Chapter Nine:
Toad stared at the dark wall and clenched his fists in frustration. He was crouched in the shadows near the front door, trying to decide what to do next. To his right, he could see the young woman sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning her chin in her palm and looking tired. Her eyes shone out against her face, which was now partially covered in soot from the burning blankets.
A part of him wished Rebecca would try to burn down this place, even though he knew it was pointless. He was ready for something to happen, he was ready to be confronted or attacked by guards at any moment, that he knew how to handle. But the waiting was becoming unbearable.
Toad stared at her with a dark frown. He was glad she did not look scared, but she looked bored, content on waiting for someone to rescue them or believing someone was bound to check up on them. Was she so fucking naive? After what he had seen her do on that old video, soldiers running through the trees, firing on her and her mother, she should know what kind of humans held them here. She should be angry, damn it. She should be fucking pissed...
So why wasn't she? All that power and she was just sitting there, listening to that X-Man babble on about something. Toad flexed his hands again and looked away from Rebecca voluntarily, before something else in his mind forced him to. It was easier to be angry, to hate both her and the Cajun for their apathy, instead of resolving himself to the same fate.
"Maybe they're leaving us here to die," Gambit said with exaggerated worry, but smirking, "Maybe they will leave us to starve to death or suffocate."
I could speed that up for you, Toad thought, and then heard Rebecca speak.
"I don't think so," she said, "They could have just shot us and saved millions on that robot."
Gambit began to shuffle his cards again and sighed, "I wish I could think of something to play with only half a deck. Something to pass the time..."
"Well," Rebecca replied, "Split it up and we can play really short games of WAR. Of course, things might get violent if you don't let me win."
Gambit chuckled, "I just want to say, right now, that I am the only one allowed to burn my cards."
"I guess that's out then," Rebecca replied with a sigh.
Gambit glanced between her and Toad wickedly.
"I could sing..." he suggested and was met by a resounding, "NO," from both other parties.
The minutes ticked on slowly and Rebecca stared down at her bare feet. She really was not thinking about her toes, but she did not have anything else to stare at. Their passing conversations had grown quiet. Gambit sat with his head leaning back against the wall and his eyes closed.
Rebecca sighed heavily, and despite her even exterior, one needed only look in her face to see the frustration there. It was not that she was apathetic; it was simply that she was very good at controlling her temperament. She had to be, when one overly emotional moment could lead to an inferno.
She looked over toward Toad, who was still crouching motionless in the corner. Unlike her new Cajun friend, he looked completely alert, ready to pounce on anything that might step through the inert doorway.
Standing quickly, she walked over to Toad and sat down on the floor near him. Not close, just near. He barely spared her a glance as she settled against the wall.
"So, you work with Erik Lensherr," she said, matter-of-factly, and then gestured toward Gambit, "And he works with Charles Xavier..."
Toad turned his head to glare at her, waiting for her point.
"I'm a little slow..." Rebecca remarked sarcastically, "But I just figured out why you two started attacking each other in my house. Xavier and Lensherr...causing trouble for each other since way before the international conference at Liberty Island..."
"What'd you know about that?" Toad spat suddenly, an old ache rising up in his jaw.
"Got a memo..." she replied simply, and then quoted in a overly deep, pompous impersonation, "'Beware...dangerous individuals...blah blah blah...exercise extreme caution...blah blah blah...mutant activity suspected...blah blah blah...'"
Toad's expression did not change and Rebecca shrugged.
"The Council likes to be dramatic," she said, "Especially when they don't really know the facts of said event."
Rebecca stared at him curiously, as if she expected him to start describing the entire experience, but Toad just glared into the shadows again silently. From their right, Gambit's even breathing could be heard, and Rebecca marveled jealously about his ability to nap in this situation.
"I wish they would at least heckle us or something," Rebecca said impatiently, "You know, 'Ha ha, mutants in a cage, ha ha.' At least then we would know someone was out there. How do they even know we're still here..."
Toad glanced over at her, and pointed toward the ceiling.
"Because we're bein' watched," he replied with no small amount of anger, and then muttered, "Christ, don't you people pay attention at all..."
Rebecca looked up and noticed a small circular patch at the top of the front wall. It was made of the same strange dark substance as the door's control panel.
"That's not very smart," she said, "What if someone was psychic or could manipulate perceptions...I've read about people who could do that over video..."
"Another memo?" Toad remarked mockingly, and Rebecca grinned.
"Nah...World Weekly News..." she replied.
Toad actually grinned, but it faded quickly back to anger as Gambit chuckled from his cot.
"Thought you were asleep," Rebecca said and Gambit replied without moving.
"No, chere," he said, and then added dramatically, "A good X-Man is like a good thief, we don't let our guard down."
"Thief?" Rebecca repeated and Gambit finally opened his eyes.
"Of hearts, chere," he answered a little too quickly, "Mostly..."
"Good lot you've done us," Toad sneered, "Thief who can't even break out of his cell..."
Gambit sighed, "I keep explaining to people...I am many things...mais a magician, I am not..."
"You know what works better than magic?" Rebecca put in quickly, trying to avoid another argument between the two, "Just pissing people off..."
Rebecca stood and walked toward the place in the ceiling hiding the camera.
