1
Todd was remarkably quiet. Fred did not seem to notice because, as with all breakfasts at the Brotherhood house, he was consumed with...well, what he was consuming. Pietro also did not notice but that was because he did not care about Todd. But he did notice that Wanda noticed something was up. Lance had already.
Wanda started. "So, toad. [lower case intended] How did your little dates go?"
Todd pushed around his egg with his fork. "Well, um... Professor X chewed me out for portraying a menace to society when I could be a 'fine, upstanding citizen' for being attacked at the mall. Then Mags chewed me out for not killing the normies that attacked 'my fellow mutants' at the mall. Then they got to arguing the need for self defense and the need for sacrifice in relation to the normies. And then Dr. McCoy and Wolverine joined in because they had gotten loud enough for it to start bouncing around the mansion they all live in.
"So I ran when I got the chance."
Lance nodded. "Did you get a kiss good-bye from either of 'em?"
Todd pushed his egg some more.
"You didn't.", Lance lamented.
Wanda stroked Pietro's cheek as he smelled her hair. "Have the manners of peeping tom because that's all the contact he's ever had with girls before? Sounds like it should be expected."
"I'm not the only failure, yo! Whatever you guys were planning didn't seem to go off.", Todd countered.
Pietro settled his arm around Wanda's shoulders while glaring at Lance. "That's because someone punked out when he was suppose to bury himself in the drive way. That is the reason he rode under his Jeep in the first place - to get past the mansion's security. But noooo..."
"You were under the Jeep the whole time?", Todd shouted at Lance.
"Not the entire time.", Lance tried to defend himself. "I drove off with it when the Sentinel showed up."
Todd gaped at him.
Lance tried to shove the image of a toad from his mind. "I didn't want it damaged. It's not like you could pay to fix it."
Todd threw his fork down.
"Hey, it worked out alright. Didn't it?", Lance asked instead of apologized.
Wanda intertwined her fingers with her brother's. "Yeah, didn't Rogue's other mom pick you guys up?"
"You knew about that.", Todd stated in disbelief.
Pietro shrugged. "Of course. That's what this place was supposed to be. When Mags and Mystique managed to find each other, they got to talking about what to do about their kids futures."
"I don't remember that.", Wanda stated. Pietro shared a look with her. "Oh, right. The insane asylum."
"Anyway.", Pietro retook the floor. "They didn't want us growing up in the world they did, having to hide all the time and having no one. So they started the Brotherhood. In doing so, they eventually ran into what would be the Acolytes. Realizing a difference, Mystique was supposed to run me and my sister here with Rogue and some kids our own age while Magneto did the whole Acolyte thing and whatever else."
Todd's face soured. "So let me get this straight, yo. Did everyone pressure me into trying to offend two very dangerous women while making sure I was unprepared so they could either pull some stupid prank on the x-kids or just have their fun laughing at me?"
Fred raised his hand. "I didn't."
"Well, thank fuck for that.", Todd cursed.
Fred raised his hand again.
"What?"
"What happened with Rogue and X-23?", Fred asked.
"Pssh!", Todd blew. "Rogue went off somewhere with I...ris?"
"Destiny.", Wanda corrected.
"Irene.", Todd recorrected. "And X-23 went in search for someone to kill.
"Speaking of killing, let's get to school. I might as well face the music."
Lance looked surprised. "That is uncharacteristically responsible of you."
"You think suicidal tendencies are uncharacteristic?", Todd asked aloud. In a much softer voice, he continued. "Then I must be a better con artist than I thought."
2
The Brotherhood strolled toward the school from the parking lot. Standing in the way were X-23 and Rogue, dressed how they normally were.
A vicious smile crossed Wanda's face.
X-23 looked to her and Todd. But then she noticed that she smelled like trace amounts of the white haired boy's body spray and not Todd's toxin mixture, the white haired boy's cheek was just the faintest bit redder on the side closest to Wanda from her rouge, and a myriad of things that normal senses wouldn't have picked up.
"Oh, you're with him.", she said aloud. "That's cool. Beat it."
Rogue turned to her nearly as fast as Wanda's jaw dropped. But Wanda didn't get angry, or at least show it. "You're absolutely right.", the girl smiled. "Let's leave these three alone, boys."
"Look, I want to apologize.", all three of them stated at once. "Wait, what?"
The other two turned to Rogue as she was the most socialized of them. And at that thought, they all looked to the sky. Was that the sorry state they were in: that the girl with a thousand memories that weren't hers and was a notorious ice queen goth was the best they could hope for with social skills?
X-23 smiled. "See, I told you that you were psionic. How else would we have all had that thought at the same time?"
Rogue glanced at her before speaking to Todd. "Some stuff came up with Mom. It was pretty serious. Sorry that I couldn't see you off."
X-23 nodded. "Yes. I am too. Sorry about not seeing you off, that is. I was in the Danger Room just trouncing five... Well, that doesn't matter. But I didn't mean to be inconsiderate. Particularly if you're still making a decision to date us or not."
"And considering that both Mr. Lensherr and the professor were laying into you. It wasn't cool of us to just bail on you like that.", Rogue finished.
Todd looked from one to the other.
"Well, say something.", Rogue softly commanded.
"Uh, apology accepted, yo?", Todd offered.
"Good.", Rogue replied.
Rogue guided her right arm through Todd's left. X-23 guided her left arm around Todd's right. "So, can we move from the formal date stage to the hanging out stage?", X-23 asked.
Todd turned to Rogue. She explained, "Maybe it would be less stressful if we just, you know - studied together or something."
X-23 added, "We discussed forwarding our relationship with you at length over the weekend."
Rogue let out an exasperated breath while rolling her eyes.
"Study?", Todd disbelieved. He shrugged. "Sure. It looks like a week of firsts, so I'll give it a try.
"But it might bother some of my house mates."
X-23 extended her claws. "Then I will explain to them what should bother them."
"No claws at school, shug.", Rogue called out to her.
The other girl nodded and her claws withdrew into rapidly closing wounds. She then pounded one fist into the open palm of the other hand with a dull 'clang' of metal on metal.
"No.", Rogue commanded.