Chap. 7
Normal POV
The assembled brotherhood members stood outside the heavy metal door that led to Cerebro, the one thing that might be able to find Todd for them. Lance's eyes were closed, obviously tired from the long story he had told earlier, he hadn't left out any details, no matter how small.
Tabby was standing next to him tossing a small glowing marble between her hands; she knew how Cerebro worked and was anxious to find out if the Professor was going to be able to locate Todd, one of the few people she felt any connection to at all.
Tabby had never really fit in with any of the X-men, except maybe for Kurt and Rogue, the rest of them had all come from good families who had never forced them to steal or do other things to get money. They just couldn't understand where she came from; Todd, on the other hand, knew what it was like to survive on your own, stealing when you have to.
She was pretty sure that was true about his life, even if everything he had told them about what came before was fake. She continued thinking along these lines, careful with the small ball of energy in her hands.
Pietro, never one for standing still, was bouncing one foot sporadically as he stared across the hall at the two X-men who were also waiting for the Professor; Storm had decided to wait and see if it was possible for the Professor to locate Todd before going to the other X-men, Logan was still suspicious of the two brotherhood members and made no attempts to hid his blatant hostility.
Before the tension in the hallway could stagnate further the heavy metal door to Cerebro opened and the Professor appeared with a odd look of confusion on his face; "I have located Todd, however, it is not the mutant signature I normally would identify with him, it is completely different."
Storm looked over at him with a look of surprise on her face, "What does that mean Professor, how can a mutant signature change?" The professor sighed as he tried to explain the dynamics of it, "Basically a mutant becomes adept at hiding certain aspects of their mutation so that it is not picked up by Cerebro when we first come in contact with them."
Pietro, bored quickly, spoke up, "Well, you said that you located him, where is he?"
The professor looked over at the speedy youth, "He is in New York, a small mansion on the outskirts of the city, you will need assistance if you wish to retrieve him. They have very heavy security."
Tabby was the first to speak before either of the boys could erupt in anger, "How about Rogue and Kurt? I mean Rogue knows Todd probably as well as you guys do, maybe even better, they seemed really close at one time. Kurt will help if I ask, I mean he is my friend and will help me rescue my friends if it really was important to me."
The professor leaned back in his chair as he considered Tabby's proposal, "Well, Tabitha that is an excellent suggestion which I believe we should take you up on."
The fire in the two teenagers eyes died down as they realized they didn't have to ask all of the perfect little mutants for help; they only had to ask the two who possibly had a clue about what it was like in the real world.
Logan merely gave a low growl as assent of what Tabby proposed, it did make the most sense. Storm also was shocked by the quick thinking of a girl they had long underestimated. Lance merely smirked and slung an arm around her shoulder, he knew she was very intelligent and that she also hid it from others; it was something they had in common. The three adults and the three teenagers left the metal hallway, headed to collect a team to rescue Toad.
Todd POV
My father finally stopped outside a large metal door, it was different from the other rooms in the complex because it not only required a voice print and code to get in, but it also required one to get out. "Obviously a modification that was made specifically for my benefit. "
I noticed sarcastically in my mind. I watched as my father punched in a code and gave a voice print reading; because of his mutation his voice has the most unique sound waves, they could not be duplicated by man or machine; basically meaning there was no way in hell I was getting out of the room on my own. The heavy door swung open and he pulled me into the room, the opulence of which wasn't surprising, he had always believed the richer the better.
My father stood off to the side and let me examine the room; the walls were painted a rich burgundy, the floor was covered in a shag carpet that nearly went up to my ankles, almost in the same shade as the walls. In the center of the floor there was a large Persian rug, which the bed rested upon. I ignored the bed for now, since it was the point of focus in the room, it was situated right in the center of the floor.
I let my eyes drift over to the heavy mahogany desk and wardrobe which were in the corners. There was also a door on the side that I saw led into a bathroom decorated in similar style. Finally I looked back to the bed. It was a large four poster mahogany bed with a gold canopy and gold and burgundy beddingit was covered in pillows and the two columns at the top of the bed had small rings built into them.
There were no windows and only the two doors; all in all it was a rather expensive, rather lavish cage. There wasn't even a clock, so I could be in here for days or weeks and never know.
I saw him smirk as he saw me finish my appraisal of the room, the drugs in my system were short term, so I could do some things of my own accord, but nothing that would go against whatever he told me to do. "So, 'Todd' what do you think of your new accommodations, much better then your previous hole, aren't they?"
