WHO: John Allerdyce (PYRO) & Mortimer Toynbee (TOAD). WHERE/WHEN: The residentâs kitchen/rec room. BACKDATED to sometime in March. WHAT: Ex-Brotherhood members have a little chat about life.
JOHN: Sleepless nights were nothing new to someone like John Allerdyce, even before heâd joined up with the Brotherhood -- the first time around -- heâd gotten used to being awake at all hours and once heâd teamed up with other likeminded mutants heâd had to say goodbye to any sort of normality when it came to times of day. There had been no strict routine or regularity to much of anything. In more recent years it had been dreams of one sort or another if it wasnât an attack of some kind that kept him from keeping time the way most others might. Maybe if he talked to someone about it he could get it off his chest, out of his system, if he did that he might be able to sleep through the night without pulling on some regular clothes and dragging himself out of his room at God only knew what hour to pour himself a cup of coffee that he sometimes didnât even touch. Sometimes he went up to the roof to pull an extra security shift, unnecessary though it might be it at least gave him something to do and he liked the distraction it provided, he didnât think when he was watching the perimeter and looking out for movements that didnât belong or listening for any sounds that might herald potential disaster. That wasnât an option every night though, sometimes it was it was the weather that kept him from following through or the knowledge that someone else was already up there. Tonight it was the latter.
That left him with very few options. He could wander around the mansion but heâd gotten over the urge to do that when he was still a teenager, heâd gotten his fill of the architectural specifics of the place -- they changed subtly every few disasters as rooms and other spaces were destroyed and rebuilt -- and there was also the chance that he might run into someone he was very much not in the mood to face. There were a lot of people who fit that description unfortunately, John could tolerate precious few individuals who called Xavierâs home for one reason or another and that left him only two places he could loiter: the kitchen or the rec room.
He started with the former. The coffee pot was in there if nothing else.
With his lighter held in one hand he went through the motions of fixing himself a cup without really thinking about it, pushing his dishevelled hair back from his brow as he did so. It was as he was putting the milk back in the refrigerator that he heard the noise from beyond the dark doorway. Just as when heâd been making the coffee there was no need to think as he deftly flicked the Zippo open and struck the flint, igniting the flame that he drew instantly into his other hand, ready to launch or reshape it depending on who -- or what -- exactly it was that stepped into view.
TOAD: âChill out Pyro,â the new arrival said lazily, clearly unintimidated by the display. That was simply because he was Toad, a former colleague of the same organization as John Allerdyce, and heâd seen the display before. Not that telling him to chill out was wise nor hypocritical, but it served well enough by way of greeting as Toad ambled into the room, walking still slightly off from a normal individualâs given his powerful legs. Nothing was quite normal about Toad from his bulbous eyes, to his greenish skin, to his rather unappealing physical appearance, right down to how he carried himself. âNo oneâs coming to steal your coffee, man.â His eyes darted from the coffee pot to the fridge, and then back to the coffee pot as if there was a very good chance he would steal it.
Toad was also no stranger either to keeping odd hours, but then heâd done that even since his earliest memories back in England. Being up at night to do his own thing without having to fight -- literally -- sometimes tooth and nail with the other children of the orphanage endeared him to the twilight hours more than anything else. Heâd kept that up as a lab pet in America, and then further as a low-ranking member of the Brotherhood. There was little reason Toad saw to change now; Xavierâs itself was easier at night where there werenât so many damned kids, or X-Men heâd been taught to fear and hate over the years. Mostly, the hours kept were what were responsible for him not getting into a fight already despite how some people sorely wanted him to kick their ass.
âStill keeping the olâ sleep pattern,â Toad commented as he leaned against a counter near the coffee pot, contemplating a cup at this time of night before he vanished to where he went into the city proper. No, Toad did not spend his days lounging around Xavierâs, that was for sure. âYou must be bored as all hell here.â Mainly because he himself was, Toad knew, but it was his way of looking for commiseration. That wasnât that he wanted to be elsewhere right now, but admittedly from what Toad had experienced this place was fairly bland.
JOHN: It was only after a few seconds of staring at his companion that he flicked the Zippo shut and closed his hand around the crackling flames to extinguish them, obviously satisfied that there was no threat here. One of the constants in the Brotherhood was the knowledge that if you couldnât keep hold of something then someone would take it and while John couldnât have cared less about a cup of coffee, of all things, he was still possessive and protective to a fault, albeit not in the most conventional sense. It was easier to pick out what John cared about than who, people were a whole other level and it was all about degrees of tolerance with him. The fact that he didnât immediately tell Toad to fuck off or something along those lines was a dead giveaway that he didnât hate the other man, that he might even have liked him on some level. It was all but impossible to tell beyond the basics: John hated some people and didnât hate others. Beyond that it was a complete mystery and a headache inducing one at that, especially for those dead set on figuring out exactly where they sat with him.
