"I Tried"
Furor Paxx (VulgateOfEarth@hotmail.com)
Chapter 15- Todd Fan Part II
"Have you seen Todd?" Scott asked Lance as he walked past him. It was four thirty and no one had seen him since the first guests had arrived over an hour ago.
"Nope. Not even near the buffet. He was acting kind of weird earlier. Think he's sick?"
"I hope not." Pietro said as he worked his way through the crowd. For a house with more than 100 rooms and less than 50 guests, there were an awful lot of people in that one room. "When Todd gets sick it's usually serious. Last time we had Mystique with us. She pulled some strings and got a doctor to stop by, but he was kinda shady."
"I'll look for him." Jaysin said. "You guys go ahead and start showing people around." Jaysin decided to check the control room first, since it was the one place that guarenteed privacy. He searched the whole room. No Todd. From there Jasin searched the basement and cellar. By the time he got done, everyone was on the second floor, so he could search the first without worrying about spectators. Freddy joined him and they even looked in all the cabinets and closets. Nothing. Freddy and Jaysin went to the next floor and caught a few scraps of what Pietro was telling his group about the house. Mostly it was about how Scott and Lance had fallen in love with a stripper. A few minutes later loud laughter was heard, presumably Pietro had reached the punchline of that particular joke.
"I'm worried." Freddy said as they bypassed the rooms that had people in them and headed for the third floor.
"Yeah. Me too." Jaysin admitted as they abandoned yet another Todd-less room.
At last, all that was left was the attic.
"This isn't good. Jaysin said as he stepped into the empty room. "Maybe he's outside."
"Maybe."
"Let's tell Scott and Lance. He has to be outside."
Freddy didn't say anything as they went back downstairs.
"What? He went outside like that?" Scott said a little too loudly. "Where would he go outside?"
"I don't know, the cars are locked and both are still there. Wanda and I are gonna look for him. Freddy's a bit... well, out of it I guess. We'll be back in an hour, or you ask the Professor to find us, okay." Jaysin nodded to Wanda and the two of them made their way to the door.
"Where do we start?" she asked.
"Under the cars, under the house, in the shed... the only place after that is the forest."
"He's afraid of that forest."
"Then that's the last place we look."
Todd wasn't under the car. He wasn't under the house, or in the shed. Jaysin even crawled under both of them to check. No Todd.
"Well, are you sure you checked everywhere inside?" Wanda asked, uneasiness creeping into her voice.
"Yes. Under and inside everything." Jaysin ran a dirty hand through his equally dirty hair. "Scott's gonna go thermal. If Todd's in the forest..."
"He's not. Trust me. He first met Logan and Victor in that forest. He won't even go near them unless someone's with him."
Jaysin looked helplessly at the trees. They didn't look very inviting, and even he- an avid outdoorsman- wasn't too keen on going in there. "So I guess we tell Scott."
"After you." Wanda said quickly.
"Thanks." Jaysin said as he trudged up the steps. He opened the door and with a heavy sigh, entered.
Everyone was back in the TV room again. A few people looked up to see who had just come in, and upon seeing a dirty and bedraggled Jaysin and a worried Wanda, fell silent. In a few seconds, the whole room was still.
"He's gone. Not a trace anywhere. The only other place to look is in the forest." Jaysin said as Scott pushed his way through the crowd.
"The forest?! Why would he go there, he's terrified of the forest."
"He's not inside. He's not in the car, he's not under the car, house or shed. Where else could he have gone?"
"Wait. Are you telling me that Todd went outside? I thought he was just going back to sleep somewhere." Pietro was moving into panic mode.
"Search the house again. He has to be here somewhere." Scott said and his shades glinted dangerously.
"We'll help." Someone in the crowd offered.
The search was on.
"Nothing. we've had people looking over the same rooms two or three times. He's not inside. Logan and I went with some of the guys and checked under the house and shed again. He's got to be in the forest."
"But why would he do that?"
"You think Victor's back? What if the person we saw was really Mystique and Todd's been gone for a long time now?"
"No, that was Todd we saw. Trust me on that one. It was him."
"Should we call the cops?"
"He's a mutant. Why would the cops look for him?"
"They don't k- well, yeah, they do know."
The Brotherhood was gathered on the front porch staring at the forbidding trees.
"Dark'll fall soon. We gotta ask the Professor to help." Jaysin said finally.
"Todd's power makes it so you can't find him like that. Not even with Cerebro. We'd have to search the whole forest."
"Fine. Get flashlights. Ask as many people for help as possible. Walkie-talkies, extra batteries. Hurry now." Scott glared at the forest as if daring it to step out of line. If Todd was really in there, Scott swore to himself that all the trees were going. "Where's Logan?"
"Right here, Slim. I can't pick up his trace. I don't think he's outside, but I can't find 'im inside. There's no place else fer him to be."
"Thanks for helping."
"No problem. Missing kids are everyone's problem, espeically if they're in the Brotherhood."
