Toad awoke without opening his eyes, he could feel himself slipping off the edge of the bed. Hey lay on his side facing the middle of the bed. With his eyes still closed he groggily slid towards the middle and was soon ready to sleep again. But something was amiss.

There was a sensation much like warm breath on his face and it felt like there was something in the bed with him.

His dark eyes burst open. Instinctively he wanted to jump away, escape the form in front of him but he couldn't. Toad was frozen to the spot, unable to take his eyes off the girl sleeping before him.

The cheek that shared the same pillow was pale, the eyes were closed, the lips parted slightly. Jesus suffering fuck! Was I pissed as a fart last night? Toad pondered the possibility of having beencompletely drunk last night as the reason for him being in a bed with a pretty girl. No, it wouldn't take a drink to get me here... maybe she was mashed.

Toad's thoughts were lost as he looked at Damia again. She was mere inches away. He could see the long lashes that curled gracefully away from the eyelid covering the maelstrom of hazel.

Suddenly she shifted in her sleep, moving closer to him. Toad stiffened as Damia rested her head against his chest. Never in all his life had he been this close to someone let alone in the same bed as a member of the opposite sex. He found himself thinking back to the way Damia had touched him, unflinchingly. Suppressing a sigh, he relaxed. Hesitantly he wrapped his arm around her, holding her closer. Toad's nose was filled with the smell of a garden, and despite his mental scolding, he smiled and thanked his lucky stars.

It was time to wake up, she had slept enough and her body didn't want anymore of it. Slowly, Damia came to but she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to leave her sleep. She took a deepbreath and smiled when a faint earthy scent reached her nose. Just the smell of what was outside filled her with the will and strength she needed to escape. Wait a minute...if I'm still in the metal hell hole then where...?

Her eyes flickered open and she froze at the sight of two black eyes staring back at her. That was when she became aware of an arm around her and just how close she was to the person in front of her. She also noted that neither one of them was moving away. Damia blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Did hell freeze over?

Sensing her nervousness, Toad pulled away, ignoring the fact that every fiber of his being screamed at him to stay. He wondered if this was how women felt upon being left after a one night stand. He could feel her eyes on him again.

"So, what happened last night? Were you as pissed as a fart, or what?" Toad didn't look at her as he crossed the room and sat in a chair.

"Uh," Damia thought back to the previous night. "If 'pissed as a fart' means drunk then no. How much do you remember anyway?"

He fiddled with his lighter, still not looking at her. "I remember Magneto throwing me at a wall. Bloody hell, that hurt." Involuntarily he gave a little squirm, remembering the pain caused by his little encounter.

"Well after that I kind of... kicked him out of the room. The rest is a little fuzzy but I think I helped you to the bed," Damia explained while she played with a loose string on her blanket.

There was a long awkward silence in which neither one of them spoke. There is no way hell is worse than this. Dear God, please smite me now, Damia thought as she glanced up at Toad.

"I need to get out of here," Damia finally said to break the silence. Toad looked up before he could stop himself. "If I stay here too long I'll probably kick the bucket." She looked to Toad, her hazel eyes pleading. "I can't do it alone."

He felt something inside shatter at the desperation in her voice and eyes. Toad looked away quickly, unable to bare the look in her eyes. He couldn't help her, he was a villain and Magneto would kill him if he did. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to think about her rotting in the metal room.

He stood up and sighed as he opened the door. "Go the left and follow this hall to the end then take a right. The way out is the second door on your left." Bloody hell, I've gone loony. Is she smiling at me?

Damia smiled appreciatively at Toad, her hazel eyes dancing again. "Thanks, Toad."

"Its Mort," he mumbled. "My names Mortimer."

Again she smiled and for a moment she hesitated before she quickly leaned closer to him. Damia's cherry lips lightly brushed his green tinted skin. She had kissed him on the cheek. After one last glance into his deep eyes, she reluctantly bounded out the door and down the hall.

After following the seemingly endless corridor to end she took a sharp right, passing the first door almost immediately. The second doorway was further down the hall and up a flight of stairs. She took them two at a time and heaved the metal door open.

The bright sun was almost blinding and the breeze smelled of the sea. Damia took deep breaths, inhaling the fresh air around her. The strength returned to her with every breath she took. She skimmed the barren, rocky terrain of the island. The nearest cliff was to her west.

Damia approached the cliff and looked down. Hundreds of feet below her, the ocean was pounding furiously at the rocks below. With a readying breath she dived off the cliff. The air flew past her, whistling in her ears and stinging her eyes. The jagged rocks below her grew steadily closer.

She concentrated very hard on the wind that was whipping through her golden brown hair. It shifted until it was below her, supporting her. The sea and the rocks stayed a satisfying distance below her and the edge of the cliff above her. With a smile Damia headed across the ocean towards home. On her way she reflected on what had just happened in the prison cell. She remembered how Toad had tried to stand up to Magneto for her and how he had helped her escape. Maybe he's not so bad. After probing the sensations she had every time he was near her and the ones she experienced when he wasn't around, she came to a conclusion.

I'm in love.

Toad stood in the prison cell, Damia had just ran from the room. More importantly, she had just kissed him. His hand went to his cheek, touching the place where he lips had left the burning sensation. What in the bloody hell...?

Slowly he made his way across the room and collapsed onto the bed, face-first. Once again the smell of flowers met his nose. So far Damia had touched his skin without being disgusted, helped in a time of need, beckoned to him while sitting on a bed, helped again in a time of need, cuddled him, and she had kissed him. For Mortimer Toynbee those were all firsts, each of which came from the same girl who gave him strange feelings and plagued his mind.

Holy Jesus. I think I might... No! I can't be in l-Mort's reasoning was cut short by an arrogant voice.

"Toad, where is the girl," Magneto asked from the doorway.

He closed his eyes and said truthfully, "I let her go before she bought the bloody farm." Turning his head he saw his master smiling.

Magneto's voice was filled with satisfactions. "Toad, you may have just helped us without knowing it."