Chapter 9
Todd POV
It's dark, much to dark, I hate the dark it always consumes me, overtakes me; stealing away any life I might have made and dumping me back into a place that I never should have had to go back to. Not only that but I had let Kirei take over again, it has been a long time since I let Kirei take over for any length of time.
If things keep going the way they are going, I doubt I will ever come out, I don't want to face the world, even if the others do come, how could I ever look them in the eyes again? I'm dirty, filthy, just a mutant toy for others to use.
Sitting in my corner I can still see through Kirei's eyes, and I can feel a presence on my side; great my mind has split yet again, that's the last thing I need, yet another personality to confuse things.
Perhaps it would help if I explained; well, there's me, Todd Tolansky, the one who escaped and made a new life, found some semblance of a home. Then there's Rupert, he's only like 3 or 4, and he never comes out, his walls are so thick and high I'm not even fully sure he's even in there any more; he is the person we were before our father started training us. He's the reason I am so afraid of touch and storms, two things that I cannot seem to get past no matter how hard I try. Then of course, there is Kirei, he is our pretty shell, the perfect little slave obeying any order given, never disobeying; he has been inactive for awhile since we escaped, but I have given over control to him, and you know I don't know if I really want to take it back. He's also the one with perfect English, ya know? He never says yo like I do, another thing that would drive a man like my father up a wall.
If I'm not mistaken I believe I just felt another personality appear, I can't fully tell what sort of shape this one is gonna take, but ya know I don't think I even care; it feels nice to just drift in this darkness and let Kirei do the hard work. All I gotta do is sit back and watch it; no pain, no hurt, no stupid looks of pity from the X-geeks.
Woah, looks like Kirei is waking up, I better lock the door a little tighter, I really don't know if I ever want to come back out, and that professor dude could come in and get me, these walls better be a lot stronger then they look, yo.
Normal POV
The assembled party of Hank, Logan, Professor, Lance, Pietro, and Tabby were all clustered in the medical wing of the Institute, wondering when Todd would choose to wake up. Once they had gotten him back to the institute the professor had immediately called Hank to look over the small mutant, Todd was currently lying on the medical table in a pair of loose sweatpants.
Hank shook his head sadly as he looked at the various track marks on Todd's arms, "These are from years of abuse Professor, this kid has had needles of every sized rammed into his veins, I'm surprised they haven't collapsed yet."
Logan gestured to the collar and wristcuffs, "Can't we take those damn things off, that is the last thing he needs to wake up and feel." Hank nodded his head vigorously as he went to pick the locks on the wristcuffs; he was stopped by a quick movement from Pietro, "NO! You better leave those on, if you take them off and he wakes up without them he is gonna have a major panic attack and that is the last thing he needs. On top of that I bet you anything that collar has a shock chip in it."
Hank looked at the teenager curiously, "How on earth could you possibly know that, we don't know what his reaction would be!"
Lance stepped next to Pietro, his eyes betraying things that no teenager should ever see, "Just listen to us, we know what will happen, and you don't want him to injure himself further by bouncing all over the place!"
Hank backed away, and Logan growled, "What is that thing on his arm, it looks like some sort of tattoo."
Lance looked more closely at the mark on Todd's arm, "It is an identifier mark." He pointed to the small initials inside the wire, "This says who he belongs to, it means he is taken."
The professor looked at Pietro and Lance with a curious expression on his face, "If I may ask, how did you know what it is? Also how do you what will happen if we remove those cuffs?"
Lance and Pietro looked at eachother before turning to the professor, Lance was the once who spoke, "When you grow up on the streets and in back alleys you learn lots of details about the shadier side of life."
Pietro nodded and snorted at the statement, "As well as spending the majority of your time avoiding the sleaze who perpetuated the trade, pretty young boys are especially prized, if they are a mutant it is just an extra bonus as long as you are controllable."
The professor looked between the two young men with his eyebrows furrowed, "I thought you two both grew up on foster care."
Pietro unconsciously rubbed his chest as his eyes glazed over a little, "Let's just say that they weren't the nicest people in the world."
Lance nodded his head rubbing his wrist drawing the attention of the professor to a scar that just peaked out over his gloves going over his wrists; "Having a freak of a foster kid was not what they were exactly planning on getting, and trust me they let me know that."
Tabby wrapped her arms around Lance from behind, looking at the professor, "Professor you know my father and my childhood, well compared to these two I was a positively spoiled child."
Lance spun Tabby around so that she was leaning against his front with her head resting on his shoulder and his arms encircling her, "I'm sorry my Tabby cat I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Tabby smiled softly at Lance and kissed him on his nose, "It's okay, let's just concentrate on Todd, okay?" Pietro and Lance both nodded pulling themselves from their own memories and concentrating their energy on helping a member of their true family come back to them.
At this moment the small figure lying on the table began to stir, everyone in the room immediately clustered around the table. Two empty eyes opened and glanced anxiously around the room a soft whimper coming from his mouth, "Master?"
The professor was the first one to speak, "Todd, that man isn't here, you are at the Xavier Institute in the medical wing, do you understand?"
The slight mutant sat up on the table looking around him in wide eyed astonishment at the vast amounts of technology that adorned the medical lab. Cocking his head to the side he answered the professor in a small voice high and much like a child's; very different for the normally brash voice of Toad, all while gesturing at the congregated mutants in the room, "Who are you Sir, and Who is Todd?"
