words usually made him cringe, and this time was no exception. Toad willfully steeled himself and tried again.
"Quinn, dearest, I . . . I didn't mean weak. But you're so—unsteady. And tired. I know you haven't been sleeping well . . . I don't want anything to happen to you . . ."
Arioch turned to him. Her normally bright eyes were dull and more sunken than he realized. Dark circles decorated her face underneath them. Toad swallowed passed the lump in his throat.
"I—I'm worried about you, Quinn. I want to keep you safe. I—I think I've fallen in love with you. I know I've fallen in love with you." If the revelation startled her, it didn't show on her face. The pleading in Toad's voice returned. "Don't go. Please. Stay with me—I'll take care of you! I'll make you better!"
"I have to go." Even her voice was colorless.
"I'll keep you safe," he insisted, feverishly. "Whatever is going on, I'll help you through it. Just stay here, with me, and I'll do anything, anything—"
"Mortimer," she interrupted, "I'm sorry. You can't help me with this. I have to do this on my own."
"What? What do you have to do that I can't help you with?"
She only shook her head sadly. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Crestfallen, Toad felt burning tears fill his eyes as well. He dropped his gaze from hers and felt the tears streak down his cheeks. Biting his lip, he managed to lift his head to look at her again.
"Then let me come with you," he said quietly.
"Mortimer—"
"Let me come and make sure you're okay! Let me help you, Quinn!"
Her tears fell too. "I'm so sorry," Arioch whispered. Her hand reached up and brushed the wetness from his jaw. It was trembling. "It's too dangerous . . . I don't want you to be hurt."
He made a sound of protest, but she silenced him with fingers on his lips.
"I promise," she continued, "I promise this is the end. I promise I'll be back, and won't . . . do this again."
"You said it was dangerous!" he accused, forcing the words passed her fingertips. "And you won't let me go with you so I won't get hurt! But what about you? Why can't I be sure you won't be hurt?"
Again she shook her head. "I can't let you come with me. No. I'll be fine, Mortimer. It's dangerous, yes, but I've gone so far that it'll be okay for me." Arioch saw his confused expression and answered his question before he spoke it. "No, I can't explain right now. Maybe later, when I'm back. Okay?"
"No, it's not okay." The conviction in his own voice startled him.
Arioch heard it too, and it seemed to make her more unhappy. She repeated, "I'm so sorry . . .." and turned away from him again. Shaking off his hands, she made her way to the door and slipped through it without a backward look.
Toad bit his lip, harder—hard enough to taste the salt in his blood coat his tongue. Sucking on the wound, he blinked back the tears that threatened to fall again. He stared at the closed door for a moment, willing Arioch to come back. When she didn't, he purposefully strode out the door, after her.
~~~~~
He trailed behind her. The city made him uncomfortable and nervous. He stayed as far in the shadows as he could, to be unnoticed by the crowds she traveled through. She made her way to Rosebud.
Toad saw her brush passed the bouncer, Otis, then was at a loss of what to do. He didn't want to go into the club—Otis or Russell the bartender would recognize him, and alert Arioch to his presence. He located a nearby fire escape and easily leapt to the lowest horizontal bars. With his back resting against the filthy bricks of the building, he crouched, motionless, to wait.
Waiting and watching was no difficulty; he had had years of practice. The club closed at 2 a.m., and it was now just an hour before. Arioch wouldn't be here long, and Toad was determined to follow her no matter where she went.
No, waiting was no problem.
~~~~~
Shrouded by his perch, Toad inspected each patron as they left the bar. Arioch hadn't come out yet, even after the flow trickled to nothing. Four, five minutes passed without another person coming through the door. Toad's anxiety rose. When another two minutes passed, he gripped the rail of the fire escape and gently flipped himself over it.
Arioch exited the building at the same moment. Quickly, Toad readjusted his grasp and held on, instead of dropping to the ground and having the noise of a landing startling her. He pulled himself up awkwardly and hooked his feet through the iron bars to give himself more support.
