Mortimer got better. His frame filled out a little, though he was still lanky. He lost the gaunt look, and his skin still yellow-green, looked less sickly. He still didn't talk much, but he stopped being quite so jumpy in the presence of the other Brotherhood members.
He'd begun training with Mystique and Sabretooth and was becoming quite proficient at hand-to-hand combat. He still shied away from touch, but as the rest of the Brotherhood members weren't all that touchy-feely either it didn't come up much.
Magneto had ordered clothes to fit the young man, dark baggy things that he'd asked for as soon as he was sure he was actually allowed to ask for anything. He'd also developed a little bit of a dark sense of humor that worried Mystique from time to time.
When he fought against the practice dummies, he had a singular purpose. She could almost see the faces of people who'd wronged him as he lashed out. And she could hear him muttering to himself, laughing.
He came into the common room where Sabretooth was watching television and dropped down on the couch, putting his feet on the coffee table. Mystique watched him from the kitchen, and had to suppress the urge to tell him to get his boots off the table. That happened a lot, suppressing mothering instincts.
Mortimer didn't have anyone else, and while she was more than happy to be his teacher and his friend, she shied away from becoming too much of a mother figure to him.
She was saved by Sabretooth grunting that 'if he didn't get his muddy boots off the coffee table he'd be eating them'. Good old Vic. Mortimer hurried to comply, still not completely sure of his station in the Brotherhood and wary of it suddenly being revoked.
That's when the alarm went off.
The three of them hurried to Magneto's office, where he stood waiting. It was the Friends of Humanity. They'd attacked a mutant refuge camp in the sewer and the mutants were being slaughtered. It would be Mortimer's first mission.
Mystique watched him with trepidation as they dashed toward the hanger. She wasn't sure he was ready.
She needn't have worried.
He fought as though he was possessed. When she heard the first neck crack she stared at him, but he seemed unscathed by the fact he'd just killed someone. His legs flew as he jumped and kicked and snapped.
Seeing that Toad and Sabretooth had the FOH under control, she moved to get the mutants to safety. Many of them had been killed but the remainder dashed out when the opportunity was presented and managed to make it to shelter.
She went back to killing, her eyes remaining trained on Mortimer's flying form. He'd chosen the codename Toad himself. Magneto had tried to dissuade him from it, but he'd only set his face dark and resolutely, the only time he'd ever been stubborn toward Magneto.
Now, she understood why. She could practically see him chanting it in his mind as he killed them. You called me Toad.
It was a bloodbath.
Toad kicked in the head of a young man and vaulted over his falling body to find another. Two more men went down as Toad's whip-like tongue lashed out to strangle one as he kicked in the throat of the other, and Toad spun in a crouch, eyes darting around for more.
An older looking man, more dressed for military manouvers that simple slaughter leveled a gun at Toad's head as he crouched there, and he suddenly looked like the child he was, eyes wide. He was rooted to the spot and too terrified to move.
Mystique moved toward him, but she was too far away. Three men died in an instant as she plowed her way through to get to the young man, but it was Sabretooth that appeared behind the gun-wielding FOH member. Toad had time to blink before Sabretooth let out a mighty roar, ripping both of the man's arms off in a single horrible thrust.
Toad sat motionless, barely breathing, face pale in apparently shock. Sabretooth grunted something and when he was still unresponsive, picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder as he made his way toward the door.
They could already hear the scream of sirens approaching.
They reached the helicopter and took off; Toad crouched in the back, staring at his hands that were covered in blood. Mystique glanced back concernedly, but she was busy piloting. She met Sabretooth's gaze and he rolled his eyes with a snort, but went to check on him.
"You okay, kid?"
Toad looked up, appearing disoriented. The bigger man put a clawed hand on his shoulder, crouching in front of him.
"Get a grip."
"Was that real? Did I kill all those people?"
Sabretooth glanced up at Mystique for help.
"Toad…hang on, we'll be home soon."
"Don't call me that," His voice shot up an octave, panicked, he scurried backward against the wall.
Sabretooth sat next to him with an audible sigh, keeping an eye on him, but not sure how to fix what was wrong. He took him by the wrist and wiped the blood off his hands onto his shirt.
Toad sat motionless while he worked, but began crying when he had finished. Big horrified tears plowed down his face from wide-staring eyes. Before Sabretooth could edge uncomfortably away Toad had latched onto him and buried his face in the bigger man's fur.
Sabretooth's first instinct was to shove the kid away, but Mystique shot him a look and he just rolled his eyes and let him stay. When they landed, he picked Toad up and carried him back into the compound toward the Med Bay.
Magneto stood near the door conversing quietly with Mystique as Sabretooth carried the kid inside.
"How did he do?"
"He did really well until someone pulled a gun on him. Then he froze up. He broke down on the way home."
Magneto nodded. He wasn't surprised. He'd had his misgivings about starting the child so young, but it had to begin sometime.
Mystique went to the Med Bay to find that Sabretooth had shoved Toad under the shower, fully clothed, to rinse off the blood. Mystique suppressed a smile.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Toad shook his head, sputtering under the cold stream of water.
"Then go get changed."
Toad cringed, and scurried off toward his room. The expression on his face that of a beaten dog's.
"What did you say to him?" She demanded of Sabretooth, but the big man just shrugged.
"Didn't say anything."
Mystique brought a hand to her head and rubbed her temples. Sometimes she felt like she was the only rational one there. Stepping beneath the water of the shower she rinsed off the blood still coating her body and turned back to Sabretooth who was appreciating the view with a feral smirk.
"What is it about women in the shower?" He growled.
She gave him a dark look; "You should have kept a closer eye on Mortimer."
He shrugged, "Kid was doing alright, thought he could handle it."
He had been doing all right. Even Mystique had been in awe of his prowess. But she thought back upon the training sessions and about Mortimer's obvious vendetta against normal-looking people. He still had a lot of demons to work out.
---
Toad sat in the room he'd been given berating himself. His first mission and he'd blown it. If Sabretooth hadn't bailed him out, he'd be dead. Mortimer through his wet clothes in an ever-growing pile by the bed and found clean ones.
He dropped onto the edge of the bed and leaned back going over and over the fighting in his mind. It had been okay at first. Kinda cool. Like in practice, only real life. Then something had happened. He felt all weird and detached and he only realized afterward that he had blood all over him.
Mortimer started shaking. He'd kicked someone's head in. And it had just caved in. There was a sickening noise, like dropping a ball in the mud. He started to giggle, thinking of a ball in the mud and the man's head. His eyeballs bugging out…popping out, with the force of the kick.
He laughed harder, seeing the surprised expression that was permanently affixed to the dead man's face. Then Mortimer turned over and threw up. His fingers gripped the sheets and he couldn't seem to stop until a warm hand was on his shoulder, holding him up and helping him sit back.
"You okay?" Mystique asked, when he'd finally stopped.
Mortimer looked at her weakly, face drawn and pale, and tried to nod. Mystique didn't' say anything as she went to clean up the mess, and he sat there feeling confused and wondering what was wrong with him.