âNot as bored as you, Iâd bet,â John retorted, shutting the fridge and going back to the counter where his cup was waiting for him. âAt least Iâve got a job,â he said by way of addition and though there was a definite lack of acerbic bite to his words it was impossible to tell how he felt about the situation beyond that. For John that was safer, guarding how he felt about things and shutting them away behind tall thick walls made of steel and iron, it kept other people out just as much as it kept those feelings from spilling out and stripping him of any sort of control.
Picking up his cup and lifting it, but not yet drinking from it, he said, âJust wait until something comes smashing through the walls or we all get teleported to some hell dimension or murder island. Shit will hit the fan sooner or later and then youâll miss the boredom.â
TOAD: The same could be said for Toad: the fact he was even engaging in conversation with the other man in the room pointed towards the situation being out of the ordinary. It might be more than a stretch to consider John a friend, if such a thing were something Toad regularly had, but it wasnât loathing or hatred. That was something. His bulging eyes blinked a few times at the comment reminding him that John worked for the X-Men. Not directly, of course, but enough to do security work for their school. Still, it irked Toad for reasons he wasnât quite sure of. Perhaps because he still thought of the X-Men as enemies, although clearly not enough these days to avoid living in their house. Change of perception took longer, however.
âBeing a lackey of Wolfsbane has gotta keep things interesting,â Toad shot back although not with any degree of venom or vitriol. For his part Toad couldnât precisely imagine being Xavierâs security to be interesting. Mostly it just seemed to be shooing away annoying humans that came calling to the gates, or dealing with a mutant arrival that wasnât in control of their powers. Given he was well aware the Brotherhood hadnât attempted anything in quite some time, well, Toadâs imagination was sorely lacking. He snorted, though, after a moment, and looked back over at John. âThat was it, hey? Bored?â He couldnât fathom any other reason John would join up. âAnd Iâve got plenty of things to do, just not here.â Which was a lie, of course, but Toad wasnât precisely going to admit he was really feeling out of sorts, and had been since the Brotherhood broke up. Toad needed a cause, or more accurately Toad needed someone who had a cause.
With John sipping his cup of coffee Toad moved to fix his own; he didnât really have any intention of snatching the mug from Johnâs hand with his tongue although he most certainly could. Except heâd probably burn it on the coffee, and then burn it even worse once Pyro lit up properly. âKinda sounds like old times.â Not that heâd ever been transported to a hell dimension or whatever the heck âmurder islandâ was, but you know. Toad, however, did relish a good fight so something breaking through the walls wouldnât exactly ruin his day. After all, he wasnât invested in the safety of this place or its occupants. âOf course I hear a lotta wild shit around here.â
JOHN: âFuck you, Iâm no oneâs lackey.â It was a knee jerk response, reflexive, not conscious at all but out of his mouth before heâd even realised he was saying it. It was out even before Toad had said what he went on to say and it didnât really need any further attention drawn to it anyway, curses were spat and hurled regularly in the Brotherhood, they were a bunch of squabbling thugs a good deal of the time when the higher ups were away, they fought among themselves as much as they lashed out at those they considered their lessers and it was a messy system at best. If you could call it a system at all. John had come to the decidedly bitter conclusion that you couldnât. After theyâd left him for dead -- figuratively speaking, at least -- after that job had gone south heâd seen them for what they really were all along, a bunch of cowards, just as two-faced and quick to judge and cut ties as the rest of the world. Unlike the man beside him -- apparently -- he was in no rush to swear his fealty to them again. As far as John was concerned he was as done with them as they evidently were with him.
âI bet you do,â he said in response to the remark about wild shit, tossing his fellow ex-Brotherhood member a steady glance. âAnd almost all of it is true, just keep that in mind before you laugh at what youâre hearing.â Because that was the impulse, he knew, he understood that well enough because heâd been the same way as a dumb kid taking classes here, heâd laughed and shrugged it off and then the shit had hit the fan and heâd been caught with his pants down. Again, figuratively speaking. Thank God. Talking about Xavierâs and their special brand of chaos, not to mention their penchant for attracting all sorts of wacky danger, was a lot easier than explaining to Toad why exactly he had agreed to join the security team. Talking about his parole wasnât something he was willing to do on his good days so when he couldnât sleep and was sipping a coffee he didnât really want was hardly an ideal time to discuss just how much trouble heâd landed in after Toadâs precious Brotherhood had severed ties with him and left him to rot.
