Author's note: I'm starting this chapter before I finished the third, just because this will be kind of fun to write! Action, and the first character you'll recognize! :) That's all I'll say for now, just read on.

~this marking~= telepathy

Disclaimer: Ain't mine! *holds hands up innocently*

Anya's first impulse was to scream like a banshee, but that was the instinct that would get her killed, so she didn't speak; even so, she couldn't restrain her breath from coming in sporadic, frightened gasps. Waves of hostility and unreason flowed into her through the man's harsh touch, and his ragged thoughts tore through her brain like the knife might tear through her flesh soon. She cursed her gift as his intentions became clear in her mind; she would have been better off not knowing.

Help, please! she thought hopelessly. And as this happened, she had an idea.

She had heard that some mutants were telepathic, sending messages straight to someone's mind. The DJ had noticed when she was looking inside his head, without her even trying to get his attention, so maybe if she reached out for someone, anyone, nearby and tried to get them to hear her, it would work.

~Help me, I'm here, in the alley. Someone, come!~ Silent shouts, as loud as her mind could make them. She strained for signs of anyone approaching.

All this time, the man had been dragging her farther into the alley, the blade freezing against her already cold and sore neck. She'd be out of time soon.

Then, she felt someone coming. Meandering, wandering with no particular mission, it seemed. She could hear footsteps, just barely, she thought. The man didn't seem to notice. She focused her mind on the footsteps, the distant thoughts.

~Come get me. Help! In the alley. Look down the alley!~ She was still quiet, but the tears didn't stop running down her face.

She was sure she heard footsteps now, but the person could easily walk past. There was barely any light, and it would be nearly impossible to see all they way down to where she was. Her captor had been pawing through her pockets, and finding nothing important, had tightened his grip on her; his breath quickened, and he was whispering unintelligibly.

The footsteps got louder, and through her blurred eyes she saw a figure cross the alley entrance, silhouetted by the streetlights. A man, and he was peering right towards her. If only there was a little light!

"'Ey, who's down there?" he called in a British accent, and her body relaxed a little. ~Here! Don't give up! Right here!~ He was walking down toward them now, and the man holding her looked up like a deer caught in a pair of headlights.

Her rescuer wasn't stopping; he stormed toward them bravely. He was near enough to see what was happening now, she was sure.

"Hey, man, back off!" the man with the knife yelled, but his adversary wasn't fazed. He halted just a few feet away.

What Anya saw next made her sure that the darkness was affecting her eyes—the stranger's tongue darted out of his mouth and reached all they way to her attacker's wrist, then wrapped around it. With a quick tug, the knife was removed from her throat, and she slid out from under the man's arm easily, shaking as she stood up.

"What the—" the guy blurted out, staring at his captive hand. The tongue reeled back into the other man's mouth, dragging his prey along the ground until he was lying pitifully before him on the cement.

Before he had time to even curse, the tongue disappeared and the former attacker went flying into a wall, propelled by Anya's rescuer's powerful kick. The knife clattered harmlessly to the ground.

The British guy didn't even seem phased by all that had occurred. "You gonna stand there forever? No telling when this bloke wakes up, come on." Anya was still too shaken to say anything. She'd almost died; she'd been saved by a guy who used his tongue as a weapon. "Come on, girl, what are you, deaf?" He grabbed her hand and began hauling her toward the street.

She followed obediently. "You're really strong," she said finally.

"Yeah, and you're really slow! You don't hang around the streets at night alone, especially if you're…" She would have been offended by his tone, but since he had just saved her, she figured she had better just put up with it. She would have liked to check out his mind a little, make sure she hadn't been saved from one lunatic by another, but she was afraid that he'd notice any interference, so she held herself back and pondered the uncomfortable realization that the unspoken end of his sentence was "especially if you're a mutant."

"I didn't plan to walk alone, I just—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Walk faster."

He didn't slow his pace until they were under a streetlight.

"You know, your hand is kind of clammy…oh wow," Anya blurted out as she got a good look at her rescuer for the first time. His skin had a greenish-brown cast, and his spiky hair an even more pronounced green tint. His eyes looked unnaturally big. She stared at him in amazement, and he seemed to squirm under her gaze. She could feel nervousness as she studied him.