For the next minute and half, Toad and Gambit stood in dumb wonder as a stream of obscenities, that if recorded by Guinness would have gone down in legend, poured from the young woman's mouth. In those passing seconds, she insulted not only their captors, but the captors' mothers, fathers, inbred second cousins, ability to perform certain unspeakable acts, variety of pets and finally their manhood...assuming their captors were men...
The room grew slightly warmer as Rebecca's pent up frustration was expelled by her creative swearing, but the look on her face was more of amusement than real anger.
"...and you liked it!" she screamed with finality, and breathed heavily in a few moments in silence.
Suddenly, the sound of slow, loud clapping echoed through the room.
Rebecca turned, looking slightly embarrassed, but very justified, and Gambit grinned as he applauded.
"Beautiful, chere," he said, wiping an imaginary tear of emotion, "Trés beaux...beyond words..."
Toad was still staring at her and frowning, but quickly began to smirk as he looked up toward the camera.
"So..." Rebecca breathed heavily, "Who wants to go next?"
Gambit shrugged, "I don't think I could beat that performance...All I was going to say was 'OPEN SESAME!'"
On Remy LeBeau's last word, the control panel next to the doorway suddenly glowed to life, and a series of red lights changed to green. There was a loud hiss, and something inside the door clanged loudly, right before it moved inward slightly.
They were all gaping dumbly again. Rebecca and Toad exchanged surprised stares and then turned to look at Gambit.
"Holy shit..." he said, and looked at his hands, "Maybe I am a magician?"
Rebecca grinned with relief and then took a quick step toward the doorway. Toad leapt from the corner with surprising speed and stopped her in her tracks.
"Hang on!," he hissed, and stepped in front of her, "We don't know what's out there..."
Rebecca stepped back reluctantly, and Toad slowly pulled the large door open. The hall outside was dark, as dimly lit as the cell, and seemed completely empty. Toad frowned and cautiously stepped out.
They were close to the end of the hall, in the first of a long row of cells, and he had a suspicion that they were the first occupants.
Gambit moved past Rebecca and followed Toad. The green mutant glared at him, but the Cajun simply stood and listened intently.
"There's no one else here," he said firmly.
"You don't know that," Toad growled at the other man's certainty, but it was not arrogance in Remy's voice. It was experience.
"I do know, ami," he replied, and then added quietly, "A good thief also knows how to see in the dark..."
Rebecca finally stepped out after them. She shivered; the temperature in the hall was much cooler than the warmth she had created in the cell.
Toad walked over to the end of the hall, where he was met again with another locked door. However, the control panel was alight and active. He frowned and began to tap the flat screen experimentally. A dead panel was a problem, an active one was something he could work with.
"Who the hell opened the door?" Rebecca asked quietly, and Gambit shrugged.
"Must have been from outside this hall," he replied, but then added with a grin, "I don't think our enemies would have just let us out with no one here…"
Suddenly, they both jumped as the hall door hissed opened. Toad's expression changed to a satisfied, if still vicious, grin. He was already in a ready position to attack, expecting surprised guards to greet them on the other side. However, the next hall, much wider than the first, was also empty.
Toad frowned again and peered out. It did not make any sense, a heavily secured cell block just opens up for them and yet there is not sign of any human resistance to their escape. Someone else was in this base with them, either the Brotherhood or the X-Men, and if that was true, someone in their little trio did have enemies setting them loose.
Rebecca walked toward the open hall door and felt the temperature drop again. Her bare feet felt numb against the cold floor and she folded her arms around her chest.
Toad glanced back at her once, "Let's go…"
"You sure that's a good idea?" she asked, the strange chill making her very nervous. The cold was menacing in the darkness.
"You wanna stay here?" Toad asked angrily, and continued before anyone had a chance to reply, "Come on."
Gambit followed out last, listening carefully beyond their spoken conversation. He could hear wind howling from far off, and the strange clicks of the machinery surrounding them, but no living beings.
Toad considered each direction in the hall and finally began walking to the right. Gambit glanced at Rebecca and shrugged again, before following the green mutant without argument. Right was as good as left when you had not idea where the hell you were.
Rebecca took a few steps after them when she felt the bare skin of her feet begin to stick to the icy floor.
"Wait a minute," she called to them, and the two men paused and looked back at her. Both of the men had noticed the chill but easily ignored it as they were equipped with heavy layers of clothes.
Gambit looked apologetically at her, "We could go back and try to find a surviving blanket for you, chere…"
Rebecca grinned and shook her head, "Don't need to…"
She closed her eyes and they waited. After a few seconds, the biting cold in the hall folded to a wave of heat. A small frown creased her forehead as she focused, but then she grinned and opened her eyes. The floor around her began to glow faintly as heat flowed from her limbs.
Rebecca flexed her bare toes experimentally and shuttered as the chill left her body.
She exhaled slowly, "That's better…Ok…let's escape…"
Rebecca marched passed both of the others confidently. Gambit was grinning with amusement.
"The lady is ready," Gambit said to Toad, "So we can go…"
Toad rolled his eyes and stalked away after her. Gambit could have sworn the other mutant muttered something like "Bloody woman." The Cajun chuckled and moved quickly after his companions, strolling almost casually away from their now unoccupied cell.