(***Author's Notes: Thanks to all y'all who reviewed! Big lurvles to you all. To quote Dr. Zoidberg: "Hurray! People are paying attention to me!" And a really big thank you to Guin [luv your story! Yay Mort!], who pointed out what could easily have grown into a rather icky problem with my teenagers [I say teenagers, they're all, like, 20-ish]. I was about halfway thru this chapter when I got the head's up, so I don't know if I've caught anything in time. This chapter was kinda hard to write. Y'ever have that thing were you've got a point A and a point C in your story, but B isn't quite so well fleshed out. This would be most of B. Also, dialogue...I'm having trouble getting dialogue that isn't the way I talk, that is, that isn't sprinkled with phrases from British to Spanish. Merf...At least I'm startin' to see the characters a bit better. ANYWAY...on with the fic! Oh, BTW, is there a way to italicize things on ff.n? I'm miffed because I'm loosing my vocal emphases. Ack, and I've been forgetting! Toad and all the X-men stuff do be (c) Marvel. Not mine. *sigh*)

Chapter Three:Getting to Know You

(Or: A Whole Lot of Nothing.)





Outside of the apartment, Michael half helped/half carried Toad, dressed in Michael's spare cloths, up the front steps as Angie and Gabby took care of the cab fare. Zoey had already been dropped off at her dorm. The two girls grabbed their luggage and hurried after Michael into the building.

Toad did his best to stay conscious while in the elevator, but just standing was making him woozy. It was embarrassing--he always had perfect control over his body, as skilled as any gymnast, and here he was, weak as a kitten, leaning on a perfect stranger, incapable of even walking on his own. Mmph... he eyed the two girls in front of him. The brunette was pretty, but something about her seemed haughty. Trouble there, probably.

The doors opened with a ding and Toad felt himself being dragged down the hallway and came to enough to move his feet a bit. Outside of a door, Angie fumbled through her purse and produced an enormous key-chain. After fiddling with it, she finally located the right key and opened the door. Michael walked in first and helped Toad lower himself onto a sofa. Toad muttered something that might have been a "Thank you" and almost immediately passed out.

"Well, mission accomplished, I guess." Michael turned to the girls, shrugging muscles made sore by carrying the mutant into the room. "Now what?" The three of them looked blankly at each other. Suddenly, Gabby clapped her hands and bounced with glee.

"Oh, we can play house and dress-up with him!" she squealed in a child-like voice. Her friends turned to look at her as if she had lost her mind and she doubled over, chuckling in her normal tone. "Ah, just messin' y'all." She grinned up at them. "Just needed to break the silence. I guess we just let him stay here until he can move."

"I don't know about this," Angie said, looking in askance at the unconscious mutant sprawled, half-sitting, on the couch. "I mean, it's kinda creepy. Some guy we don't even know staying here. And we're all alone. What if he tries something?"

"I'll hand his hindquarters to him gift-wrapped, that's what," said Gabby, looking smug. Michael grabbed her in a head-lock without warning.

"And who taught ya to do that, eh? Eh?" he demanded, giving her a ferocious noogie. Gabby yelped and struggled.

"Guys! Please!" Angie protested. "He's sleeping!" The two broke up, looking sheepish.

"Right, well...I do have to get going," said Michael, scuffing the floor with the toe of his shoe. "Look, if I can, I'll drop by for a while, if that'll make you feel any better."

"It will, hon, thanks." Angie wrapped her arms around him and they kissed. Turning to Gabby, he gave her a big bear hug and started towards the door.

"Don't worry. I always look after my little sisters, don't I?" he said, giving them a wave and closing the door behind them.

"So..." Angie started, looking back at their new roommate. Gabby grabbed a purse and started for the door. "Where are you going?" Angie demanded, a note of panic rising in her voice.

"Store. We need some more aloe and Tylenol, other junk like that. Figured I'd make a quick shopping run so we can all get settled." She grinned mischievously. "Maybe some dorritos and chex mix. It'll be like a slumber party." Angie eyed her friend.

"Look, let me go, okay. I'll pick up what we need," she said in a voice that was a bit too hurried. Gabby's grin diminished as she studied her friend. She seemed scared. Not that Gabby could blame her. Being alone with a strange man, especially a green mutant was a nerve-wracking idea, no matter how kindly disposed one was to mutants. She sighed and tossed the purse to Angie.

"Yeah, sure. Like I said, Tylenol, aloe...Look and see if they have anything else for burns. Umm..." She fished a piece of paper from her pocket and jotted something down. "And get some of this stuff, too."

"What is it?" asked Angie, taking the paper.

