Sorry it's taking so long. My sister has been coming to visit and my school work isn't helping much either. Anyway, this is where things really get heated up.

Chapter Eleven: Caught in the Middle

"WAKE UP!" Todd's eyes snapped open and he jolted upwards and hit the ceiling but clung on.

"Wha!?"

"'Bout time you got up." He looked down to see Serena standing there dressed up in a light blue tang top with black shorts.

"What time is it?" Todd groaned.

"Four a.m." she said simply.

"What!?" he said so surprised he let go of the ceiling. He bounced off his bed onto the floor. "How can you possibly be awake at this hour?"

"Hey, I gotta train before anybody else wakes up." She bent over him. "And it's high time you did too."

"What for?" he asked incredulously.

"To increase your fighting skills like I have."

"I really don't feel like working out right now."

"Aw come on it's good for you." He looked up at her. Something was extremely different about Serena. She was peppy, energetic, and assertive.

"Get dressed and meet me in front of my room." She closed the door behind her. Boy that was weird. He thought as he got dressed. She's a lot different than I thought she was. After he was finished he walked over to Serena's room. She was standing outside the door waiting for him.

"Ah, good. You're dressed. Now come on."

He followed her down the hall and through a couple of stair cases. They were in a dim empty hallway with concrete floors and dusty white walls. At the end was a gray metal door with a slightly rusted handle. It creaked as she pushed it opened. The lights turned on to reveal a huge gym that had various weight lifting and workout items in one corner and different acrobatic workouts (vaulting horse, parallel bars, horizontal bars, ect.) in the other. The other half of the gym was clear and full of space to run. It was quite a huge room.

"Whoa!" Todd gasped as he gazed around the room. "How did you find this?"

"It was actually on accident. I was just wandering around looking for something to do and I found this. I don't think anyone's used it in a while though."

"So this is where you work out?" Todd asked.

"Yep. Every morning and sometimes after training."

"So where should we start?" He asked her.

"First we start with running."

"Well, that sounds easy."

"With weights on."

"Oh great." He moaned. She brought over weight straps.

"You can start out with the lighter ones."

"Good." "Ten on each arm and fifteen on each leg since you can hop."

"Oh come on!" he exclaimed.

"Don't be such a baby." She said while strapping his weights on. "Besides don't you want to learn how to become a real fighter?"

"Well yeah, but..."

"No buts!" She finished putting her weights on. "We run ten laps around this court. That should make about one mile."

"Look I don't wanna..."

"Go!" She took off running at a pretty good pace. He took a leap but was dragged down by the weights and landed with a thud on the floor. He groaned as he slowly pushed himself up. Serena ran past him.

"Keep your spirits up!" she called to him.

"Damn! If you weren't my woman!" he shouted. She laughed out loud.

"Okay." He said to himself. With pure determination he hopped trying to land smoothly and not let the weights drag him down. After he was finished he collapsed onto the floor. Serena walked next to him and bent over him.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm having trouble breathing." He wheezed.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." She said as she helped him remove the weights and half carried him over to a bench where he sat down. She handed him a bottle. "Here's something to drink. It'll give you energy."

"Thanks," he said as he took the bottle from her and took a swig. He felt a little better as he felt the drink slide down his dry throat. After five minutes he felt it was possible for him to walk again.

"Okay that's enough rest. Time to see how your fighting skills are."

"No problem." He walked over to the middle of the area to face her.

"You ready?" she asked slyly.

"I really don't want to hurt you." Todd said.

She smiled. "Don't worry. You won't."

"Then let's start!"

He leapt at her but she easily dodged him. He threw a punch but she merely grabbed his fist and flipped him over onto the ground. He leapt back up. He whipped out his tongue and grabbed her wrist. She was a little surprised but yank her wrist back so that he was jerked towards her. His stomach collided with her fist and he was winded. He fell back onto the floor slightly dizzy. He shook his head to clear his vision and saw she was bent over him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I think so." He said. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"That wasn't half bad for someone who's never practiced martial arts." She declared.

"How long have you've been practicing for?"

"Five years."

"But then, if you've known it for five years, why didn't you use it against those girls who beat you." He face suddenly turned dark.

"Because that was my weaker ha..." She stopped abruptly and took a deep breath. She said slowly, "Because..." Todd stared at her waiting for an answer. She shook her head. "What does it matter?" She beckoned to him. "Come on, let's finish training."

