August 5, 1974
"Lorna!"
Lorna turned away from her punching bag and looked over her shoulder. To her surprise she saw Toad walk into the room, waving enthusiastically.
"You're back?" she asked.
"Yep," he said.
He paused, his green-yellow eyes bright.
"Can I hug you, or do you mind the slime?" he asked.
Lorna chuckled. She remembered when he'd first asked her that question four years ago at the beginning of their acquaintance. Her father had been yelling at him for crashing one of their radios, and Lorna had come to his defense. As soon as her father had left Toad had turned to her, his eyes wide, and asked his question.
At the time it had been motivated by self-consciousness. He had been very young, and she knew that he hadn't come into much positive reinforcement for his mutation. Now that he had become more comfortable with his mutation it had become an insider joke. It made Lorna happy to hear it, reminding her that, despite everything that she had been through, at least one thing hadn't changed.
"Only if you don't mind the sweat," she said.
Toad laughed and gave her a one-armed hug.
"Heard that 'ya got kidnapped by the X-men," he said.
Lorna released him and shook her head.
"No," she said, "I got kidnapped by Black Tom and rescued by the X-men."
"That must have been embarrassing," Toad said.
Lorna punched him in the shoulder. He chuckled and rubbed his arm in mock-pain.
"You're so violent," he said.
"Not as violent as I can be," she said.
Toad smirked.
"Can't say I'm surprised 'bout Black Tom. Always struck me as a shit," Toad said, "Didn't think you were the damsel in distress type though."
"It was one X-man," Lorna said, "And I did pretty good for myself. Both of us would have died if we hadn't worked together."
"I bet," Toad said.
She snorted.
"It's true," she said.
"No, I know 'ya did," Toad said, "But, which one was it? They never told me."
The word 'Alex' tripped to her tongue, but she stopped it in time.
"Havok," she said.
"Holy shit," Toad said, "You ended up fighting with Havok?"
"Alongside and with are two different things," Lorna said.
Toad smirked.
"I bet," he said, "How was it around him? Did he give 'ya all of their weird propaganda? A brochure for the school?"
Lorna paused. She thought of Alex, of the way he'd talked to her. Lorna was almost ashamed of how much she thought about him. He'd told her a lot of things that she didn't want to hear, a lot of things that she'd dismissed as wrong. It went against her father's teaching, against everything she had been told since she was a child.
However, he'd been different from what she expected. He was cynical, not the type of person she thought would buy into the wishy-washy ways of the X-men. Alex had been willing, not just to fight, but to use trickery, to sacrifice, to threaten, and to be underhanded. He wasn't naïve. He knew exactly what he was doing, and that completely contradicted what her father had told her.
She'd respected him and, against her better judgment, become his friend. Lorna had been left pondering a lot of things that Alex had brought to light. She had hoped to leave him in a similar frame of mind, that he'd been wrong to think of them all as brutal murderers without consciences. She'd thought that she could take his mind out of Westchester, to convince him that the Brotherhood was more then he'd thought.
Then Mystique had stabbed Black Tom, hacking him to pieces. Lorna swallowed, the scene playing out in her mind over and over again. She tried to remember Alex's expression as Mystique brutally murdered Black Tom. He'd just admitted that there was more than he'd thought, and Lorna had felt proud, thinking that she had successfully defended her father's methods. She wondered how disappointed he'd been when he'd seen the murder, how angry he'd been at himself for listening to Lorna even for a moment.
It bothered her more than she'd wanted to admit. She wished, more than anything, that she could talk to someone about what she was feeling. Lorna wished that she could sit down with Angel and talk, like she had when something trivial was on her mind. She wished that she could talk to her father, to tell him about the thoughts that had cluttered her mind, just like she always had.
Lorna knew that it wasn't an option though. She knew, without even asking, that they wouldn't understand. And if she couldn't talk to a woman she considered her aunt and her father, then she couldn't talk to Toad about it either. So, instead of saying what she felt, she shrugged casually and rolled her eyes.
"Let's just say he talked a lot," Lorna said.
Toad grinned.
"I can imagine that," he said.
He paused and shifted his feet.
"I heard 'bout Zaz too," he said, "Sorry."
Lorna clenched one of her hands into a fist. It had been months since Azazel had died and it was still hard to forget.
"It's okay," she said.
Toad shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
"Nah, 'ya don't hafta lie to me," he said, "I know it's not okay. I know that 'ya two were close."
Lorna forced a smile.
"It was the way he would have wanted to go, I think," she said, "Fighting."
Toad nodded, shifting his feet uncomfortably.
"I guess," Toad said, "I didn't know 'im like 'ya did."
She shrugged and straightened the wraps around her hands. Even though she'd known Toad for years she didn't feel comfortable talking about her feelings with him. The Brotherhood was a closed organization. If you had a problem then you didn't bother anyone else with it. Lorna knew that, in many cases, she was the exception because she had been raised with them, but not by much. It was why she knew that she couldn't talk about her feelings about what Alex had told her.