âSo what the fuckâs going on with you and that Naomi girl.â John didnât even know -- or care -- that heâd gotten the name wrong because so far theyâd barely interacted and it took more than a few words exchanged on the schoolâs network for him to sit up and take notice anyway. âAre you sleeping with her or what?â John almost smiled when he added, âOr are you just trying to stop that bookworm dork from getting there first?â
TOAD: Toad only snorted at Pyroâs assertion that he was no oneâs lackey. Even if he himself wasnât the X-Menâs bitch or anything of the sort⌠very few people were as fantastic as those who tended to lead organizations. Those like Magneto or Mystique were put on pedestals. It was foolish not to see the genius or power behind those in the Brotherhood leadership even if one didnât like every aspect of it. Of course, although he didnât it himself Toad was just his namesake: a toadie. Always a follower, never really one to think too much for himself. People like Magneto and Mystique attracted those like Toad to their causes like a stereotypical moth to a flame. For all he thought or perceived himself to be (terrible or good) he was a lackey, a foot soldier. âSure, man,â he offered, but it didnât end the conversation. Toad was used to the insult lobbing ways of the circles heâd grown up in — his entire life had been conflict, really — so this didnât bother him in the slightest. âHey I wasnât saying it wasnât true. I know how weird shit gets with mutants.â So maybe the life at Xavierâs wasnât comparable to life living in a cell of the Brotherhood, but Toad wasnât new to the mutant equation and how quickly things can get out of hand, or what mutant powers running amuck were like.
Still, it wasnât as if Toad would readily believe things about dinosaurs and a fantasy war, but by the same token he didnât disbelieve it like a new arrival to Xavierâs would be. It was just one of those things that being a mutant tended to throw your way and make you question all you knew about ânormalcyâ.
Ignoring the question for a moment to fix his own cup of coffee, Toad thought about just telling John to fuck right off. In the end however, he didnât. âNoemi, but nothinâ, really. She had some fucked up shit with a bunch of humans trafficking her and was on her own, so I looked after her.â He blinked, and then added: âAnd donât act surprised about that.â He might be a shitty person in a lot of ways, but he certainly had his moments. Even if they were spurned by hormones and some deep-rooted, subconscious desire to be treated poorly. âPoindexter just pisses me off in general. Heâs such a fucking apologist.â
JOHN: People like Magneto and Mystique and those pedestals didnât interest John anymore, not after theyâd strung him up and left him to hang for all intents and purposes. That didnât mean he was about to worship the ground Mimic and Wolfsbane and the rest of them walked on but for all he made out like he didnât buy it for a goddamned second he did know they wouldnât leave any man behind. Hell, theyâd proven it countless times since heâd been brought back to this place, not with him specifically but with so many others, everything that had happened over the summer had been driven by the desire to return their missing students and residents and faculty members alike, there had been some selfish motivations and specific names dropped but theyâd brought back all those that had survived. John wasnât about to tell people like Luce that they were right, that he was one of them, that they would come for him if he ever needed them, but it got harder and harder to deny it on the inside with every month and catastrophe that passed. The X-Men werenât the Brotherhood and maybe, just maybe, that wasnât the worst thing in the world.
âApologist?â John laughed a little at that. âListen to you and your fancy fucking words. You two bitch and bicker like a couple of kids for one reason and everyone can see why. Everyone but you apparently.â Setting his coffee down on the island in the middle of the kitchen he turned to look at Toad from that vantage point instead, it meant having his back to the roomâs entrance but he trusted the other mutant to keep an eye out for any potential threats at least. âYou see this weedy nobody moving in on a woman youâve obviously got a thing for and you make a big fucking fuss and pick fights. I mean, shit, he picks them right back because heâs obviously got a hard on for her as well, but Jesus, you really donât see how obvious it is?â
TOAD: Toad, though. Toad was different. John had learned a valuable lesson in regards to figures like Magneto who (perhaps rightfully) realized that the sacrifice of pawns was necessary for advancement of plots and schemes in a war. A sycophant, Toad still latched on to powerful people and would do so again in a heartbeat even if he denied it until he was blue in the face. That was just the way of things. People had used and abused him his entire life, twisted his self-worth and beaten him to compliance. Anything that made him feel welcome, anyone that give him a passing comment about his necessity had an ally for life, even if he wasnât the sharpest tool in the shed. Toad had his uses, of course.