After that Serena acted weird throughout the rest of training. She seemed a little moody. After they were finished Todd sat in his room and wondered what it was she was about to tell him earlier. Whatever it was, it was obviously something she didn't want to talk about. Todd wanted to do something to make her happy. Maybe he would get her something, something fabulous, something that she'll love. Jewelry? He thought of the bracelet Kurt had given to her. I'll get something better. But what? He took out the picture Lance had given to him that he always carried around with him. He looked at the picture of them holding each other and sighed. He looked at it again and suddenly he got an idea. Maybe he could... no way. That would be impossible. But if he's really as good as she says... Todd considered for a moment, he made up his mind. It's worth a try.

------------------

"Are you sure that's really necessary?" Tabitha asked.

"I think that's going a bit too far." Lance said seriously.

"I've made up my mind." Pietro said determinedly.

"Come on Pietro." Fred tried to talk him out of it.

"No." he said defiantly. "From now on I'm going to make their lives a living hell."

------------------

Over the week Todd trained with Serena in the mornings and during school the Brotherhood (mostly Pietro) caused trouble. The Brotherhood kept asking Todd to come back. Todd kept refusing.

"I can't believe you could sink so low!" Pietro spat out. "As an X-Geek!" Tabitha, Lance, and Fred just stood back and watched. "It's sickening!"

"It's not my fault you can't find someone who can stand you!" Todd burst out and stormed off leaving Pietro with no comeback for that remark.

DAY ONE

Evan was in gym class getting dressed out. He opened his locker and a can of glue was emptied out on him. "What the!?" he cried out. As the can empty it pulled a string tied to a switch to a fan behind a pile of feathers. The fan clicked on blowing the feathers onto Evan which stuck to him due to the glue. To make the situation worse he suddenly realized he couldn't removed his hand from the locker handle Someone had put glue on his locker handle as well. He struggled to free his hand but was having no luck. A blur whipped by and he heard a voice call out to him, "I always thought you were a turkey!" "PIETRO!" Evan screamed.

DAY TWO

Kurt put in his locker combination and opened it. Something exploded and before he knew it he was covered in pick gunk. "AH! Not again!" The gunk smelled faintly sweet and was extremely sticky. Kurt poked at it and realized what it was. "AAAUUUGGGHHH!!"

DAY THREE

Rogue and Kitty walked down the hall chatting with eachother. They turned a corner and all of the sudden coke was being shot at them. They both screamed as they were doused with the fizzy drink. "My outfit!" "My hair!" They looked at the ground to see an empty soda can and a note that said: HOPED YOU LIKED THE DRINK SUCKERS! LOVE QUICKSILVER. "Quicksilver!" They both shrieked with rage.

DAY FOUR

The bell rang and Jean was gathered up her things and was the first to the classroom door. She opened it and all of the sudden water balloons came falling from a bucket tied to the top of the door. She jumped as the balloons splashed around her feet. "They didn't get me." She breathed. She didn't notice the huge balloon slowly sliding out of the bucket. She looked up but too late. The balloon broke open on her head and she was covered in orange paint. A few people were laughing and pointing.

DAY FIVE

After school Scott walked out to the parking lot where his car was parked. He looked at it and did a double take. The windows were smashed, mustard, ketchup, and a lot of other food toppings had been sprayed all over the paint which was scratched up, and the inside filled with smashed eggs. "MY CAR!"

Todd and Serena were leaving the school when they saw the X-Men gathered. They looked angry and some of them were shouting.

"Whadda you thinks goin' on?" Todd asked her.

"I don't know." She replied. They walked up to them. "Hey guys. What's with all the yelling?"

Scott rounded on them. "The Brotherhood that's what!"

"They are the worst people that ever walked the planet!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Remember guys they've don't know any better." Jean tried to be the voice of reason despite the paint incident. "They don't have anyone looking out for them."

"I wonder why!" Scott said sarcastically.

"If you would just talk to them." Serena suggested.

"That's just the thing!" Evan shouted. "You can't talk to them because they don't listen!"

"They're annoying juvenile delinquents!" Rogue shouted.

"Lay off of them guys." Todd told them frowning.

"I agree." Serena said.

"Who's side are you on!?" Kitty demanded.

The Brotherhood over heard the X-men and hid out of sight listening.

"I'm sick of it!" Scott raved. "I'm sick of putting up with that fat slob who has no friends because he would kill em if he got mad, that skanky bleached blonde destroys things when she doesn't get her way and has a jacked up father that cares more about money then her, that rock head jerk who's never had a home because he probably destroyed it, and that egotistical moron who's as arrogant as his psychotic bastard of a father!"