Arioch paused by Otis. Toad could see they were speaking, but was too far away to hear their hushed voices. He watched the huge black man right himself, and saw him put a heavy arm around Arioch's shoulders. The two started down the street.
They passed very close to his hiding spot. Bristling with rage, Toad considered dropping himself atop the obese man. He knew exactly where to land to instantly snap a man's neck. He knew exactly where to land to break a back, and make him suffer. He bit his lip, sending dull pain through it again, and considered his options.
"Don' you worry 'bout nothin', Quinn," he heard Otis say. "This is it. The last step—everythin'll be right after tanight."
He saw her nod. Under the streetlights she looked paler than ever, only a gaunt version of her former self.
Toad still felt the urge to drop on Otis and feel the wet crack of his spine breaking underfoot, but curiosity overrode his anger. He let them pass without making a sound. When they had gone far enough down the block to not notice his landing, he let the railing go. His bent legs absorbed the impact on the concrete, and he hurried after them.
~~~~~
The two ahead of him made an odd couple. Otis's fleshy arm threatened to overwhelm Arioch's slender frame.
'Too thin,' Toad thought as he followed a block behind them. He dwelled on the fact that her ribs stood out painfully now, causing his fingertips to skip over her skin when he soothed her at night. 'She's too thin . . .."
Lost in anxiety, he almost missed noticing Arioch and Otis entering a large, but broken down, apartment building. By the time he sped to the outer door, the two had disappeared somewhere within the slum.
"Shit!" thought Toad to himself. "How will I find them now?!"
The mailboxes located in the foyer were no help; those that hadn't been ripped from the wall were covered in graffiti. Chewing fretfully on a ragged fingernail, Toad decided his only course of action was to walk through the apartment building and try to find them. Hopefully no one would see him . . . he sighed and began slowly pacing the hallways of the first floor.
~~~~~
He needn't have worried about being seen or recognized. Many of the lightbulbs in the overhead sockets were missing. The entire place was cloaked in shadows. It reminded him vaguely of the lair.
Most of the closed doors he passed had no light shining underneath. Toad quickly discovered that unlit doors were unlocked and the apartments within were vandalized. He didn't open any more after the first few demonstrated their inoccupancy.
He did, however, pause outside doors with light coming from under the ill-fitting doors. These apartments were infrequent. Noises he heard from inside sounded normal: TVs, people arguing. None that he stopped beside had any evidence that Arioch and her companion were inside.
Feeling more and more discouraged, the sour taste of fear made his mouth dry. What if they left the building? What if he had only imagined he saw them enter? What if he did find them? What if—?
Toad's train of thought derailed as a tortured cry—Quinn?!—cut through the air.
Instantly his worst horrors came to mind, and heedless if anyone heard or saw him, Toad darted down the hallway. In the back of his mind he realized a deathly quiet had come over the building. His own running footsteps pounded too loudly over the ancient floorboards.
Skidding to a halt in front of the door he thought the scream had come from, Toad barely righted himself before kicking it off its hinges.
The scene inside was horrible, confusing. He jerked himself to a stop just inside the door, frozen in place, trying to comprehend the situation before him.
Arioch lay motionless on the bare floor, mostly naked, covered in—oh god, no, it can't be!—blood. Thick chalk dust hung like silt in the air. Candles, so many that it made Toad blink, lit the room. Their flames flickered with the intrusion of wind from the hallway. Odd, vaguely familiar odors—lavender, coppery semen, fire, old leather—permeated the room.
Otis sat in a corner, giggling. The twitter caught Toad's attention, and he was able to tear his gaze from Arioch, still immobile on the floor.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" he screamed.
"It came—it was here—here!" the obese black man sang aloud, rocking in time with the syllables. He clutched a gun to his chest. "It worked, it worked, it worked—"
"What did you do to her?!" Toad screamed again, panic raising his voice.
Otis seemed to suddenly notice Toad in the room. He turned fevered eyes to the smaller mutant. "—it worked! I knew it would, no one'd lissen ta Otis, no one, no one—no one—"
"Shut up!" demanded Toad.