His head whipped around to face John once more, bulbous eyes blinking as his brow creased. âWhatâs wrong with fuckinâ apologist?â It was accurate, he thought, the way Montgomery was so quick to try and defend and diffuse the situation. Wanting people to settle down was always the precursor to people getting away with things while eggheads like him debated about shit they had no clue about. âFuck you,â Toad snarled before his tongue lashed out, curling up and around his shoulder towards the coffee cup heâd taken his eyes off of. When it had recoiled and receded back into his mouth (coffee cup now in hand), he continued. âIt ainât like that. That little shit stain would piss me the fuck off no matter what and you know it.â Still, Noemi was undeniably attractive, but he also knew she had less than a zero percent interest in sleeping with him like every other woman heâd known in his lifetime, so there was that. It bothered him slightly less than heâd have figured at this point.
What bothered him more was the fact that she was getting along with a lot of the people at Xavierâs that were fucked in the head. By Toadâs definition anyway. âWhy donât we talk about your love life, eh?â
JOHN: In some ways Toad was better off than John, he knew where his loyalties lay and he was sure about what he believed even now. For John it just wasnât that simple anymore and there was nothing more vexing and downright maddening to him than uncertainty, it made him feel unbalanced, unsteady in himself and where he was going in his life. It wasnât even that he wanted to be striving towards something like so many humans -- and mutants, even -- with their goals and their dreams and ambitions, heâd never had those to begin with thanks to a number of contributing factors but when heâd been with the Brotherhood and believed in what they were doing and why heâd still had some sort of drive and purpose. That was something heâd been lacking for a while now and it was starting to take its toll on him. Not that he would admit it, not even to himself, John had never been the sort to either admit or confront his own weaknesses and failings but it felt like acknowledging their existence in the first place simply gave them more power.
Toadâs quick rebuttal had John smiling though with each passing second it came closer and closer to a smirk and he even chuckled a bit to sound his amusement like heâd just proved a point and in a way he had. No one jumped in like that, teeth bared and hackles raised, if they werenât defensive about something, and people were only defensive when the very thing they were arguing against was true. Heâd been about to point out that since Montgomery was a shit stain he really wasnât worth the effort so Toad was only making more of a fool of himself for giving him the time of day to begin with but the remark -- and in fact the train of thought -- was derailed by what the other man went on to say next.
âLove life?â John snorted. It wasnât a dignified sound but it wasnât meant to be. âYou sound like a teenage girl, Jesus. What the fuck has love got to do with any of it?â John reclaimed his coffee and took a sip even though he wasnât particularly interested in the beverage anymore. âI donât do romance and I donât do relationships,â he said, lowering the cup again. âI know I live in the X-mansion and all that shit but I havenât changed that much.â
TOAD: But was it better to be a lifelong follower, however simplistic it may have been? Toad wasnât remotely introspective enough in that regard to figure it out. Throwing oneâs life away at someone elseâs directive wasnât something heâd say he believed in, but it was, nonetheless, what he was doing. The difference was Toad hadnât been caught like John had; he hadnât wasted away in prison with the dawning realization that he was expendable. Toad and John werenât the same, but with an experience like that? Toad may have questioned some things even if heâd fall right back under the sway of Magneto or those like him.
âOh fuck off,â Toad retorted before taking a generous gulp of his coffee. Clearly the bitterness nor temperature bothered him. âItâs a fucking saying, man.â And there was no way John didnât know that in Toadâs mind, but then when had anyone ever not given him shit? It was the the way his life worked. âFine, fucking anyone?â he amended, changing to a blunt questioning that left nothing to the imagination even if it was vulgar. Still, quid pro quo. If John Allerdyce was going to bug him about whether or not he wanted to fuck Noemi, Toad would reciprocate in kind. Not that he cared so much, but he figured John would be the type to pine after someone completely unobtainable. Like Angelica Jones or some shit. âGood to know you havenât totally changed though, would be wondering what this place puts in its water if you had.â As close to a compliment as one was going to get out of Toad, at any rate.