The only time Lorna had ever shared how she felt about something as complicated as Azazel's death was her father and a few minutes with Angel. And Alex. She didn't dwell on that though. It was another thing she'd learned: you didn't dwell on what bothered you.
"So, um, how was Bayville?" she asked.
Toad smiled, looking relieved.
"Boooring," he said, "Seriously, you'd think that Kelly woulda done somethin' while we were there, but guess what he did?"
"Nothing?" Lorna said.
"That's right, nuthin,'" Toad said, "Nuthin, zip, nada, zilch. I mean, there was that riot at the end, but other than that, nuthin.' And it's just a stupid riot, right? Not really much to do with us, 'ya know?"
Lorna smiled and nodded.
"But we're back, an' I'm glad," Toad said, "Might have a chance of actually gettin' some action now."
"It's been a little quiet lately," Lorna said.
"Don't lie 'ta me," Toad said, "There's always somethin' goin' on."
Lorna nodded. She heard footsteps from further down the hall.
"Toad, this place is a maze!"
A girl with blonde hair walked in, followed by a bored looking man with torn jeans. Lorna raised her eyebrows.
"Did you make some new friends?" Lorna asked.
"Yeah, got some new recruits in Bayville," Toad said, "Thought Emma was givin' 'ya the orientation."
"The Ice Queen?" the girl asked, "Yeah, thanks but no thanks."
She looked at Lorna.
"You look like you're made out of flesh and blood though, which is a relief," she said.
Lorna looked down at Toad.
"That's Tabby," Toad said.
The girl blew a pink bubble before popping it and chewing enthusiastically. She held out her hand, grinning.
"Call me Boom-Boom," she said.
Lorna had to stifle a snort of disbelief. Tabby seemed nice enough, but Lorna knew that, in time, she was going to regret that codename. Still, she was going to have to figure that out on her own. Lorna grasped her hand and grinned at her. She seemed enthusiastic, which was worth something.
"Lorna," Lorna said.
"Nice name," Tabby said, "And your mutant name?"
Lorna let go of her hand. She was about to answer, but Tabby kept talking.
"Are you already on missions?" she asked, "Because I'm not, but I did some stuff back at Bayville so I'm not defenseless or anything. I want to be cleared, but I have to be evaluated first, whatever that means."
Lorna glanced at Toad, who shrugged. The man with torn jeans sighed.
"Tabby, will you shut up already?" he said.
His tone was sharp, but Tabby shrugged it off.
"Whatever Lance," she said.
"That's not a nickname," Lance said.
"Like Avalanche," Tabby said.
"Makes sense," Lorna said.
Lance glared at her.
"Whatever green-girl."
She put her hands on her hips.
"Green girl?" she asked.
She supposed that they really hadn't been through orientation yet.
"Yeah, green-girl," he said.
Lorna tilted her head. She took a long look at Lance. Ripped jeans, torn vest, fingerless gloves. She grinned.
"Bet you think you're real tough, don't you?" she said, "But let me tell you something: the torn vest is overkill."
Lance glared at her as Tabby giggled.
"Says the girl that I can probably snap in half," he snapped.
Lorna crossed her arms.
"I seriously doubt that," she said.
"What, scared?" Lance snapped.
She saw that Toad was trying to make a motion to Lance, but it was too late.
"Okay," she said, "You're new here, let's see what you got."
Without another word she walked over to the mats. She motioned for him to join her, and he stepped onto the mats. Lorna put her hands on her hips and looked at Toad.
"Count down please," she said.
Toad sighed.
"Three, two, one."
Lance stomped his foot. The ground shook beneath her feet. It was nothing serious, but it was enough to throw her off balance. It was certainly an interesting mutation, and she figured it tied in with the name he'd given. She caught herself before she hit the floor, cartwheeling behind Lance. He kicked and Lorna ducked around him.
Lorna laughed. Was this what was passing for tough now? If Alex ever met Lance on the field he'd make quick work of him.
"Sloppy, you're swinging too wide," Lorna said.
He threw out a punch. Lorna twirled around it and tripped him. He managed to catch himself before he hit the ground. Tabby stifled a giggle. He turned, glaring.
"You're putting too much force, so you have a hard time stopping your momentum," she said.
She spent the next few minutes dodging his attacks and giving out a few pointers. After a few minutes he threw a punch but she caught it, flipping him over. He kicked out, but Lorna put more pressure on his arm. She put her foot on his back, stretching his arm out. She waited as he struggled for a minute.
"I'd call time on that one," she said, "And here's a tip for being in the Brotherhood Lance: you are never the toughest."
Lorna released his arm and brushed herself off. She waved at Tabby and Toad before walking out of the hallway. Snatches of conversation drifted after her.
"I tried 'ta warn 'ya man," Toad said.
"Not good enough. Who the hell was that?" Lance snapped.
"That's Lorna, or Magnetrix," Toad said, "She's Mags's daughter."
Lorna grinned.
"Well it makes sense that she'd be good then," Tabby said.
"Guessing she's her father's clone then," Lance spat.
"Clone no, but she an' her Dad agree on everythin,'" Toad said.
Lorna's face fell and she closed her eyes, leaving the conversation behind. Not everything: not anymore.