Scott nodded briskly. "Okay, Kurt, call the Institute and see if he showed up there for some reason. Logan, do you think Creed, Magneto or Mystique may have shown up?"
Logan sniffed the air. "I'm picking up a strange scent from that direction, but it smells more like... you know that smell right before it rains... that's it."
Scott handed him a flashlight and took one himself. "Then let's follow it. So far it's our only lead."
Logan nodded and led the way. In the other direction, twenty volunteers headed into the forest while the rest waited for help to arrive in the form of the police. Lance stayed behind to coordinate things with Pietro. "Hope it ain't a storm."
"It isn't, I assure you." Ororo said.
"Then we got ourselves a suspicious character."
Professor Xavier was searching the area at Lance's request. He had noticed that Todd was preoccupied when he had first arrived, but then again, Todd wasn't a people person and had probably balked at the idea of strangers walking through his home. Despite Todd's adverseness to the company of strangers, it was rather odd that he would leave the house on his own, and especially without at least one person noticing. For him to be in the forest meant only one thing, as Lance so aptly put it.
Todd had been kidnapped.
From what Lance said, it wasn't the first time. He didn't explain why anyone would kidnap Todd, but Xavier assumed it was because he was the easiest to get, since Freddy was almost impossible to hold against his will, Pietro was too fast and paranoid to get caught in the first place and Lance wasn't the type to accept imprisonment at all. Todd had no agressive powers and was reluctant to get into a situation where he'd need to fight. The closeness of the Brotherhood guarenteed that they'd come looking for him. The snag was that, although Todd avoided fighting, he would retailate if he thought he had to, and in his disoriented state, he may not even have realized that he had been kidnapped. That meant that the Brotherhood had no clues to go by, since all the other times Todd had been abducted, he left a trail.
Charles Xavier sighed. "I'm afraid that I can't find anything out of the ordinary, Lance. Whoever the kidnappers were, they weren't mutants and they're long gone by now."
"How long is long gone?"
"At least two hundred miles away. I could try with Cerebro, but anyone who can cover 200 miles in such a short time has resources that put them at a distinct advantage, or..."
"Or?"
"Or they are capable of deflecting my search. That means that Cerebro will do no good at all."
_______________________________________
AN.
Dudes. I am so sorry. I just moved to a boarding school and they had hell getting the net up. I'll try to post a lot in the next few days.
PS. THanks if anyone's still waiting for me, I had it all written and then the blasted server crashed. I hate blaster worms.
Furor Paxx (VulgateOfEarth@hotmail.com)
Chapter 15- Todd Fan Part II
"Have you seen Todd?" Scott asked Lance as he walked past him. It was four thirty and no one had seen him since the first guests had arrived over an hour ago.
"Nope. Not even near the buffet. He was acting kind of weird earlier. Think he's sick?"
"I hope not." Pietro said as he worked his way through the crowd. For a house with more than 100 rooms and less than 50 guests, there were an awful lot of people in that one room. "When Todd gets sick it's usually serious. Last time we had Mystique with us. She pulled some strings and got a doctor to stop by, but he was kinda shady."
"I'll look for him." Jaysin said. "You guys go ahead and start showing people around." Jaysin decided to check the control room first, since it was the one place that guarenteed privacy. He searched the whole room. No Todd. From there Jasin searched the basement and cellar. By the time he got done, everyone was on the second floor, so he could search the first without worrying about spectators. Freddy joined him and they even looked in all the cabinets and closets. Nothing. Freddy and Jaysin went to the next floor and caught a few scraps of what Pietro was telling his group about the house. Mostly it was about how Scott and Lance had fallen in love with a stripper. A few minutes later loud laughter was heard, presumably Pietro had reached the punchline of that particular joke.
"I'm worried." Freddy said as they bypassed the rooms that had people in them and headed for the third floor.
"Yeah. Me too." Jaysin admitted as they abandoned yet another Todd-less room.
At last, all that was left was the attic.
"This isn't good. Jaysin said as he stepped into the empty room. "Maybe he's outside."
"Maybe."
"Let's tell Scott and Lance. He has to be outside."
Freddy didn't say anything as they went back downstairs.
"What? He went outside like that?" Scott said a little too loudly. "Where would he go outside?"
"I don't know, the cars are locked and both are still there. Wanda and I are gonna look for him. Freddy's a bit... well, out of it I guess. We'll be back in an hour, or you ask the Professor to find us, okay." Jaysin nodded to Wanda and the two of them made their way to the door.
"Where do we start?" she asked.
"Under the cars, under the house, in the shed... the only place after that is the forest."
"He's afraid of that forest."
"Then that's the last place we look."
Todd wasn't under the car. He wasn't under the house, or in the shed. Jaysin even crawled under both of them to check. No Todd.
"Well, are you sure you checked everywhere inside?" Wanda asked, uneasiness creeping into her voice.
