Tadah! Chapter two. ^^ Big thanks to those who reviewed chap one! ((hands you all some pie)) Cyber pie. ^^ Now on with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own Xmen Evolution.

'Where is he?' Lance thought as he glanced at clock again. It was getting late and Todd had yet to get home, and that had Lance on a bit of an edge. He wasn't the only one either; Freddy had been nervously chewing on the same sandwich for almost ten minutes now. A new record for him. Pietro didn't look worried in the least, lazily flipping through TV stations. Tabby was doing her nails on the couch, every so often glancing up at Lance's near paranoia and Freddy's fidgeting.

"You know Lance," Tabby said. "Staring at the clock's not gonna make him come back any quicker."

"Yeah," Pietro agreed, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Why're you guys so worried anyway? It's not like Toad's never been out by himself before."

Lance didn't reply, but he knew they were right. Todd had been out even later then this before, and he did know his way around town. But the little mutant had been acting strangely all day, and with all those anti-mutant groups out there, plus Todd's unnatural ability to find trouble where there shouldn't even be any…Yeah, he was worried.

"It just don't feel right," Freddy said, sandwich abandoned. "I got this weird feelin' in my gut…"

"It's called being 'full' Freddy," Pietro quipped. "It's what happens when you eat the entire refrigerator."

"I'm serious Pietro! I'm really worried about him…"

"Oh, just relax Freddy." Tabby snatched his sandwich. "Toady'll come hopping back just fine!"

"That's not why I'm worried."

She gave him a confused look. "Then why are you worried?"

"Todd was pretty down today."

"Why? Did Mathews do something to him?" Lance asked.

"I don't think so. I think it was 'cause he failed that chemistry test today."

"Oh Please!" Pietro snorted. "Why would he care about that? He always fails!"

Lance was about to say something, but stopped when he heard the door open.

X x X x X

The sun had already set when Todd started walking home, the streetlights and the glow from windows being the only things keeping the town out of total darkness. Todd tried to scan through the book while he was walking, but apparently streetlights didn't make good reading lamps. He had to squint just to make out a few sentences. While he was attempting to read while walking, he walked straight into one of the streetlights. Rubbing his now sore forehead, he decided to read the book when he got home.

He kept a tight grip on the book though, not wanting to drop it into any puddles or mud. (It had rained the previous day, and the water had yet to drain out.) He absently felt around the books cover, feeling the wear and tear. He could feel every wrinkle, every notch, and the words on the front. As far as he could tell, they were some kind of metal leafing. He could've sworn he felt a small shock when his fingers brushed them.

He shook his head a little. Since when did he care so much about a stupid book? Sure he read the occasional comic, sci-fi novel, and sometimes even a school book if he was particularly bored. But he never really cared about what happened to the books. Drop it in the mud, so what? Spill some soda on it, who cares? You could get another easy. But this book was different, special. Somehow he got the feeling that if anything happened to it, that would be all she wrote. He'd never get another chance. A chance at what though, he wasn't sure.

Another charge went through his hand; he looked at the book in slight annoyance. He didn't know if there really was anything special about this book, but it sure as heck was weird.

When the Boarding house came into view, he let out a small yawn. It had been a crazy day to say the least, and bed was sounding really good. He began to walk down the driveway, he felt like he was falling asleep. It was strange; he didn't feel this tired a little bit ago… He reached the stairs that lead up to the front door. He started to walk up them, but as soon as his foot touched the first step, the book sent him another small shock. He growled a little, what was up with this stupid book?

The book, he stopped. How was he gonna explain it to the others? Lance was sure to ask about it, and Pietro was always sticking his nose in everyone's business, Freddy…Well, Freddy pretty much respected everyone's space. Tabby? She'd probably try to blow the book up. She was always blowing him and his stuff up. So, Todd decided, he'd be keeping the book secret. At least for now. Though he might tell Freddy, if the others weren't around.

How he was going to keep it secret though, was another problem. The lights in the living room were on, meaning the others were still up. He could try sneaking in through the upstairs windows, but Lance would still have question for him in the morning. Plus the roof, like the streets, was still wet from the rain yesterday. Also he wasn't sure if he left his bedroom window open or not. He wasn't about to hop his way up a wet building just to find a locked window.

Maybe he could try the back door? No, the others would definitely hear him come in through that squeaky thing. So that left the front door. Maybe, and this was a big maybe, if he could just stay as quite as possible he could go in and sneak up the stairs without being noticed. He doubted it would work, but it seemed like the best bet. He went up the rest of the way to the door; just as he was about to grab the knob, he heard Pietro's arrogant voice from inside:

"He always fails!"

Todd flinched. It didn't take a genius to figure who they were talking about. Well, there wasn't a point in stalling any longer. He turned the knob, he slowly crept in, he started to close the door. So far so good….

"Todd," he nearly jumped through the ceiling when Lance's voice came from behind him. Todd turned to look at him. Pietro, Tabby and Freddy were watching from the living room door. "Todd," Lance said again, taken aback by his friend's reaction. "Where were you? Do you know what time it is?"

"Oh hey Lance, I was just uh… hangin' down town yo. Y' know, clearin' my head after today."

"You were clearing your head for six hours?" Pietro asked skeptically.

"It was a crappy day!" Todd huffed, still trying to keep the book out of view. "I think even you would take awhile after a day like this yo!"

Before anymore questions could be asked, Todd started to head for the stairs. "I think I'm just gonna hit the hay now. Night guys."

"You don't want any dinner or nothin'?" Freddy asked.

"No thanks Freddy," Todd couldn't believe it. They didn't notice the Book! He was home Fre-

"Hey Toady," Tabby asked as he was on the second stair. "What's that book ya got there?"

Todd's entire body froze. Crap!