Author Notes: Thanks for the review! And no, he wasn't including Canadians in his rant - a few go to our college and they all seem pretty knowledgable! I hope you enjoy this chapter. To be honest, it freaked me out a bit - and I wrote it! You have been warned.

Chapter 8

"This was a bad plan." Toad sighed as he squinted at the car park, "Sure you can't just click your fingers and get us to Edinburgh?"

Imy glared at him, "You know it's not that simple."

"But I can't drive."

"For cryin' out loud Mort! You built and flew your own helicopter!"

"This is different! They can trace number plates you know!"

"You think you're the only one who's lived on the streets? I didn't exactly stay on the right side of the police." She closed her eyes, smoothly transitioning into her telekinetic power, "She'll do." Mentally, Chaos opened up the zip of a lady's bag and lifted out her keys, keeping them steady so as not to make too much noise. As soon as the lady had hurried into the supermarket, Imy grabbed Mort's wrist, dragging him across the carpark. Snatching the keys out of midair, she hurriedly unlocked the car.

"I still don't see why you can't just turn it on and drive it with your mind."

"Because, genius, I'm still very tired, and we'd probably end up swerving into the oncoming traffic of the M6." Imy hopped into the passenger seat, and took a quick look around as Mort jumped in next to her.

"What makes you think going down the motorways is a good plan?"

"Because right now, speed is a better idea." She wrenched out a small box with a screen from the dashboard and chucked it out the window.

"Hey! We're probably gonna need that! We could have at least sold it!"

"Lots of cities have GPS tracking systems now."

"Bloody terrific."

"Will you drive already?"

Imogen had fallen asleep a little while ago, and Toad was beginning to feel the effects of driving at night. They had been on the roads for a total of eight hours now, and had already got lost twice trying to find the motorway alone. He had no idea what they were going to do when they actually got to Edinburgh; they were making it up as they went along. Without the protection gained from Xavier, or hell, even Magneto, Toad was feeling particularly jumpy. The girl next to him stirred and blinked. "Before you ask, we're not there yet."

Imogen sat up fully, her eyes unfocussed from sleep, "Something's wrong."

"What do you-" Toad's question was stopped in his throat as the car was suddenly lifted off the ground and spun in the air, along with those all around them. They smashed into the ground in a blaze of fire, screams erupting in the night air. Toad groaned, and blearily opened his eyes, a horrible trickling sensation running the wrong way from his hairline. It took him a second to realise they were upside down, and that it was very difficult to breathe. Snapping the already frayed belt that held him in place, Toad fell the short distance to the roof of the car. "Imogen!"

Blinking furiously, Chaos tried to focus on Toad. She coughed, trying to draw breath against the restricting seatbelt. He snapped it as he had his own, and then tried his door, only to yelp as he touched the white hot panel; the door was jammed against the underside of another car, which was already in full blaze. "Mort! I can't get my door open!"

Twisting, he saw Imogen kicking frantically at her door, which seemed to have bent itself shut upon impact. The car next to them was going to explode any second, and they were trapped inside. Scrambling over her, Toad kicked frantically at the window, using his enhanced strength to get it to crack in an almost beautiful spidery pattern. Another kick, and the pane shattered, "Go!"

Gasping, Imogen slithered out onto the burning tarmac, crying out as her hands were imbedded with shards of glass. People were running around, trying to get others out of cars, scrambling off the road. It was like Armageddon had released itself. Imogen couldn't move. She felt sick. A few metres away lay the crumpled body of a businessman, his head caved in by the pressure of the impact. Nearby, a small girl was screaming, blood running in rivers from her mouth where her tongue had been partly severed, clinging desperately onto the detached arm of her dead mother, who lay broken next to her. A woman was crying, her hand making a dull thudding sound against the window of her car, the car that had blocked Toad's door.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her waist, wrenching her frozen feet from the ground and began running. An explosion from behind sent them flying, making some screams stop and others get louder. Imogen was thrown to the ground, the body above shielding her from the debris of the explosion. Blinking, she sat up, actually throwing up when she realised that the body shielding her was not Toad's, but that of another dead man. Crawling to her feet, Imogen dimly registered that she could not feel one of her legs, and it quickly buckled underneath her as she realised this fact. Her outstretched hand hit something soft. Her voice and the world returned in a rush as her senses sharpened away from the ringing that had been caused by the explosion, "Mortimer! Mort!" She turned him over, but he remained unmoving. Tears ran down her cheeks as her mind began to break down.

"You must be Chaos."

Twisting, using her body to shield Mort from this new presence, Imogen turned to see an old man, floating in midair, wearing an odd helmet. She had no doubt as to his identity. Magneto. The man who had caused all this, destroyed all these mere humans, just to get to her. Hatred swelled in the pit of her soul; beyond anger, beyond any emotion she had ever felt, "Get away from me."

"I don't believe you want that. You want to join us. We could be great together."

Imogen felt her soul darken, but it was not with the night that usually calmed her, it was with something else. She felt something stir within her, as if all switches had been flicked on, and the world seemed to quieten to a whisper. She felt the elements ripple and the Earth breathe.

"How're you feeling?" A man approached Toad from behind and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Well enough." He didn't take his eyes off Imogen. She seemed peaceful, lying there.

Mort had a vague idea of what had happened, although he didn't want to admit it. He knew Magneto had caused the disaster on the motorway; no one else could cause that much metal to move. He also knew that within the same hour, Imogen had transported them both to the headquarters of the mutant underground movement in Edinburgh, healed him, and promptly collapsed. The only logical guess he could make was that Imogen's power had protected her, and that the outcome had not been great. He knew that she hadn't killed, as the media were already going crazy over the headline of 'Magneto at Large', but apart from that, he had no idea what had transpired. The man frowned, "Well enough for what?"

"To leave."

"I hate to break it to you, Toad, but that girl is not fit to be going anywhere."

"I know. When she wakes up, tell her that this way, she can stay hidden. Without me, they can't find her. Tell her…tell her I'm sorry."

Before the man could protest, Toad had swept out of the room. He hated himself, but this was the only way.

It was the only way to keep her safe.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: Well? Bet you didn't see that one coming:) Please review!