Chapter Six- Flight In To Danger

Charles Xavier removed himself gently as he could from the man's mind. It didn't matter- however. Golden eyes were soon blinking themselves awake. The man rotated his wrists and ankles experimentally, twisting his neck to the left and right.

"You still here, Prof?" asked Toad, yawning.

"I want to talk to you, Mortimer."

"You already have." He said with a raised eyebrow. "Will you be letting me out of this thing any time soon?" he asked, somewhat hopefully.

"Yes, Mortimer. We've finished our examination. It's about time we showed you to your room."

"My...room." He said flatly. "I don't suppose I will be locked in said 'room', and be fed meals through a doggie door?" Xavier couldn't help smiling. The man was witty, if nothing else. The telepath pressed the release button on the underside of the table. The British man yawned, stretching. He suddenly felt someone enter his brain, a slight push. It soon manipulated his legs, forcing him to walk forward.

"Really, Chuck. Is it that you don't trust me?" he said with a sardonic sneer.

"Come along, Toad." Said the professor, wheeling ahead.

"Now that's a first." He mumbled. "Make up your mind, baldy. Am I Mort, or am I Toad?"

"It depends on the moment." said Xavier with a sad smile that Mortimer couldn't see. "We're almost there."

Toad didn't quite know what to do. It was either stay here, and become an 'x-man', (he shuddered at the thought) or stay in this room for the rest of his life. His surroundings reminded him of a rather posh hotel room, but the look of it didn't change the fact that it was a cell. There were small eyes hidden in strategic spots in the room; but he pretended to ignore them.

He didn't sleep in the bed; he instead rested at the desk that had been put in the room. He usually spent more or less of his entire day there, tinkering with what he could find around. The clock, the television, and the telephone were splayed out on the desk. He wouldn't be using them anyway- so decided to do something with his hands. It gave him more time to think.

He just wished he had brought along his CD player. He was in the middle of re-assembling the telly for about the sixth or seventh time, when he heard an odd noise behind him. He whirled around, catching the scent of brimstone. The blue man from his capture stood there, holding a brown paper bag.

Mortimer jumped on to the ceiling, using his tongue to retrieve it. The man below him looked disgusted. He looked inside, retrieving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and a cookie.

"I don't eat this sort of thing." He said with a wicked grin.

"Oh? Well I vould expect you to want a bug pâté, but..."

"No, Mr. Bamfy. I prefer birds. Rodents. Living." he enjoyed the look of revolted shock on the mutant's face.

"You want me to bring a chicken in here or somzing?" he said, appalled.

"Heh. You would think that, wouldn't ya? But I'll make it easy on you. Just get me a pigeon or two." His stomach protested at the thought, but he was having too much fun watching the look on this man's face.

"Kurt?" came a voice, accompanied by knocking. Ororo's voice. He shivered at the thought, now glad he was on the ceiling. "Is everything alright in there?"
"Ja." Replied the man. "Except the Toad wants me to go pigeon hunting."

"Pigeons?" replied Ororo, amused. "Don't let him fool you. He is capable of digesting such things, but I doubt he'd prefer it over a decent meal." She said. The amphibious man dropped from the ceiling, flipping in to his office chair, munching on his cookie.

"In the immortal words of John Shooter: Damn. You scare too easy." He heard the noise twice again, and the retreating footsteps of the duo. He tried to absorb himself in to his work again, but he couldn't help thinking that this was going to be the way he spent the rest of his life.

Charles called the X-men to his office, hoping that he could get some fresh ideas on what to do with their amphibious captive.

"I don't see how it would be safe letting him go..." said Cyclops thoughtfully.

"But he hadn't been causing any trouble before we got him."

"Kurt is correct." Said Xavier. "We're not conversing what will happen to others on letting him go; more over what will happen to him. There's someone after Mr. Toynbee who could very well destroy him."

"Who?" asked Nightcrawler, suddenly intrigued.

"A woman named Jaye Strain. She's the head of an organization quite like that of the Brotherhood- except they have more...discreet ways of doing things. Jaye's mutation is an animalistic one; quite like Toad's. Miss Strain takes up the appearance of a cat."

"So we're dealin' with a Sabretooth jr.?" scoffed Wolverine. "I doubt that'll be too much of a problem."