JOHN: It was all but impossible in this world to be completely in control of every single aspect of your own life, John had come to realise that the hard way, over many years of self-loathing and resentment and aggression towards anyone and everything that came close to him. Even now that he was out of the Brotherhood he was at the mercy of the legal system and therefore the Xavierâs leadership thanks to that goddamned parole of his and that meant he was still paying dues and it was starting to look more and more likely that he always would be. Freedom was a lie and those who believed in it were fools, idiot children ignorant to the way the world really worked. Maybe Toad was better off just being a followers. God knew leading was all but impossible, whether you were trying to lead your own life or others, not that John had tried to do the latter, nor did he care to. Who would follow him anyway? He wasnât stupid or arrogant, he knew no one would care to follow someone as viciously cynical and resentful as him no matter what the cause.
The smirk that flashed across Johnâs face betrayed the fact that he thought it was a dumbass saying and that Toad himself was kind of a dumbass for not knowing as much, or at least for not expecting his pyrokinetic companion to give him shit for using it in the first place. It wasnât until after Toad had said what he did about changes that John answered his rephrased question, still holding his coffee as he said, âNo one here.â And therefore no one Toad would know. In all honesty it had been a while since John had hooked up with anyone in the city but he didnât need to tell the other mutant that, it was none of his business anyway and if Toad was going to be cagey about whether or not he wanted to sleep with the woman he was so clearly pining for then that favour was going to be returned in full. âWhy? You gonna try to matchmake me? Or is this your way of asking me out.â Now John was just giving Toad a hard time, jabbing at him because that was easier than talking about anything real or honest. John didnât do well with real or honest. Never had.
TOAD: âNaw, I got standards,â Toad shot back before taking another gulp of coffee although his bulbous eyes never left John. It was probably fairly laughable even if he was being honest as far as he knew. It was just that Toad was⌠Toad, and that would be enough for anyone to say on the matter. He was the sort of type to pine away after someone — as John knew full well — and go nowhere with it in similar fashion to how heâd spend his life following around clutching at the hem of Magnetoâs cape if the man allowed it. Such was life, really, and there was no getting around that. âI think thereâs enough crazy kids here trying to matchmake if you want that.â It was clearly a joke, and they both knew it. âCould always sign up for a date to the next dance and all.â
But that was about all Toad had to say on the matter. He didnât really want to talk about Noemi nor Montgomery, nor did he want to listen to Johnâs woes with whoever he actually wanted to hook-up with that he wasnât saying (not that Toad blamed him, mind you). âI gotta go,â he muttered as he downed the rest of the coffee with ease, and set the mug down in the sink for someone else to clean because why wouldnât he? Truth be told it was a bit unsettling to be faced with someone from his past who knew just how much of a bootlicker he had been (and still was). Still, there was no was escaping from the fact that John Allerdyce was present at Xavierâs, and until Noemi was convinced to leave heâd have to deal with that. It said nothing against John, but spoke about Toadâs own issues.
âI guess if you wanna do that thing where people who donât have shit to look forward to go and get a beer to talk about old times or some shit we can do that.â With that comment, Toad pushed past John towards the exit.
JOHN: It was too easy to take a jab back and his smirk would illustrate that well enough, if nothing else it was too goddamn late -- or early? John wasnât sure which -- to be having a snark war in the residentsâ kitchen anyway and quite honestly there were times when he just wasnât in the mood. As much as barbing back and forth with people usually did a pretty good job of distracting him from his own shit sometimes he just didnât have the energy for it. Not that he was going to admit that, Johnâs usual defence mechanism was just to smirk and shrug it off and that was exactly what he did then.
And then, just like that, Toad was downing his coffee and dumping the mug, ready to leave. John wasnât exactly disappointed but it did beg the question of where exactly it was that Toad needed to get to in such a hurry. For just a second Johnâs eyes narrowed, suspicion coupled with a sort of creeping curiosity but not enough for him to badger or push just yet. It was too goddamn late or early to be doing that as well and for the time being John wasnât entirely convinced he gave enough of a shit to bother. Maybe later, after a few days or a few weeks, maybe later. Theyâd wait and see.
âOh yeah,â John said with sarcasm rich in every syllable, âthose good old times.â At that he raised his mug and then rolled his eyes. Good old times. That was hilarious. âDonât get in too much trouble,â he called after the other mutant, not watching him go because they felt like giving the other manâs exit too much attention. Just one more thing he needlessly concerned himself with. It would have been easy for him to throw something else after Toad but even for him that would have been juvenile so instead he just let the silence stretch between them, filling the growing space as the other mutant crossed the threshold and left the room and kept on walking away. As a general rule the Brotherhood -- ex or otherwise -- werenât the best communicators.