The Brotherhood was listening to every word of this. The more they listened the more their hatred and resentment grew towards the X-Men.

"No wonder they never had a home! How could anyone ever possibly want them!" Evan bellowed.

"They do nothing but destroy!" Kurt said angrily.

Any other insult would have reflected right off them. But the words had shot through them and went straight into their core. They were the small pieces of the Brotherhood's shield against life's cruelty that were frail and easily broken. The things that they were extremely sensitive about. The things they hated about themselves. And the insults they overheard had run straight into the weak spots of that shield like arrows and shattered through them, injuring them. But their pain manifested into pure revulsion as intense as poison. But Pietro, already heated up by the fact that Todd had joined the X-Men, this had amplified his anger to a dangerous limit.

"So..." He said with a voice of death. "They think we're irresponsible kids who do nothing but destroy, I say let's not disappoint them."

"This time we're with ya' Quickie." Tabitha growled. They slid quietly off unnoticed.

"They should have never even been born! They were obviously mistakes!" Scott raged. But his rage was interrupted as a hand came out of nowhere and smacked him so hard he was lifted off his feet. His sunglasses were knocked askew. He landed hard on the ground his face stinging. He looked up to see Serena standing over him white faced and furious with a slightly red opened hand at her side. It was her who had slapped him.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT ANYONE!" She yelled in a hard, sharp voice that could cut through a person's soul. Her eyes which were usually calm and friendly were wild and flickering like a fire. Even Scott was taken aback by the unusually nature of the young girl.

"YOU THINK YOU KNOW THEM BUT YOU DON"T!" She rounded on the rest of them standing behind her who quickly backed away. "NONE OF YOU DO! THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH MORE THEN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE! SO NATURALLY THEY'LL FIND SOMETHING TO TAKE THEIR ANGER OUT ON!"

"BUT WHY US!?" Kurt screamed. Her anger melted away at this question. She slowly turned her head to him. He was looking at her with a desperate incomprehension. She took a deep breath.

"Don't you get it? Because they are jealous of you. You have everything they've ever wanted. A nice warm home, with good food and comfort, and someone who loves them, who cares about them, to come home to. Your lives are like heaven compared to theirs."

"We've offered them several times to join us." Scott said exasperatedly. She turned around to look at him. He was still on the ground possibly afraid to get up. A red hand mark was growing on the side of his face.

"They know that you could never learn to get along with them. They know that they come from a world entirely opposite of yours. They know you could never understand why they are what they are today."

"They used you. Why are you defending them?" Her fists tightened at her sides.

"I know they used me." She said dangerously. "But that does not justify what you just said about them. It wasn't that they were not wanted because of the way they are. They are the way they are because they were not wanted. They were hurt and they didn't want to be hurt again. So they grew hard and distant and turned their backs on the world. But deep down inside are those that look for some kind of understanding."

They all stood there in silence with their heads hanging guiltily on their shoulders. None of them could possibly think of anything to say. She turned her back to them.

"So don't ever judge them." And she walked off Todd following after her since she had left nothing for him to say. They left all of them in shamefaced silence.

Todd was walking next to Serena. After he was sure she had calmed down he asked her, "What was that?"

"What?" she said confused.

"Back there." He pointed with his thumb.

She shrugged. "I guess I just snapped."

"They were all afraid of you."

"Of me?"

"Well maybe not of you but the way you were acting. Even I was just a teeny bit shaken up. But thanks for stickin up for my pals."

"No problem. It's just this fight, I just can't stand it. Insults are being exchanged."

"Blows are bein' delivered." He muttered.

"How is it you see right through me?" she demanded.

"How so?"

"How did you know that behind my eyes was a sad girl crying and that I hurt so much inside?"

"Probably cause I've been there so often."

"Todd..." she said quietly. Todd slipped his hand into hers as a sign of comfort and their fingers laced up. They continued walking as they held each other's hand.

"What are we gonna do about this?" she asked him.

"I don't really think there is much we can do Serena. Both groups are just as arrogant and stubborn."

"There has to be something we can do, anything. What if somebody gets hurt. What if you get hurt."

"As long as I'm with you nothing can hurt me."

"Well do you think the Brotherhood would do something terrible?"

"Oh come on. They may like to play pranks, destroy property, and maybe lift wallets, but I don't think they would do anything serious."

"I hope not." She said worriedly.