My blood boiled at him addressing me by that name, that was the name of my freedom, of my life beyond him. My eyes burned as I turned to look at him, "Never call me by that name" I hissed this with all the venom flowing through my veins, though it still sounded rather weak in my drugged condition.
He stepped closer and put one hand under my chin tilting my face up to look into his; I could feel his warm breath on my face as he spoke, "And what pray tell, would you do about it my little Todd? In your state you will do whatever I tell you, nothing more, nothing less."
Proving his point he again crushed his mouth to mine biting my lower lip and reopening the small wounds on it, licking the blood as it flowed out of the lip. I shivered violently as he did, unable to do more then curse him in my mind due to the venom racing throughout my system.
As his hands started to slide down my chest there was a loud knock at the door; I don't think I have ever been more thankful for anything in my life. He scowled as he proceeded to let me go and I quickly moved away from him, curling up in an empty corner of the room. He smiled at my reaction as he pressed a button on the intercom that connected my cage to the outside world. "I thought I said I wasn't to be bothered..."
Before he could finish he was interrupted by a voice from the other side. "Sir, there is a large, high tech aircraft approaching at high speeds, they appear to be headed this way, we are able to read eight mutant signatures within the plane. What should we do?"
My father smirked at me as he listened to the man on the other side, "It seems your 'rescue party' has arrived, we should go greet them." Saying this he turned back to the intercom, "Do not make any threatening movements until they land, I will greet them at the door personally with my new pet, is that understood?"
A faint "Yes Sir" was uttered from the other side and my father turned back to me, "Obviously a change in attire is appropriate don't you agree?"
My body is still under his control so I am able to ask a question, "What is happening, what will you do?"
Regally, as if holding court he sits down on the bed and looks down at me, "Well, if you behave I will convince them to leave and not hurt them, however, if you insist on asking for help imagine the manpower you have seen so far multiplied by ten and all attacking your 'rescuers'. I need to go change, there are clothes laid out in the closet for you, change into them and I will be back, either you behave and accept your fate, or your friends die, it really is your choice."
Saying this my father let himself out of the room and let the door slam behind him. I kept hearing the words "your friends die, your friends die...." over and over in my head. I stood up making my way over to the closet and beginning to dress as I slowly allowed Todd to slip away, and allowed Kirei Serpentine to emerge and take control, perhaps for forever. I
whispered a soft "goodbye" as I watched Todd slip away; as if he had never existed at all.
Normal POV
The assembled brotherhood members stood outside the heavy metal door that led to Cerebro, the one thing that might be able to find Todd for them. Lance's eyes were closed, obviously tired from the long story he had told earlier, he hadn't left out any details, no matter how small.
Tabby was standing next to him tossing a small glowing marble between her hands; she knew how Cerebro worked and was anxious to find out if the Professor was going to be able to locate Todd, one of the few people she felt any connection to at all.
Tabby had never really fit in with any of the X-men, except maybe for Kurt and Rogue, the rest of them had all come from good families who had never forced them to steal or do other things to get money. They just couldn't understand where she came from; Todd, on the other hand, knew what it was like to survive on your own, stealing when you have to.
She was pretty sure that was true about his life, even if everything he had told them about what came before was fake. She continued thinking along these lines, careful with the small ball of energy in her hands.
Pietro, never one for standing still, was bouncing one foot sporadically as he stared across the hall at the two X-men who were also waiting for the Professor; Storm had decided to wait and see if it was possible for the Professor to locate Todd before going to the other X-men, Logan was still suspicious of the two brotherhood members and made no attempts to hid his blatant hostility.
Before the tension in the hallway could stagnate further the heavy metal door to Cerebro opened and the Professor appeared with a odd look of confusion on his face; "I have located Todd, however, it is not the mutant signature I normally would identify with him, it is completely different."
Storm looked over at him with a look of surprise on her face, "What does that mean Professor, how can a mutant signature change?" The professor sighed as he tried to explain the dynamics of it, "Basically a mutant becomes adept at hiding certain aspects of their mutation so that it is not picked up by Cerebro when we first come in contact with them."
Pietro, bored quickly, spoke up, "Well, you said that you located him, where is he?"
The professor looked over at the speedy youth, "He is in New York, a small mansion on the outskirts of the city, you will need assistance if you wish to retrieve him. They have very heavy security."
Tabby was the first to speak before either of the boys could erupt in anger, "How about Rogue and Kurt? I mean Rogue knows Todd probably as well as you guys do, maybe even better, they seemed really close at one time. Kurt will help if I ask, I mean he is my friend and will help me rescue my friends if it really was important to me."
The professor leaned back in his chair as he considered Tabby's proposal, "Well, Tabitha that is an excellent suggestion which I believe we should take you up on."
