By Maikafuiniel
Chapter 7
Some little kid out there, playing in the sand, is one day going to be an astronaut; the girl playing on the monkey bars is going to be a world class gymnast; the baby watching from the picnic table will be a famous chief. Too bad that other little boy on the swings is going to be the janitor at the local high school. Not everybody gets to be incredible when they grow up.
Before he was even awake, he began a low, defeated moan. It was hot, like an oven on high. Warmer, and warmer still. How much oxygen could there be?
And the darkness… The darkness was complete. Total. And he could hear nothing; no sound but his own irregular breathing. But when sensation began to drift back to him, he knew that it was dark because his eyes were closed tightly, trying to protect himself from the dream. No… the memory. He had even buried himself deep into his blankets; that was where the heat was coming from.
Todd Tolansky, though even in his own mind he was now Mortimer Toynbee, slowly opened his eyes and winced at the bright light. It was dazzling; cones and rods shot to hell and back… but slowly his eyes adjusted and rational thought took over. He knew what had happened… that man, Mastermind, had messed with his mind.
He shook his head in confusion… everything seemed different… everything felt just a little off kilter. Just enough. He stood slowly, pushing the blankets off of him with a light shove, and immediately tilted off to the side. He had barely started to fall though when he was able to catch himself from falling to the ground. 'Oh yeah,' he thought to himself, 'That would be why…'
From what he could remember he been turned… changed… and then everything got a bit fuzzy at that point. He knew though that the basic fact was, Magneto had set up a secret plan, and Mastermind had changed his memories.
"Bloody hell…" he muttered quietly, "This is weird…"
He knew he was supposed to be Todd Tolansky. He knew it… be he also knew he was Mortimer Toynbee… that he always had been. But things were different now. This was…
Slowly he lifted one hand a placed his head in it. It hurt… the lights were too bright as it was, and that was nothing on top of the pounding headache, born simply from the memory change… but no, something was different about this too…
Slowly he dragged his hand through his hair, shocked at how light it felt. Hard in the front as if somebody had gelled it, but almost fluffy in the back- except for where the bald spot was. He could feel it, a patch, hidden underneath his hair, that had nothing on it but a thick and obvious scar.
"Brill," he whispered sarcastically and quietly to himself, not knowing if anybody was watching him, "They did it," he said in wonder, "They actually got that chip in me…"
Anger flooded through him, even through the strange sensation of excitement. This was his chance. A chance at a real life. But no… Yes, he had agreed to have his memory changed, and yes he had agreed to have the chip in him… but they could have at least told him how it was all going to happen. Now he was completely knackered, and worse, it seemed like he was missing his entire kit.
He wondered for a moment just who had gone and undressed him, and hoped against hope that it was the doctor who had done the surgery. A doctor doing it, sure. It was all a job there. But one of the acotolytes? Not exactly something he would fancy knowing.
He looked around the room, still squinting in the bright lights, but his gaze fell on a nicely pressed piled of clothing. He looked at them for a moment, feeling them in his hands. These weren't the rags that he was used to but designer labels. Black pants, not overly tight but not overly baggy either. A pair of sneakers that looked like they would fit properly… boxers were there too, as well as a pair of blue socks. There were even gloves like Lance's, though he knew they weren't something he would ever feel comfortable wearing. And on top of the pile was a forest green shirt- thicker then your average piece, and long sleeved.
Apparently he wasn't the only person who had noticed it was chilly in Magneto's metal base.
Getting dressed quickly he took another look around the room, this time taking far more in. It looked far too much like a cell for his taste. Not for a prison, but maybe for a mental institution. It was white all over, which, he realized, was what was actually causing him to squint. Soft white linoleum tiles covered the ground, and likewise the walls were free of colour.
There was a piece of fabric hanging in the middle of the room, acting as a room divider, and when he looked behind it he saw a toilet, sink, mirror and shower. Other then that the room was just a white, small bedroom with a bed pressed against one wall and a small table beside it.
He turned back to the 'bathroom' and pulled the room divider shut again, just in case somebody decided to take just this moment to come in and check on him, and began to get dressed.
He watched himself in the mirror the whole time, amazed by what he saw. It was him. Mortimer Toynbee in all his excellence. Something he had never seen before. There was no green on him. There were no warts. There was no dirt. And he couldn't smell anything besides the sanitized smell of shampoo and conditioner.
His hair was cut short, though the hair where the bangs should have been was gelled to stay upwards, making his forehead look bigger then it should. It looked totally natural… and yet so totally not. It looked like he was looking at a picture of another person.
Walking back into the bedrooms he wished for a moment for something to read. He could remember a love for reading… and yet he couldn't remember what was actually in any of those books. He couldn't remember for the life of him what he had been reading, just that he had.