"No...Miss Strain is a completely different beast; if you'll ignore the pun. Sabretooth was a wild hunter; his expertise was in slashing and fighting. He was told what to do, and he did it, without question. Jaye is more of a...domesticated type."

"So, what you're sayin' is, we're dealin' with an ovah sized pussy cat?" said Rogue, smiling softly. Xavier ignored her.

"Miss Strain has exceptional prowess in acrobatics and several types of eastern martial arts, such as Taekwon Do, Judo, Jujitsu, and Tai Chi. She also has an extremely tactical mind, meaning, of course, that she can plan as well as fight with her supporters." A stunned silence followed. "She is part of an organization quite like the Brotherhood, except it carries out its missions with such efficiency, that no one knows they exist. Not one law enforcement agency in the world has Jaye on their hit list."

"Then how do you know about them?" asked Storm, startled. Xavier sighed, and hung his head.

"She came to school here. Only for a couple of weeks, mind, so I doubt any of you will remember her. Yet all of the information I have given you is not what makes her exceptionally deadly. Jaye is unstable. Her mutation started at birth, but she has become more catlike as the years have worn on." He sighed. "Her more felinoid side, known as 'Fear', or 'fraidy cat' to some of the students that used to come here, is breaking apart from her regular consciousness. Fear takes over when Jaye is under a great amount of stress, or other severe emotions. Fear remembers no one that Jaye does, and is transformed in to a mindless killing machine. When she was younger, all Fear did was cower in the corner, terrified of everyone and everything. She didn't know where she was, even who she was, but she believed that everyone wanted to capture her. Take her away to a place that is only in her mind; and this irrationality has caused her to turn to killing. Jaye's split personality is quite literally, the epitome of fear." He paused for a moment, looking at each of the X-men in turn. "Although Fear doesn't take over Jaye's body often, it is hard to get her out. To get Jaye back in control, you have to render her unconscious- which of course, is a challenge to someone as well trained as she."

"But why care what happens to Toad?" asked Storm with a raised brow.

"The fewer people involved with Miss Strain, the better." He said sadly.

Mortimer looked pensively out his window. He had been here for a week at least, now. The once spacious room was starting to resemble a matchbox, and he was tired of working with the same bits of electronics over and over. It was hot and stuffy inside his room, for the door was never opened, and neither were the windows. The small ceiling fan overhead didn't help the air circulation that much; it revolved too slowly to do much good in the first place.

He decided the best way to cool off would be to take a quick shower, no matter how much he hated the dryness of soap on his skin. He examined himself a few moments later in the fogged up mirror, shocked to see something different in the reflection. His cheeks were fuller, the sign of nourishment he had been so badly lacking, and his golden eyes held the glint of purpose.

The purpose, of course, was masked by restlessness and contempt, but it was there. Nothing like a kidnapping to put the spice of life back in you, he thought to himself. Mortimer rubbed the persistent sleep from his eyes, and pulled on a pair of jeans he had found in his dresser drawer. He then lay down on the bed, smiling softly. It actually felt cool in the room now; the slight breeze from the fan brushing across the bare skin of his bare chest. Although reluctantly; he felt himself slowly but surely nodding off in to a gentle sleep.

Rogue walked up the stairs, a key and a paper bag in her hand. Kurt and Ororo were busy in the danger room, and she was the only one willing to deliver dinner to their captive. She had to admit she was quite curious- she had never met Toad on her night with the brotherhood, and of course, there was always a bit of excitement to meeting a famous criminal. She put the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. It hadn't occurred to her to knock, but on afterthought, she guessed she should have.

It didn't matter, however. The man was asleep. He looked incredibly peaceful, lying there, she thought. His green hair flopped over closed eyes, damp from a recent shower. His mouth curved upward in a slight smile, something that you wouldn't expect to see on a cold killer's lips. She looked at him for a moment, and then blushed, realizing that he was shirtless. It doesn't really matter, she reminded herself. She'd seen a lot of guys like this on hot days. The fact was, many of them weren't in such good of shape as Toad was. Toad, she thought to herself. The name doesn't fit him.She walked over to his bedside table, and put his dinner there, absolutely horrified when yellow eyes shot open.

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Oooh...looks like Marie has a little crush... too bad Mort's cranky when someone wakes him from his nap. #maniacal laughter#

Anyway: Thank 'ee kindly for those who have given reviews, and GUIN! Thank you for updating! Now update more...! #shakes fist#