He paid no attention, still rocking. "Otis said it would work, an' it did! Saw it with my own two eyes—my own two eyes—"
Otis turned his gaze back to the middle of the floor. Transfixed with whatever he saw there, his words disintegrated into a mindless howl. Before Toad could respond to anything else, Otis put the barrel of the gun in his mouth.
"My own two eyes," he managed to say around the steel, and pulled the trigger.
~~~~~
Toad wasn't able to piece everything together in his own mind after that. What had only been a few seconds after kicking down the door stretched endlessly.
He remembered watching Otis's last moment. His mind settled on a little something; something tangible. The gun. The gun was Arioch's, and his mind knew she would get in trouble if they traced it back to her. So cautiously, not really knowing how he crossed the room, Toad removed the revolver from the dead man's floppy hand, and slipped it into his waistband.
Quinn. Quinn. Help Quinn.
Still working on automatic pilot, Toad found himself back at her side. He was vaguely aware that precise chalk emblems had been drawn on the floor surrounding her, and was sorry he mussed them. More chalk dust in the air made it hazy.
Quinn.
Kneeling beside her, feeling vertigo as real time eased it's way back to him, Toad was at a loss. She was unconscious. The blood that coated her was fresh and shiny. Her chest moved very very slightly with her breath.
Toad pulled his own hair in his indecision. What happened? Why wasn't he here to protect her? What did that bastard Otis do to her?
She needed help now—but where could he take her? Back at the lair Mystique was the best with medical problems, but she didn't like Arioch. Never had. Where could he take her? Not a hospital. They didn't treat mutants. Hadn't Magneto always said that? But Quinn didn't look mutant. They would treat her like a normal person. Could he take her to a hospital and leave her there? Leave her without anyone seeing him?
He pounded his fists into his forehead. No! He wasn't leaving her alone again! Not in a hospital, not anywhere!
Cursing himself, in tears with his own indecisiveness, Toad carefully—so carefully—slipped his jacket around her. He gathered her to him. She made no motion, and hung limp in his arms. She felt so cold.
With only half an answer forming in his head, Toad hurried away, leaving the dead man and bewildering atmosphere of the dark room behind him.
~~~~~
"Angel? Angel, wake up . . .."
"I heard too."
"You stay behind me. Got it?"
A snort. "Of course, dearest . . .."
"Sarcasm? This early in the mornin'?"
Another snort, disguised with a chuckle.
~~~~~
Toad felt as if he could have no more tears left, but more insisted on coming. With blurry vision and unclear thoughts, he had made his way to the closest place that could be considered safe for mutants—Professor Xavier's Institute.
Confronted with heavy iron gates, he simply vaulted over. He could barely make out the huge mansion in the dusk. He felt drained and close to exhaustion. Doggedly, however, he started up the long driveway.
"Where do you think you're goin', bub?" a gruff voice said beside him.
Consumed with Arioch, Toad was startled by the utterance.
"I—I—" he stuttered, stepping sideways. "I n-need help!"
"You take one more step an' you'll need a lotta help," Wolverine replied harshly.
Toad heard the unmistakable sound of blades sliding out for use.
"Pl-please!" Toad pleaded, desperately. "Quinn—she's hurt badly! She needs help—I didn't know where else to take her!"
Wolverine stepped forward, into Toad's vision. The movement was feral and unexpected. He inspected Toad carefully, then turned his attention to the still unconscious Arioch.
"What'd you do ta her?"
"Nothing! I would never—she's my—my—" A sob choked him off before he could complete the sentence.
With his nose telling him more than words, Wolverine believed him. The amphibian mutant's scent was solid, sticky hysteria and sweat. The desperation in it made Wolverine's lip curl. The woman was covered in blood, fresh blood, but under it he could tell the two had shared a bed, at least. They smelled the same. Faintly.
Toad stood nervously before him, shifting from foot to foot.
Wolverine felt a gentle push, and Professor Xavier was with him.
::Let them pass, Logan,:: Charles whispered. ::He's telling the truth, and the woman needs immediate medical attention.::
"I know!" Wolverine spit aloud, startling Toad again. To the taller mutant he said, "Come on. Chuck says ta git ta the house. Nocturne!"