"Hey don't worry." He assured her. "If anything happens, I'll be there to protect you."

"Todd, I don't think I could've found anyone I would've loved more than I love you."

"It's cause of you. If I'd 've never met you, I'd still be in the dark, alone without knowing what love really feels like. Meeting you was the greatest thing that's ever happen to me." He closed his eyes. "Serena... thanks."

------------------

That night Todd tried meditating with Serena which he regretted doing. Serena had told him to clear his mind of all thoughts and emotions. He tried but scattered thoughts kept wavering through his brain. He was trying so hard to clear his mind his head was starting to hurt. The incense was strong and burned his nostrils giving him even more of a headache. Finally, frustrated he stood up.

"I can't do this. I don't know how you talked me into this."

"You need to try and relax." She said calmly. "You have to clear your mind and yet focus it as well."

"What's the point of this?" Todd asked.

"The point is learning how to control your spiritual energy."

"I'm trying but it just doesn't want to come."

"Here." She got up and stood close to him. "Just relax." He slid his arms around her waist.

"Uh huh."

"Let out any stress you're feeling."

"What stress?" he asked dreamily. The door swung open and Kitty stood there gaping at them.

"What are you two doing?" she demanded.

"Gathering our spiritual energy." Todd declared. Kitty shuddered in disgust.

"Hey, have you ever heard of knocking?" Serena shot at her.

"Sorry but it's urgent." Kitty told them. Todd and Serena exchanged worried looks. They went downstairs to where the professor, Scott, Jean, Rogue, Evan, and Kurt were waiting for them. Jean still had flecks of orange paint in her hair and Kurt had some uneven patches in his fur.

"So what's the deal?" Todd asked.

"The Brotherhood is on the outskirts of town and whatever they're doing, it can't be good."

"Why do you always expect the worst out of them?"

"Because usually the worst comes from them."

"They drenched us in soda." Rogue said disgruntled.

"You got the stains out of your clothes." Todd replied.

"They covered me in feathers." Evan said heatidly.

"You were able to clean up."

"They dumped orange paint on me." Jean fumed.

"You know orange doesn't look that bad on you."

"They got GUM in my fur!" Kurt wailed.

"Aw, come on. The peanut butter helped get most of it out."

"They destroyed my car!" Scott complained. "They're always destroying my car!"

"About that Scott." Professor Xavier cut in. "I was wondering since I'm always paying to get it fixed if you would maybe like it a different color this time."

"Not now Professor. We need to get over there and see what the Brotherhood is up to."

They were outside of town where there were very few houses and mostly grass and trees. It was dark and it was only a half moon so they could hardly see anything. "Keep an eye out." Scott said. It was eerily silent except for the breeze that blew through the field making the trees whisper. Todd could feel the tension of everybody around him as they silently walked across the grass.

The breeze rolled over Serena giving her goosebumps. Suddenly she heard a rustle and felt a strong emotion. She whipped her head around looking for any sign of life but found none. "What is it?" Todd asked quietly noticing her sudden movement. "Someone's here." She whispered. "How do you know?" "I'm sensing someone's anger and hatred."

"Well hello." A soft voice came from behind. All of them whipped around to see the Brotherhood standing there menacingly. "Remember us?" Pietro said in words of venom. "The delinquents?" "Now look we just want to settle this- -" "Oh so do we. And we're gonna settle this once and for all."

The Brotherhood was fighting with everything they had, their anger fueling their attacks. They were not playing around. Lance was practically trying to make a canyon out of the field. Pietro was ripping up the ground with the twister he was making. Tabitha acted as the heavy artillery and Fred was trying to squash people. The X-Men were having a hard time fighting back.

"Can't you blast them with water?" Todd asked Serena as they avoided a bomb thrown by Tabitha.

"I can only shoot water after I absorb it. Other wise I might get dehydrated."

"Well we better think of something." He jumped over a huge gapped that was being made into the ground.

"Okay, remember the training we've been practicing?"

"Yeah."

"Use it!" She dove forward and charged towards Tabitha dodging all of her bombs. She did a flip and did a double kick, landing on top of Tabitha and knocking the wind out of her. Serena got up as Tabitha layed there on the ground trying to get her wind back.

"You need to cool off for a while."

Lance was staring to lose control as his headache grew. The ground was splitting up uncontrolibly. Serena nearly fell in one of the holes that were made. She saw Rogue struggling to pull her foot out of a crack in the ground. Serena ran over to her.

"Are you alright."