"Numbs up your mouth. My sister used it when she got braces. This guy looks like he could use it." Angie nodded and left. "And don't forget the dorritos!" Gabby called after her.

Her friend gone, Gabby walked to a chair and sank down in it with a loud exhale. So much for that relaxing weekend. Her eye flickered to the corner where her latest painting was propped, waiting to be finished. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, her gaze wandering around the room.

Toad's eyes were open, intently fixed on her, belying the languid way his body was lying slumped on the couch as Michael had left him. She stifled a surprised squeak at the intensity of his gaze. Green skin, webbed toes, a long tongue were all odd, but his eyes were almost the strangest thing about him. So dark and large. And intelligent, but almost cruel, not human at all, really. And focused on her. She licked suddenly dry lips and fumbled for a bit.

"Um..h'llo again," she managed to stutter out. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Todd." Toad blinked a few times. Todd? Oh, that's right. Ah well, no harm in a pseudonym. Todd it was then. He grinned slightly, still distrustful. With a soft groan, Gabby pushed herself from the chair. "Want anything to drink? We got tea, coffee, coke..."

"Coffee'd be nice," he murmured. His tongue was feeling much better, but he winced to think of trying to drink anything carbonated right now. And he'd long ago learned that Americans just can't make decent tea. It was probably that hideous iced stuff anyway. Gabby nodded happily and swept of to the kitchen area. Toad hunched over in a more comfortable position, with his elbows on his knees.

As the girl puttered around in the kitchen, Toad let himself take in the rest of the apartment. Across from him a television sat on a low table hooked up to a playstation2. A stack of DVDs and CDs was piled next to it. On the wall by the door a was a computer desk. The model on it was fairly decent and Toad's fingers itched with a sudden desire to tinker and overclock it. In the far corner he saw canvases shoved in disarray, painting supplies scattered about a sketchbook on the ground. The front canvas showed a half-finished illustration of what looked like a child in a battle. A hallway opened to two rooms, presumably a bedroom and a bathroom. He craned his neck to look behind him. A bar-style counter separated the small kitchen area from the main room.

Gabby walked back into the living area and handed him a large mug with a local radio station printed on the side.

"Thanks luv," he muttered, taking it from her. She blinked and looked startled for a second, then settled back in her chair and took a long sip from her black "Mind the Gap" mug.

"You British?" she asked. He nodded and made an "Mm-hm" sound into his cup. They both drank in silence. After a while, Gabby put down her cup. "So..." she began. Talking to an injured patient was easy. Trying to start an actual conversation was more difficult.

"Michael--'e's y'brother?" he asked, still sipping slowly from the mug, careful of his injured tongue. Gabby shook her head.

"Nah, not really. We call him that. We all grew up together, Zoey, Ang, Mike and me. He's older by a year and really protective, so he makes a good pseudo-brother."

"Ah." Silence. Sip. Sip. ...

"You got any brothers?"

"Mm?" Toad thought for a moment. The Brotherhood had been the closest thing to a family he'd ever had. Now it was gone. And he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. "Nah, none."

"How long ya been in the States?"

Now that one required a bit more thought. How long had it been since Magneto had found him...he'd been, what...fourteen, fifteen? So... "'Bout nine years now."

"Mm." Slurp. Slurp. "Seen any good movies lately?" Toad wasn't expecting that and looked up to see Gabby grinning sheepishly. She shrugged. "Sorry, default conversation resuscitator."

"Heh." Toad grinned a bit. "'M afraid I'm not much of a talker."

"Me neither," said Gabby. He raised his eyebrow and she blushed. "Except for when I am, I guess. This is different. I don't talk to people outside of the gang much."

"Sure...Gabby."

"It's short for Gabriel, okay! It's not supposed to be a statement as to my personality!" Toad just chuckled. It felt good to be getting a rise out of someone again. She changed the subject. "So...how are you feeling?"

Toad considered. "Like crap. But better." He paused. "This is so bloody humiliating." She raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't sure he felt like elaborating. However, since the conversation had more or less dropped like a shot bird and was currently flapping around pathetically on the ground, he took a deep breath and continued.

"I don't get beat. Ever."

"First time for everything." Gabby grinned infuriatingly. "So you're a tough-guy type? Macho?"

"Nah, just truthful." His stomach chose that moment to growl loudly and he was suddenly and acutely reminded that he hadn't eaten anything for...two days, was it. Gabby heard it too and paled suddenly.

"Oh my God, you must be starving!"

"Yeah."

"Um..." She raced to the kitchen, only to return, sheepishly holding two boxes. "We got Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch. And milk."