A wolf, as black as the night, materialized on Toad's other side.
"Nocturne'll help keep her warm," explained Wolverine shortly. "Yer girlfriend's temp is almost down ta dead." Toad looked panicked. "Put her on Nocturne's back—you jog along beside her and keep her steady. Got it? An' you better move fast—Nocturne'll out run you before you know it."
The wolf watched him with narrowed hazel eyes, but stood steadfast as Toad gently placed Arioch on her back. Immediately he could feel the warmth radiating from the wolf.
"I'm watchin' you, Toad," Wolverine growled before they started off. "I'm tailin' you every step of the way. You make one wrong move an' Arioch ain't the only one who'll be needin' the med lab.
"Ready, angel? Let's go!"
Wolverine slipped behind Nocturne and Toad as they started off. Before they were too far ahead, he faintly heard Toad call back,
"Thank you . . .."
It surprised him. A silent moment in thought passes, and he hurried to follow.
~~~~~
His constant vigil exhausted him, but he refused to fall asleep. This place made him more nervous than he imagined it would. He knew the X-men were monitoring them, no matter what they insisted about the private recovery rooms. He wouldn't let sleep come, in case Arioch woke up. He wanted know the second her eyes opened.
Toad, his brain tired, rubbed his eyes. The trip through the mansion had been surreal. Nocturne carried Arioch easily to the foyer, where it seemed most of the X-men team had gathered.
'In case what was happening was simply a ruse to get in the house,' Toad thought resentfully.
Beast had given Arioch a cursory exam and conferred quietly with Professor Xavier. Toad couldn't hear most of what transpired, and didn't understand many of the words he did catch. When the larger mutant came closer and told him that she needed to be taken to the med lab, Toad watched him suspiciously. Beast made a motion to take Arioch from the wolf's back, and Toad exploded.
He knocked the larger mutant away with a well placed kick to the knee, and shouted,
"No one touches her but me!"
Toad sensed the wolf tense beside him, and whipped his head around to stare her down. Again the hazel eyes narrowed, and her lips pulled back to expose her teeth, but she didn't move. Satisfied, he spun to face Wolverine, who'd silently come up behind him. He sunk to a crouch as they did, not even questioning if he could take on the beserker. He could feel stress building throughout the foyer, but focused on the two X-men closest to him.
"Stop this," the Professor's mild voice cut through. "Mortimer, you came to us asking for help. We offer it, but you must put aside your fears and allow us to work."
No one moved.
"Every second you take while deciding is a second Quinn is not receiving medical care."
That statement caught his attention. Abruptly, but no less warily, Toad stood upright.
"Thank you," Charles said sincerely. He motioned to Beast, who had gotten to his feet again and was massaging his bruised joint. "Henry, please escort Mortimer and Quinn to your facilities. Mortimer can transport her. I will join you. Logan, you and Alexis may go. As may everyone else," he informed the anxious crowd on the main staircase.
"Professor!" Cyclops exclaimed. He stared pointedly at Toad, his expression easy to read.
"Scott, thank you for your concern. I believe there will be no further outbursts. Correct?"
Sullenly, Toad nodded. Carefully he lifted Arioch from Nocturne's back.
"Excellent!"
"But—"
Before he could protest more, Charles and Jean both reassured him mentally. Cyclops gave a reserved sigh and a curt nod. Wolverine and Nocturne slipped back out the massive front doors. The rest of the team—Jubilee, Nightcrawler, Jean, Gambit, and Rogue—trudged slowly upstairs, following Cyclops
Toad followed a limping Beast to the elevator. He glanced up at the retreating team as he went. Jubilee made cagey eye contact with him. He could read the speculations in her face, and gave the girl a sneer. She dropped her gaze and quickened her pace.
~~~~~
In the med lab, under the bright surgical lights, Toad noticed the weariness evident in both the X-men. He felt fatigue gnawing at him too, but struggled to hide it. He watched as Beast made a careful examination of Arioch's body. The huge man gently removed her clothing and used warm water to cleanse her. The sponge in use was rinsed and wrung out several times, leaving red tinged puddles in the nearby sink.