"My foot's stuck!" Rogue told her.

"Hold on." She whispered to her self, "Okay, I can do this." She held her hand to the crack and tried to force water to come out of it. No luck. "Hurry!" Rogue said urgently. She focused her energy and willed the water levels in her body to rise. A burst of water shot out of her hand making the hard ground soft and muddy. Rogue slipped her foot out of the crack.

"Thanks." Rogue said.

"No problem." Serena replied. They watched as Lance was starting to lose control.

"He's mine." Rogue said starting to take her gloves off. Serena held her back.

"No, don't touch him. If you do his anger will be transferred to you and trust me," she looked around at the destruction being caused, "they're feeling a lot of that right now."

"Well what should we do?" Rogue asked.

Suddenly something green shot past them and hit Lance in the face breaking his concentration though the cracks in the ground were still forming. It was slime. Todd leapt over them towards Lance who had no control over his powers now and was tearing up the field. Several voices cried out. Todd kicked Lance straight into the chest which knocked him down and the tremors stopped.

"Way to go Todd!" Serena cheered.

Todd smiled proudly, but that smile quickly vanished when something caught his eye. At a distance there was a stain against the darkness watching the fight. He squinted to see what it was but couldn't quite make it out. Meanwhile Pietro who had just been blasted out of the air by Scott saw what Todd had done. Pietro, in a mad rage, got up and went after Todd. Todd didn't even see Pietro come at him. With his super speed he punched Todd right on the side of his head. Todd gave a groan of mixed surprise and pain as his head twisted around. Serena screamed, making Rogue jump and drawing everyone's attention to what was happening. They all watched in horror.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The impact of the strike sent Todd flying. Spit had shot out of his mouth from the blow. He landed roughly with a thud a few feet away from where he was standing. He gave a grunt of pain as his body hit the ground and bounced back up and hit the ground once more. He rolled over a couple of times and stopped face down. His head was throbbing and his eyes watered a little from the aching pain. It felt as if his head had been split in two and he felt dizzy. He raised his head slightly.

"S-Serena..." he struggled with all his might to keep awake. "Someone... watching..."

His head dropped back onto the ground as he lost all consciousness and he laid motionless face down in the grass, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face. Serena screamed again and ran over to kneel next to him. Rogue just stood there in disbelief. Serena pushed his body over so that he was lying on his back. She took hold of his limp hand.

"Todd." She whispered. Lance and Tabitha who had recovered from their beatings, and Fred had all ran up and stood around Todd staring down at the unconscious teen. Tabitha looked at him sadly, her lip quivering. Fred looked upset. Lance's eyes were wide with shock and bewilderment. Pietro himself looked stunned at what he had done and the damage his thoughtless action had caused.

"Pietro," Lance whispered hoarsly, "what have you done?"

"I-I didn't think," Pietro stammered. "I-I-I lost c-control."

Serena stood up and stared at Todd's face, so calm and peaceful, unaware of the tension and silent regret that was all around them. Tears were forming in her eyes. Shuddering sobs escaped her throat. Though as soft as they were, her sounds of despair bored into Pietro and gnawed away at his core. He heard a voice in his head. Her voice. Look what you've done. He shuttered. She knelt down and picked up his body with ease. She cradled him in her arms.

"Serena," Lance's voice came, "give him here." Her body tensed with anger. After what they've done how could he ask her to give Todd to him? "Serena," his voice came again, "please, give him here."

She turned around to face him still holding Todd. Why should I? she thought. Give me one good reason. She didn't expect the response she got. Because we're the only real family he's got. His voice echoed in her head. How did you...? She starlted. Not me, you. She looked at him confused. Look, just please. He held out his arms. He can still love you. But it's time he came home with us. He belongs with us and you know it. She stared at him for awhile. He stared at her right back with a hard look in his eyes. Then, reluctantly, she handed him Todd's limp body.

"Thank you." He whispered to her. She hung her head not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. Lance turned to the others. "Let's go." They followed him.

As Pietro passed by she uttered to him in a low yet intense distinguishable voice, "I hate you." With every word full of malice. The impact of her words was unbearable and he couldn't bring himself to look at her. She stood there as they disappeared into the dark. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Kurt's.

"Come on." He said softly. "We'd better go." She nodded gloomily and let him steer her away. All of the X-Men were silent, not daring to say a word for fear that a severe punishment would be delivered for breaking the painful silence.

As if that wasn't bad enough, something a lot worse results from the fight. Something horribly wrong.