I do not own any of the X-men character, damnit all. I certainly don't own Toad, or Storm, who is only represented ONCE in this story , meaninglessly. What's more, I don't own Mystique, Lady Liberty, or Victor, for that matter, but the main thing is I DON'T OWN TOAD, DAMNIT!

Rating: PG-13 (T for teen)

Grotesquely written by Alexandra P. Useless

A note to the readers:

This here was my first fanfic ever written. Looking back at it, I'm very disappointed by it, but I was a new writer back then, so I don't feel embarrassed for the mediocre condition of the writing. I'm currently revamping the entire fic, chapter upon chapter upon chapter. I don't know where the story is going now, but I have an idea. I may be contacting a few Toad Fic writers for advice. I'm also in need of a beta, if any one's interested.

ALSO, IMPORTANT. I'm thinking of changing the title, as it was origionally for a one-shot storry, it really doesn't fit the plot, which is ALSO subject to change with this re-vamping.

Now, with all that aside, I present to you;

10/16/06: This is to say that this story is currently on it's first revamp. I'm working on updating all the while, but it won't be perfect. Ever. That said, I'll be making a SECOND attempt at perfect when I employ yet another wave of re-vamping after I've posted the final chapter. Then maybe I'll leave this story alone. Any way, just a heads up!

-Darkness Beckons-

Furious winds whipped at Mortimer's body, buffeting him from side to side. The muscles in his neck strained as he was thrown about relentlessly.

"Do you know what happens to a toad when it is struck by lightning?"

Oh God, she wouldn't!

"Same thing that happens to everything else."

She would.

From the corner of his line of vision, which had been blurred by falling rain and flying debris, he saw the streak of light, horrifying as it was, come streaking towards him with deadly speed. As it found it's mark, Toad found himself plummeting away from the railing with an enraged cry of pain.

His body flew from Lady Liberty, pummeled by the debris the weather witch had thrown about in her raging attack. The world swirled above him for a few mind numbing seconds, the roaring of wind and awater and lights and sirens.

And suddenly water. Endless, depthless water. Filling his mouth, his nose, his lungs. There was a sore lack up and down, and the other direction one likes to be aware of. Just the blackness of the midnight sea, and the bubbles stirred by his thrashing limbs and his water-muffled pleas for help.

Toad watched as the last gasp of air drifted away from him, up to what must have been the surface, but he couldn't will his limbs to follow. He allowed his body to drift into the state of unconsciousness he knew as a sanctuary. His limbs, benumbed, drifted around him like seaweed, and he succumbed to the darkness that so beckoned to him with a seductive face. And he drifted, pushed by a powerful current, caught by another, tossed to the next.

In the darkness, in the chill, Toad was sure he would die in the next second to come. That was only natural. But as he was tossed this way and that, the moment never came, and the darkness once again cradled him in her arms.

How it happened remains a mystery, but some how, perhaps by the moving waters, perhaps by the faintest breath still left in his lungs, he resurfaced, the night's air settling on his newly burnt face. He breathed. It was hardly that at all, barely enough to be real. But some how, he breathed, and with that, he lived… But he knew it wouldn't last for long, and soon felt the water fill my mouth and nose again. His body reacted sharply, and harsh, wheezing coughs sputtered from his lips before even that sound was drowned in the salty water. And he sank again from the surface, bubbles of the little air he had drawn in trailing up his face...

So this is it, he thought grimly.

Thoughts of helplessness swarmed his brain.

Thoughts of uselessness.

The Brotherhood would be unable to function with out Mystique or Sabertooth; The strength, the speed, the smarts of the operation. The Brotherhood would falter and die with out Magneto's leadership. Toad was just the technician. Replaceable.

The last bubble of air struggled up to the surface.

His last tie to the world above.

Mortimer's eyes drifted open once more. Was that the hum a motor? Perhaps, but what did that matter?

There was nothing left for him to destroy in this life time. His eyes slid closed in acceptance of his bleak fate. Nothing mattered. All hope of light and warmth and life was gone. As death stretched to gently caress his face, a small, sadistic smile played at his lips.

Darkness beckons.

So? Re-vamped chapter good?