A few minutes later, Toad sat on the couch, wolfing down some magically delicious marshmallows. On the television, Brian and Stewie were arguing over who's fault it was that they had been glued together. He could hear the water running in the next room--Gabby was taking a shower. He tried not to think about it, and poured himself a fourth bowl of cereal. Hmm, if this kept up, he'd be snacking with the captain, soon. He glared at the cartoon leprechaun that beamed at him from the red box in his hand.

"Yeah, no wonder Americans don't take anything from Britain seriously."

A part of him somewhat surprised with the way he was handling everything that had happened in the past two days, but even that surprise was a distant feeling. It was like you could only take so much weird sh*t happening to you before everything just kind of shut down and you accepted it. It was just rolling off him, like acid--no, wait, water--like water off a duck's back. Two nights ago, he'd been on a mission with three other mutant terrorist to mutate the world's leaders. Not that's he'd really cared about the point, he didn't share Magneto's optimism that once the people in power were mutants, everything would be better. Of course, it would mean he'd be higher up on the social food chain than humans. He smirked at the thought. But no, all he'd really bothered with, as far as executing the mission went, was knowing who he was supposed to kill and how.

He grimaced, thinking of the X-men. Thought they were so bloody righteous, did they? But no, it took three of them to beat him. Losers. If it had been any one, or even two of them alone... He'd had them all on the ropes all by his lonesome as it was. His fingers clenched around the spoon. "I don't get beat. Ever." He hadn't been bragging (much). He was one of the best. He'd studied traditional martial arts since he'd been ten, and adapted the style to his unique abilities. Sabertooth fought because he was an animal and could do nothing else, really. Mystique fought...Toad drew a breath, remembering just how Mystique fought. It was like a gymnastics routine, but more...hot. Fighting turned her on. He remembered that all too well. But he, Mortimer Toynbee, the Toad, fought with style. It was his heart and soul; he enjoyed it and fought like it was fun because it was. None of those X-men felt any joy in the fight.

He grimaced and shook his head. He'd been getting cocky. Well, no. He smirked slightly. He was cocky and he had every right to it. But careless, that's what he'd been. What would Brother Sensei have said if he'd seen how stupid he'd been, drunk on how easy it had been to pick of the "elite team?" Toad shook his head ruefully. One more chance, he knew, and he could fix them all good. Especially that little weather witch.

His thoughts were broken off as he heard a key click in the door. Instinctively he crouched between the table and the sofa, looking around him for a better place to hide. The door opened and Angie walked in, carrying bags of groceries. Toad blinked a few times and forced his breathing to slow, reminding himself that he had been invited here and was not being caught in the middle of a robbery or a mission. Even if the expression on Angie's face suggested otherwise. There was a tense silence between them.

"Hel-LO, lovely, lovely Angie!" bubbled Gabby as she entered, rubbing her head with a towel. She bounded up to the other girl, snatched the bags out of her hands, and began rifling through it. "Ah, excellent! Food! Food is good! Did you remember to get eggs? Yes! Omlettes tommorrow!" She scampered off to the kitchen with the bags, happily calling out the food items as she found them. "Ice cream Ice cream! Yay!" Toad cocked his head toward the kitchen and squinted. She was like a bloody kid. "Mmm...Beer..." Well, maybe not.

Trying to seem as nonchalant as possible, he gingerly raised himself back up to the couch, fighting a sudden wave of nausea that swept over him. Angie still stared at him as if expecting him to try something. Not one to disappoint, Toad shot his tongue out and grabbed the cereal box. It had been a little painful, but the reaction when he grinned mischievously at the girl was worth it. Angie gasped, a small, frightened sound and raised her hands to her mouth, then ran to the kitchen. Toad shrugged, and hunched over his cereal again.

"Gabby, I want to talk to you," he heard Angie hiss urgently.

"Hm?" He could just see the clueless expression on the blonde's face to accompany the sound. "Yeah?"

"Outside."

"Oh." The playfulness left Gabby's voice, replaced by a wary note. "Right, okay." Toad focused on hunting down the remaining marshmallows amid the plain cereal and the two girls left the room. Hmm..tricky little buggers. He chased a soggy half-a-heart through the milk and licked it from his spoon.

"...Just too creepy..." He heard Angie say. Sigh. Here it comes. Ah well, nice while it lasted. At least he'd gotten a meal and a rest out of it all.

"...'s got nice eyes," Gabby pointed out in a falsely hopeful tone.

"They're creepy!" Angie's voice raised slightly as her exasperation with her friend increased. "Look, Gab, I'm sorry. I'm not saying turn him out tonight or anything. Let him sleep; it's fine with me. But Zoey's roommate's out of town, so I'm gonna stay there for tonight, okay?"