"Does your hair grow in like that?"

"Yeah. Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to stare?"

"No, I don't think she did, but I'm sorry." Just then, Anya realized they were still holding hands, even though she'd stopped walking. He seemed to realize at the exact same time, because they both jerked their hands back at once.

"Ummm, what's your name?" she asked. He gave her a withering glare; she was getting a little tired of his surly stare, which most likely masked ever surlier thoughts. "I'm Anya," she volunteered.

"They call me Toad."

"I can see why."

"So you're one of us, eh?"

"One of who?"

"A mutant."

There was that word again; she hated its sound. But no way she could deny it; she'd used her powers to call him. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Telepathic?"

"Yeah…but mostly psychic."

He gave her a piercing stare. "Could have warned me."

"I'm sorry."

"Isn't there somewhere you should go?"

"Yeah, back to my dorm."

"Is it far?"

"No."

"I'll go with you. Lead the way, but make it fast."

"Oh, okay. Thank you."

They walked in silence for a while, then Toad spoke. "Do you have a name?"

"I told you, Anya."

"No, another name. An alias?"

She gave him a confused look. "Why would I?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Never mind."

"Is Toad your real name?"

"It is now," he answered shortly.

"What, you don't wanna tell me your real name? Don't trust me?" she teased. She didn't tease people much unless she could check out their mood and be sure they'd take it the right way, but her new non-interference policy made that impossible, so she was just blurting out whatever came to mind—a new experience for her.

"I just told you, Toad's my name now."

"Hmmph. I could read your mind and find out anyway, you know—" He gave her a nasty look. "—but I won't!" she hastily added.

They were quiet for a few moments more, then Anya spoke. "You know, you're the only person in the world who knows, well, knows for sure—that I'm a mutant." She was surprised at how easily the word came out.

He didn't answer for a while, and when he did, he spoke quietly. "You're lucky, then." He turned suddenly to look at her. "You ashamed or something?"

"What?"

"You keep it a secret, don't you?"

"I'm not ashamed!" she lied.

"I don't have to be psychic to see through that one, luv," he answered sarcastically.

"I'm not! It's just… element of surprise, you know?"

He didn't answer, just followed a few steps behind her as she walked toward her dorm. The silence began to feel stifling, and she could feel his rather annoyed vibes pointed straight at her. She absorbed them without comment until she felt she couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

"So how did you know where I was?"

"You called me, didn't you?"

"Yeah. But I mean… what did I sound like?"

Toad gave a startled laugh. "I dunno. A voice in my head. I thought I was going crazy, actually."

"I didn't know I could do that."

"What, drive someone crazy? Believe me, you can."

Anya gave an indignant sniff. "No, use telepathy. Before I always just read people's minds, but then at the club, this guy noticed what I was doing, and it's really weird now, I'm scared to use any of my powers. I don't want people to know…"

"We shouldn't have to hide."

"I don't want to, but I don't see what choice I have."

"You have more choice than I did."

She stared at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"It comes down to what you want."

She shook her head. "That's not what it comes down to for me."

"Maybe it should be."

Before she could answer, she realized they'd reached the dorm. She'd been walking on autopilot, apparently. She took a deep breath and looked up at Toad.

"Thank you. Thanks a lot, you saved my life, I guess!"

"Don't worry about it." He cocked his head awkwardly; she could tell he wasn't used to being thanked.

"Um, well… bye," she added lamely, smiling but somehow not able to look him in the eye.

He gave her a cautious half-smile in return. "Yeah, bye." He started to walk away, then turned back. "'Ey, look out for yourself, okay? No one'll do it for you!"

"You did," she said quietly, her smile not fading yet.

"Yeah, well, this was the exception." He reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear, then turned around and walked quickly back down the path.

Anya's hand unconsciously came up to the piece of hair he'd touched, and she stood watching him walk away until the dark swallowed him up. Then Anya twirled the curl around her fingers and slowly walked through the door.

A/N: I finished this chapter before I wrote even half of Chapter Three! I'm so disorganized, sorry! Heehee, I'll put them up at the same time, as soon as I can! Please review, I'm desperate! :-D Thanks, heehee!