Chapter Twenty-One:

As Nancy and Mystique were conversing on the deck, Toad walked down the guest room hall and glanced out to make sure he was alone before entering the main living room. Unlike Mystique, he had no interest in questioning or interacting with anybody. They did not have the information he needed for Magneto, and he wanted to find out something before he had to leave New York.

Toad glanced at the shelves for something of interest and searched near the phone for any kind of address book. He sighed with frustration, and tried to decide if he had enough time to get downtown before Mystique (or anyone else) noticed he was gone.

He started for the front door when the witch Nancy stormed down from the roof and across the room. He nearly had to leap out of her way to avoid a collision, but Nancy passed by without a second glance at the surprised mutant.

"Blue bitch..." he heard her mutter before slamming her way to her room. Toad chuckled quietly and then scowled. Mystique must be up already if people are already getting pissed at her.

Toad frowned and scratched a hand through his green hair. If the Malloy family was as connected as Magneto said, there had to be something here he could use to get information about the people on the list.

In one corner of the large room, Toad spotted an elaborate computer console. He walked toward it, remembering something Rebecca had said last night, and sat down at the keyboard. He waited for the computer to start up and then opened the icon for the internet.

The word "google" appeared on the screen and Toad shook his head. All this stuff... and the only option he had was a google search.

"Right..." he muttered, and considered which name to try first. He glanced in the direction Nancy had stormed off, and remembered that she had recognized a name from the list. Scarlet Witch... Maximoff. Well, there were two of those so that was probably his best shot.

Toad typed the word quickly and ran a search. His eyes brightened when he found more than a few links. He maneuvered the mouse to bring up recent news articles and got another surprise when he found not only a story, but a picture.

NYC Elite Attend Annual Black and White Ball, the headline shouted, and the caption below the picture read, Host Wilson Fisk of Fisk Corp. greets his guests; (Starting from left) Harry Osborne, Pietro Maximoff, Paris Hilton.

Toad glanced around the room again to make sure he was alone and then began printing what he found. After a few more minutes of searching, he felt he had found enough information to present Magneto with from his first successful search. It never struck him as odd that nothing was found online about the second Maximoff.

Toad folded up the papers and stowed them in his jacket, just as he heard other voices echoing up the hall. He glanced to the left and saw Rebecca give him a brief wave.

"Morning..." she managed through a yawn, rubbing her temples unhappily as she shuffled toward the kitchen, "Toast... I need toast..."

"The bread kind, right?" Sid teased as he followed her. He straightened his tie and hung his expensive suit jacket over a chair. He spotted Toad and gave him a little obnoxious salute.

"Checking email?" Sid asked with a toothy grin.

"Yeah, sure," Toad replied with a glare, and then frowned curiously. He knew Sid Malloy had some sort of tech company in the city and he wondered if he knew anything about the photo he found.

"You ever heard of the Black and White ball?" Toad asked.

Sid blinked with surprise, "Oh, yeah. Usually hosted by Wilson Fisk and his flunkies. It's this big exclusive party they have downtown for all the big wigs."

"What'd'you know about it?" Toad asked and Sid shrugged.

"Just what I said," he admitted, "Despite my rising fame, I'm afraid I have never received an invitation. Although, maybe now that I'm in New York again, that'll change..."

Toad scowled at Sid's irritating good humor, especially this early in the morning. Fortunately, his mood was balanced out by his sister, who looked absolutely miserable as she wandered out of the kitchen with a loaf of bread, a glass of water and two aspirin.

"When'd'they usually have it?" Toad continued interrogating Sid.

"I think it's in the fall," Sid said, "When it's not too hot for tuxes and not to cold for the ladies to strut around in their sexiest gowns."

Damn, Toad thought. The next ball was months from now, and there was no guarantee the same guests would be there. He would have to see what Magneto wanted to do before he acted.

The front door opened again and Mystique walked casually in. She smiled politely, and nodded once at Toad, who returned the gesture. He knew the plan. She would pass on any new orders from Magneto to Pyro and they would head back to the base.

"Ahh! Shit!" Rebecca suddenly shouted from the kitchen table. One of her breakfast experiments was smoldering on the floor as she snuffed out the flaming piece of toast with the last of her water. Hangovers certainly did not help her control her powers.

Toad shook his head again, still wondering what the hell Magneto wanted Pyro to learn from these people.