Todd POV
It's dark, much to dark, I hate the dark it always consumes me, overtakes me; stealing away any life I might have made and dumping me back into a place that I never should have had to go back to. Not only that but I had let Kirei take over again, it has been a long time since I let Kirei take over for any length of time.
If things keep going the way they are going, I doubt I will ever come out, I don't want to face the world, even if the others do come, how could I ever look them in the eyes again? I'm dirty, filthy, just a mutant toy for others to use.
Sitting in my corner I can still see through Kirei's eyes, and I can feel a presence on my side; great my mind has split yet again, that's the last thing I need, yet another personality to confuse things.
Perhaps it would help if I explained; well, there's me, Todd Tolansky, the one who escaped and made a new life, found some semblance of a home. Then there's Rupert, he's only like 3 or 4, and he never comes out, his walls are so thick and high I'm not even fully sure he's even in there any more; he is the person we were before our father started training us. He's the reason I am so afraid of touch and storms, two things that I cannot seem to get past no matter how hard I try. Then of course, there is Kirei, he is our pretty shell, the perfect little slave obeying any order given, never disobeying; he has been inactive for awhile since we escaped, but I have given over control to him, and you know I don't know if I really want to take it back. He's also the one with perfect English, ya know? He never says yo like I do, another thing that would drive a man like my father up a wall.
If I'm not mistaken I believe I just felt another personality appear, I can't fully tell what sort of shape this one is gonna take, but ya know I don't think I even care; it feels nice to just drift in this darkness and let Kirei do the hard work. All I gotta do is sit back and watch it; no pain, no hurt, no stupid looks of pity from the X-geeks.
Woah, looks like Kirei is waking up, I better lock the door a little tighter, I really don't know if I ever want to come back out, and that professor dude could come in and get me, these walls better be a lot stronger then they look, yo.
Normal POV
The assembled party of Hank, Logan, Professor, Lance, Pietro, and Tabby were all clustered in the medical wing of the Institute, wondering when Todd would choose to wake up. Once they had gotten him back to the institute the professor had immediately called Hank to look over the small mutant, Todd was currently lying on the medical table in a pair of loose sweatpants.
Hank shook his head sadly as he looked at the various track marks on Todd's arms, "These are from years of abuse Professor, this kid has had needles of every sized rammed into his veins, I'm surprised they haven't collapsed yet."
Logan gestured to the collar and wristcuffs, "Can't we take those damn things off, that is the last thing he needs to wake up and feel." Hank nodded his head vigorously as he went to pick the locks on the wristcuffs; he was stopped by a quick movement from Pietro, "NO! You better leave those on, if you take them off and he wakes up without them he is gonna have a major panic attack and that is the last thing he needs. On top of that I bet you anything that collar has a shock chip in it."
Hank looked at the teenager curiously, "How on earth could you possibly know that, we don't know what his reaction would be!"
Lance stepped next to Pietro, his eyes betraying things that no teenager should ever see, "Just listen to us, we know what will happen, and you don't want him to injure himself further by bouncing all over the place!"
Hank backed away, and Logan growled, "What is that thing on his arm, it looks like some sort of tattoo."
Lance looked more closely at the mark on Todd's arm, "It is an identifier mark." He pointed to the small initials inside the wire, "This says who he belongs to, it means he is taken."
The professor looked at Pietro and Lance with a curious expression on his face, "If I may ask, how did you know what it is? Also how do you what will happen if we remove those cuffs?"
Lance and Pietro looked at eachother before turning to the professor, Lance was the once who spoke, "When you grow up on the streets and in back alleys you learn lots of details about the shadier side of life."
Pietro nodded and snorted at the statement, "As well as spending the majority of your time avoiding the sleaze who perpetuated the trade, pretty young boys are especially prized, if they are a mutant it is just an extra bonus as long as you are controllable."
The professor looked between the two young men with his eyebrows furrowed, "I thought you two both grew up on foster care."
Pietro unconsciously rubbed his chest as his eyes glazed over a little, "Let's just say that they weren't the nicest people in the world."
Lance nodded his head rubbing his wrist drawing the attention of the professor to a scar that just peaked out over his gloves going over his wrists; "Having a freak of a foster kid was not what they were exactly planning on getting, and trust me they let me know that."
Tabby wrapped her arms around Lance from behind, looking at the professor, "Professor you know my father and my childhood, well compared to these two I was a positively spoiled child."
Lance spun Tabby around so that she was leaning against his front with her head resting on his shoulder and his arms encircling her, "I'm sorry my Tabby cat I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Tabby smiled softly at Lance and kissed him on his nose, "It's okay, let's just concentrate on Todd, okay?" Pietro and Lance both nodded pulling themselves from their own memories and concentrating their energy on helping a member of their true family come back to them.
At this moment the small figure lying on the table began to stir, everyone in the room immediately clustered around the table. Two empty eyes opened and glanced anxiously around the room a soft whimper coming from his mouth, "Master?"
The professor was the first one to speak, "Todd, that man isn't here, you are at the Xavier Institute in the medical wing, do you understand?"
The slight mutant sat up on the table looking around him in wide eyed astonishment at the vast amounts of technology that adorned the medical lab. Cocking his head to the side he answered the professor in a small voice high and much like a child's; very different for the normally brash voice of Toad, all while gesturing at the congregated mutants in the room, "Who are you Sir, and Who is Todd?"