The fire in the two teenagers eyes died down as they realized they didn't have to ask all of the perfect little mutants for help; they only had to ask the two who possibly had a clue about what it was like in the real world.
Logan merely gave a low growl as assent of what Tabby proposed, it did make the most sense. Storm also was shocked by the quick thinking of a girl they had long underestimated. Lance merely smirked and slung an arm around her shoulder, he knew she was very intelligent and that she also hid it from others; it was something they had in common. The three adults and the three teenagers left the metal hallway, headed to collect a team to rescue Toad.
Todd POV
My father finally stopped outside a large metal door, it was different from the other rooms in the complex because it not only required a voice print and code to get in, but it also required one to get out. "Obviously a modification that was made specifically for my benefit. "
I noticed sarcastically in my mind. I watched as my father punched in a code and gave a voice print reading; because of his mutation his voice has the most unique sound waves, they could not be duplicated by man or machine; basically meaning there was no way in hell I was getting out of the room on my own. The heavy door swung open and he pulled me into the room, the opulence of which wasn't surprising, he had always believed the richer the better.
My father stood off to the side and let me examine the room; the walls were painted a rich burgundy, the floor was covered in a shag carpet that nearly went up to my ankles, almost in the same shade as the walls. In the center of the floor there was a large Persian rug, which the bed rested upon. I ignored the bed for now, since it was the point of focus in the room, it was situated right in the center of the floor.
I let my eyes drift over to the heavy mahogany desk and wardrobe which were in the corners. There was also a door on the side that I saw led into a bathroom decorated in similar style. Finally I looked back to the bed. It was a large four poster mahogany bed with a gold canopy and gold and burgundy beddingit was covered in pillows and the two columns at the top of the bed had small rings built into them.
There were no windows and only the two doors; all in all it was a rather expensive, rather lavish cage. There wasn't even a clock, so I could be in here for days or weeks and never know.
I saw him smirk as he saw me finish my appraisal of the room, the drugs in my system were short term, so I could do some things of my own accord, but nothing that would go against whatever he told me to do. "So, 'Todd' what do you think of your new accommodations, much better then your previous hole, aren't they?"
My blood boiled at him addressing me by that name, that was the name of my freedom, of my life beyond him. My eyes burned as I turned to look at him, "Never call me by that name" I hissed this with all the venom flowing through my veins, though it still sounded rather weak in my drugged condition.
He stepped closer and put one hand under my chin tilting my face up to look into his; I could feel his warm breath on my face as he spoke, "And what pray tell, would you do about it my little Todd? In your state you will do whatever I tell you, nothing more, nothing less."
Proving his point he again crushed his mouth to mine biting my lower lip and reopening the small wounds on it, licking the blood as it flowed out of the lip. I shivered violently as he did, unable to do more then curse him in my mind due to the venom racing throughout my system.
As his hands started to slide down my chest there was a loud knock at the door; I don't think I have ever been more thankful for anything in my life. He scowled as he proceeded to let me go and I quickly moved away from him, curling up in an empty corner of the room. He smiled at my reaction as he pressed a button on the intercom that connected my cage to the outside world. "I thought I said I wasn't to be bothered..."
Before he could finish he was interrupted by a voice from the other side. "Sir, there is a large, high tech aircraft approaching at high speeds, they appear to be headed this way, we are able to read eight mutant signatures within the plane. What should we do?"
My father smirked at me as he listened to the man on the other side, "It seems your 'rescue party' has arrived, we should go greet them." Saying this he turned back to the intercom, "Do not make any threatening movements until they land, I will greet them at the door personally with my new pet, is that understood?"
A faint "Yes Sir" was uttered from the other side and my father turned back to me, "Obviously a change in attire is appropriate don't you agree?"
My body is still under his control so I am able to ask a question, "What is happening, what will you do?"
Regally, as if holding court he sits down on the bed and looks down at me, "Well, if you behave I will convince them to leave and not hurt them, however, if you insist on asking for help imagine the manpower you have seen so far multiplied by ten and all attacking your 'rescuers'. I need to go change, there are clothes laid out in the closet for you, change into them and I will be back, either you behave and accept your fate, or your friends die, it really is your choice."
Saying this my father let himself out of the room and let the door slam behind him. I kept hearing the words "your friends die, your friends die...." over and over in my head. I stood up making my way over to the closet and beginning to dress as I slowly allowed Todd to slip away, and allowed Kirei Serpentine to emerge and take control, perhaps for forever. I
whispered a soft "goodbye" as I watched Todd slip away; as if he had never existed at all.