"Yes. Under and inside everything." Jaysin ran a dirty hand through his equally dirty hair. "Scott's gonna go thermal. If Todd's in the forest..."
"He's not. Trust me. He first met Logan and Victor in that forest. He won't even go near them unless someone's with him."
Jaysin looked helplessly at the trees. They didn't look very inviting, and even he- an avid outdoorsman- wasn't too keen on going in there. "So I guess we tell Scott."
"After you." Wanda said quickly.
"Thanks." Jaysin said as he trudged up the steps. He opened the door and with a heavy sigh, entered.
Everyone was back in the TV room again. A few people looked up to see who had just come in, and upon seeing a dirty and bedraggled Jaysin and a worried Wanda, fell silent. In a few seconds, the whole room was still.
"He's gone. Not a trace anywhere. The only other place to look is in the forest." Jaysin said as Scott pushed his way through the crowd.
"The forest?! Why would he go there, he's terrified of the forest."
"He's not inside. He's not in the car, he's not under the car, house or shed. Where else could he have gone?"
"Wait. Are you telling me that Todd went outside? I thought he was just going back to sleep somewhere." Pietro was moving into panic mode.
"Search the house again. He has to be here somewhere." Scott said and his shades glinted dangerously.
"We'll help." Someone in the crowd offered.
The search was on.
"Nothing. we've had people looking over the same rooms two or three times. He's not inside. Logan and I went with some of the guys and checked under the house and shed again. He's got to be in the forest."
"But why would he do that?"
"You think Victor's back? What if the person we saw was really Mystique and Todd's been gone for a long time now?"
"No, that was Todd we saw. Trust me on that one. It was him."
"Should we call the cops?"
"He's a mutant. Why would the cops look for him?"
"They don't k- well, yeah, they do know."
The Brotherhood was gathered on the front porch staring at the forbidding trees.
"Dark'll fall soon. We gotta ask the Professor to help." Jaysin said finally.
"Todd's power makes it so you can't find him like that. Not even with Cerebro. We'd have to search the whole forest."
"Fine. Get flashlights. Ask as many people for help as possible. Walkie-talkies, extra batteries. Hurry now." Scott glared at the forest as if daring it to step out of line. If Todd was really in there, Scott swore to himself that all the trees were going. "Where's Logan?"
"Right here, Slim. I can't pick up his trace. I don't think he's outside, but I can't find 'im inside. There's no place else fer him to be."
"Thanks for helping."
"No problem. Missing kids are everyone's problem, espeically if they're in the Brotherhood."
Scott nodded briskly. "Okay, Kurt, call the Institute and see if he showed up there for some reason. Logan, do you think Creed, Magneto or Mystique may have shown up?"
Logan sniffed the air. "I'm picking up a strange scent from that direction, but it smells more like... you know that smell right before it rains... that's it."
Scott handed him a flashlight and took one himself. "Then let's follow it. So far it's our only lead."
Logan nodded and led the way. In the other direction, twenty volunteers headed into the forest while the rest waited for help to arrive in the form of the police. Lance stayed behind to coordinate things with Pietro. "Hope it ain't a storm."
"It isn't, I assure you." Ororo said.
"Then we got ourselves a suspicious character."
Professor Xavier was searching the area at Lance's request. He had noticed that Todd was preoccupied when he had first arrived, but then again, Todd wasn't a people person and had probably balked at the idea of strangers walking through his home. Despite Todd's adverseness to the company of strangers, it was rather odd that he would leave the house on his own, and especially without at least one person noticing. For him to be in the forest meant only one thing, as Lance so aptly put it.
Todd had been kidnapped.
From what Lance said, it wasn't the first time. He didn't explain why anyone would kidnap Todd, but Xavier assumed it was because he was the easiest to get, since Freddy was almost impossible to hold against his will, Pietro was too fast and paranoid to get caught in the first place and Lance wasn't the type to accept imprisonment at all. Todd had no agressive powers and was reluctant to get into a situation where he'd need to fight. The closeness of the Brotherhood guarenteed that they'd come looking for him. The snag was that, although Todd avoided fighting, he would retailate if he thought he had to, and in his disoriented state, he may not even have realized that he had been kidnapped. That meant that the Brotherhood had no clues to go by, since all the other times Todd had been abducted, he left a trail.
Charles Xavier sighed. "I'm afraid that I can't find anything out of the ordinary, Lance. Whoever the kidnappers were, they weren't mutants and they're long gone by now."
"How long is long gone?"
"At least two hundred miles away. I could try with Cerebro, but anyone who can cover 200 miles in such a short time has resources that put them at a distinct advantage, or..."
"Or?"
"Or they are capable of deflecting my search. That means that Cerebro will do no good at all."
_______________________________________
AN.
Dudes. I am so sorry. I just moved to a boarding school and they had hell getting the net up. I'll try to post a lot in the next few days.
PS. THanks if anyone's still waiting for me, I had it all written and then the blasted server crashed. I hate blaster worms.