"So you're saying he's a dangerous mutant and you'd rather if I were all alone with him?" Gabby's voice was still playful, but there was a dangerous edge to it. He heard Angie exhale loudly.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying I don't feel comfortable around him, okay. He's a mutant, for crissakes!"

"So was Stacy." Now the edge was stronger, her voice quiet and angry.

"D*mmit, Gabby, I know! She was my friend too! But..."

"No, you're right." Resigned now. Toad gulped his cereal. Right about what? Him? Well, she was. He was creepy...and dangerous. He tried to smirk at that, but somehow it seemed more difficult. "It's not the same. I know. And it's not like you should have to stay if you're not comfortable." Toad considered leaving. Now would be as good a time as any to slip away unnoticed. It would even be kind of funny, these two humans out there, arguing about what to do with him when he wouldn't even be in the apartment anymore. He stood up experimentally, and immediately sank back into the couch with a soft groan. It was like having a hangover. Not tonight then.

The door opened and Gabby walked back in, looking slightly disturbed. He could hear Angie walking to the elevators. The girl flopped down in her chair with a sigh. Toad looked away.

" 'M sorry," he muttered. Gabby shook her head.

"Nah, don't be." There was a silence again, but it was more tired than awkward. At last, Toad asked,

"Who's Stacy?"

"Hm?" Gabby raised her head and blinked a few times. Obviously she had been dozing off.

"Stacy," he repeated. "Who is she?"

"Oh." Gabby ran her hand through her hair and rubbed the back of her head, looking at the floor for a long while. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"She was...Michael's girlfriend. About four years ago. They started at the same college together. She was a mutant. I'm not sure exactly how. Something about electricity. Her eyes would glow all funny sometimes, but other than that, you wouldn't have known it to look at her. She was real great, a lot of fun. Michael brought her home for the Christmas holidays his first year, introduced us all. She wasn't secretive about what she was--Michael knew she could trust us, we're all close as family. Th' next year, when Ang and I started college, we were all together at the same place and we got to know each other real well." Gabriel paused and took another slow breath, trying to collect her thoughts. "We all went to a Mutant's Rights rally, spring of '01...and things...kinda turned ugly." Toad nodded. He remembered hearing about that rally. A bunch of the Friends of Humanity had crashed the peace party. Over a hundred humans and mutants had been injured. Magneto had gone on about it for days, an example for why brute force was necessary when dealing with the lesser beings. Gabby rubbed her forehead, not quite wanting to go on. "Stacy...well...she ended up in a coma. The hospital..." She choked for a second, and then went on. "When they found out that she was a mutant, they told her parents that it would be dangerous for all the other patients to keep her on life support...might short out the system or something," she mimicked bitterly. "So, they...they took her off."

"Oh." Toad didn't know what to say. Gabby raised her eyes. They were over-bright and her mouth was set in a hard line. Toad recognized the signs of someone trying not to cry and politely looked away. "I'm sorry."

Gabby rubbed her eyes hard, shaking her head, and stood up.

"No. No, it's okay. We just...we haven't talked about it much, since it happened. Tough stuff." She stretched, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Yeah, I know." Gabby paused in midstretch to look at him. He looked up and met her eyes. Their gazes locked for a long time. At last, Gabby lowered her arm, exhaling.

"Yeah, I suppose you would." She disappeared into bedroom and emerged with a pillow and blanket. With a playful grin, she tossed the pillow at him. His hand shot up automatically and caught it before it hit his face.

"Nice reflexes."

"Y'should see when I'm awake," he drawled, suddenly yawning. Gabby unceremoniously dropped the blanket on his head, grinning tiredly.

"Bathroom's the door on the left, if ya need it."

"Thanks." He yawned again and stretched out on the couch, pulling the blanket around him. She clicked the light off as she left.

"G'night, Todd. Sweet dreams."

"G'night...Gabby," he murmured, musing over what had been said before sleep claimed him.



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Well. Yeah, that's about it, I think: Well. Um...About the whole contiplation of his fighting style. I rented the movie last night and watched all of his scenes. After being in martial arts for six years, you learn to pick out the different kinds of fighters, and Ray Parker as Toad just made me drool because he's one of the "for the joy of it" fighters. He does fancy stuff, but not like Mystique. He's got this attitude every time he's one screen kicking butt that's just...sexy is one word, but impressive comes to mind. I love the way he fights. Not the moves and all that, though that all rocks as well. Just...the way he fights...I can't get over it (--look what karate's done to me!)

Oh, yes, speaking of which, I want to go into just how he knows how to kick so much @55, so that'll be coming up soon.