He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his mind. Taking a step towards the bedside table he wondered if there was anything in it. There was a small drawer there, and inside it three hand books. One of them was obviously a mechanics book, another piloting, and another… the arts. It was a book simply made of pictures upon pictures of things that had been painted both long ago and recently.
Taking the book he sat down on his bed and began to leaf through it. He had no idea how long it would be until somebody came along to get him.
Pyro walked down the hallway cheerfully, whistling an annoying, yet addictive tune. He didn't know where he had heard it, or even if he had just made it up, but it was there in the front of his mind- so why not?
He was busy looking for the one room that Magneto had pointed out, 17A. It was weird though, they all looked the same after a while and Pyro found himself quickly growing board. After all, there was so much more he could be doing. …Like setting the hem of Gambits trench-coat on fire.
But no, orders were orders. He had to go and get the new guy, and bring him to the gym where he and Sabertooth would train him. Sabertooth in hand to hand, and Pyro with weapons. After all, other then a couple of flying cards, everybody in Magneto's men thought that the only way to fight was with powers. But guns and weapons? They were something that Pyro really enjoyed. Especially projectiles that could be flaming.
With another sharp whistle he found the door he had been looking for, and entered. It was a lot like his room, but completely blank and empty. Pyro wondered for a moment how the new recruit would go about decorating it, but quickly found that really- he didn't care.
"G'day mate!" he said happily, a sing-son quality in his voice, to the boy lying on the bed, "I'm Pyro, you are?"
The boy looked up, surprise written across his features. It was obvious he had been absorbed in his book… 'Pictures?' Pyro thought with a laugh, 'An artist eh? Well, that has gotta be a first.'
"Umm…" the boy said nervously, sitting up, "Mortimer," he muttered, "But people call me Morty."
"Don't blame ya a mite," the aussie replied, his grin too wide for his face, "What's your codename then?"
"I don't have one yet," he replied, standing up; shocking Pyro with how tall he was. Hell, Gambit was going to be threatened by this guy.
"Well we can't have that!" Pyro said, "My name's St. John, but I don't go 'round committin' acts of terrorism on it. Not like you're goin' strike fear or whatever goin' round the place as Mortimer."
"Probably not," was the reply.
"Well then, Magneto says your powers are telepathic blockin' right?" When he received a nod of confirmation he continued, "So somthin' to do with stoppin' minds. Something either really obvious, or somethin' you really have to think about works for codenames. Most people go by the obvious."
"I'm not most people," the reply came quickly, "And I'm really not ready for a codename, alright?"
Pyro stood there, a look of thought on his face as he contemplated codenames anyway. "Stop-gap? No, that's horrible. Think-tank? Hidden? Depth? Black? Any of these agreein' with ya?"
"Nope," Morty replied, "Let's go."
Pyro sighed deeply, but decided that now wasn't the time anyway. Sabertooth was waiting afterall, and one didn't want to keep the big cat waiting. "We'll come on then!" he said with a laugh, "We've got to get ya all trained up now!"
Pyro left then, whistling his tune again, despite the obvious look of disgust of Toad's face. 'Stupid aussie,' he thought to himself, 'Trying to get me to have a new code-name. Toad forever!'
Through endless hallway after endless hallway Toad followed Pyro, never actually realizing what St. John had been saying.
It was only when he was pushed into a side room covered in mats, with Sabertooth standing in the middle of the room, a manical smile on his face, that it hit him. 'I have to fight Sabertooth?!' he thought in shock, 'And without powers?'
He was this close to turning away, hoping to get out of the room while he still had a chance, when he realized Pyro had locked the door behind him. "Little shit," he muttered, "If I survive this, I'm gonna' kill him."
Sabertooth heard him however.
"If?" the big cat grinned, "Oh, don't worry kid. You'll survive. Barely."
And he attacked.
Since this chapter didn't really have anything to do with any reviewer in particular, I've chosen to pick a person at random... Maiden Genisis! So to you Maiden Genisis goes Pyro, Toady, and Sabertooth! The only chapter you'll ever see Pyro in is all yours! Enjoy!
Actually, I'm gonna' share with you lot a secret... I wasn't intending to post this for another week. I know I updated the last chapter only like, yesterday, so this was iffy... but I had something important to tell you all. I have a page (but make the address without the spaces)-- ht tp :o cx me nr pg .p ro bo ar ds 7. co m/ in de x. cg i
I'm having a bit of trouble planning the story out, and noticing that I'm leaving some nasty plot holes sometimes. Anyway, come to that site and you can tell me about it much easier; any problems you have with understanding what's going on, anything you notice has been oddly written, etc... When, and if, I write alternate chapters, they'll be posted here also. I'm also holding a vote on whether I'm going to have romance, slash, or nothing at all. Anyway, come to the site and have your say. You don't need to be a member to post, though if you are and you get really into it... well, I am looking for a beta...