Finally, he was done.
"Mr. Toynbee," Beast said in his soothing, baritone voice, "there appear to be no physical wounds present on Quinn. I can only surmise the blood was not hers."
Toad gripped the edge of the table and stared down at her. Once again, tears hazed his vision. "Then what's wrong with her?" he demanded. "Why won't she wake up?"
"Tests need to be run," replied Beast. "We have the facilities to run blood tests and MRIs, as well as exams that can be tailored to the specific mutant."
The immense stress of the passed few weeks suddenly loomed in Toad's mind and threatened to overwhelm him. He hadn't ever been groomed to be in a position of decision-making. As he tried vainly to think coherently, to make the right choice, the room seemed to blur.
Toad pushed himself away from the surgical table and stumbled backward. His back hit a wall and he crumbled to the floor, to his customary crouch. He simultaneously covered his face with his hands and pulled his hair. A thin keening moan escaped his lips.
Beast looked to the Professor. The older man maneuvered his hover chair to Toad. He placed his hand on the green-skinned mutant's shoulder, and felt the immediate flinch. Toad didn't look up at him.
"Would you like us to conduct preliminary tests on Quinn, Mortimer?" Charles asked him softly.
"Can you make her better?" he replied franticly. "Can you find out what's wrong? Can you make her wake up?"
"We will do our best," Charles assured him, catching Hank's eye with a slight nod. Hank returned it and left the room. "Now, Mortimer—you look exhausted. Why don't you come with me—"
His response was immediate. "No! I have to stay with her! If I'd been with her, this wouldn't have happened—I could have helped her!"
The Professor wondered briefly what did transpire, and tried again. "Please, Mortimer. You can have a shower, and a brief rest, and you'll be back before Henry has completed his tests—"
"No! I'm staying here!"
Mentally sighing, Charles paused a moment. "Then may I offer you something to drink, to help keep you awake? Coffee, tea—?"
With no pressure to leave, Toad calmed visibly. "Tea would be nice."
The wheelchair bound man nodded again. "Very well. Tea will be sent down. I'll stay too, will that be all right? I would like to hear what did happen tonight. Would that be acceptable to you?"
Another decision. Charles Xavier, asking his permission to stay.
In Toad's silence, Charles continued in a softer voice.
"I can feel how deeply you care for her," he sympathized. "And how anxious this situation is for you. I can help ease your worries, if you would like me to."
The idea of someone traipsing around inside his private thoughts unnerved him. "You can be here," Toad replied loudly. "But stay out of my head."
"Of course."
~~~~~
The testing took a few hours. Arioch lay as if dead through it all. The Professor didn't leave Toad's side the entire time, asking questions regarding the events leading up to them being outside the gates. In the end, unable to articulate accurately what happened in the apartment building, Toad allowed Charles to telepathically experience it.
It felt odd, to know someone else was seeing what he remembered. Toad was glad when he felt the gentle pressure behind his eyes disappeared.
Charles looked troubled as he exited Toad's thoughts. Before he could express his concern, however, Beast finished the last of his preliminary testing.
"The MRI is complete," he announced. Toad turned to him expectantly. "It will take more time to interpret the results from the machines, however. As it is nearly dawn, I suggest moving Quinn to a private room. There is a chance she may awaken before the results are complete."
"I can stay with her?"
"Of course," Charles replied immediately. "I think that would be best, don't you, Henry?"
"Absolutely."
So they had given them a private room, complete with a bathroom, in the recovery room of the med lab.
"Please tell me when you have any answers," Toad beseeched them as the two X-men made to leave the room.
They both nodded.
"You're safe here, Mortimer," Charles assured him. "Nothing will happen to Quinn while she's here. You can relax. Freshen up, and later I'll have breakfast sent down."
But even once they left and closed the door behind them Toad refused to leave her side. Arioch, still unconscious, looked vulnerable and deathly pale in the hospital bed. The Professor had advised him to relax, and his body screamed for sleep, but he denied himself of it, to watch her.