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"Mutant problem?" Magneto snapped out as they strode down the corridor.

Mystique shrugged, "It could have been worse. They could have said epidemic. Disease. Threat. We've heard worse words than problem."

"I don't suppose that any mutants have been invited to this? It never does seem to cross the highly intelligent minds of those who run the country that allowing mutants into a summit discussing mutants might be an idea."

"They evidently forgot our invitations." Mystique smirked.

"Clearly." Magneto smiled a thin calculating smile. "I suppose we'd better go and remind them."

"Do you want to bring along any of our … house-guests."

"I have an idea about that." Suddenly he stopped and turned on her, "Mystique, how much do you care about that boy?"

"The Toad?" She hadn't told him yet, hadn't told anyone that she knew his real name. Mortimer Toynbee. Just one of the things he'd mumbled in a sort of confused delirium as she'd carried him back to the Base the day she'd found him in the gutter.

"Yes." He gave her a shrewd look. "You know why they don't let woman onto the front lines in the army don't you?"

She didn't even dignify that with a response.

"It's more than just prejudice Mystique. It's the same reason they supposedly don't let men who… like men. They need their soldiers to obey orders; to run when told, to shoot when told, to… leave a man behind when told." She made no response. "In the heat of the battle, the soldier's loyalty needs to be first and foremost to the orders given, not to the man next to them. There can be no room for love in war, that's the policy."

"I thought the policy was Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"He's not your son, Mystique." His voice was harsher than it needed to be, because he was thinking of a child as well; a child with short spiky silver hair that he'd just walked right away from. A child that had been far, far too arrogant to cry, too angry to show that he cared. Or maybe he hadn't cared. Maybe he hadn't wanted to cry. Maybe he'd just smiled in that infuriating way of his; perhaps he'd turned his back as well, as his father walked out of his life.

"I know that Erik." She shot back, bringing him down to earth. "My son is blue."

"Really?" Toad stared, fascinated, "You just … told her? Just like that?"

"You got dat right kid. I jus' say, 'Miz Louise, I don' want no more of dis crap anymore. I got a new job, lookin' after my people, lookin' after mutants. Don' need none of dis gangland thing, Gambit's heading north.'"

"And she just let you go, just like that?"

"Yeah, she was mad abou' me. Most of the girls were, heh. I tell you homme, dere's not'ing like a-"

The door clanged open, and they both jumped slightly as Magneto strode through, cloak billowing behind him in a fairly impressive manner. "Toad, Gambit?"

"Uh, yeah?" Toad ventured, shooting a nervous look at Gambit who gave a small shrug.

"You know why you are here. You know what this base is for." They both nodded, with varying degrees of reservation. "I know Mystique has spoken to both of you, and you're willing to help us to defend mutant freedom."

More nods. Toad felt the wonderful rebellious feeling spark off inside him again: this was it!

"We have a task to perform." Magneto continued, as Mystique slunk into the room behind him, her face expressionless. "There is a government summit coming up discussing the mutant 'problem'. Naturally they have invited no mutants. I think therefore, we should be sure to turn up and give them a small … reminder of the scale of the problem they are dealing with."

Toad tried to do a smirk, hoping it looked as good as Gambit's.

Magneto gave a small tight grin and then grew serious again. "Before we start planning that however, I need to know what you are capable of."

It sounded faintly ominous, echoing off the stone walls. Toad glanced at Mystique, wondering why she was looking so … still. As if she was trying to freeze all the muscles in her face to stop her reacting. He rather wished she would react.

"Sure t'ing." Gambit said, and Toad was relived to hear that he was sounding faintly nervous as well, "We c'n do fireworks followed by jumping acrobatics if dat's what you-"

"Follow me." He left and they hurried after him, down a narrow corridor. Toad wondered where Mystique was until he realised she was right behind him, she moved as silently as a whisper.

They stopped at a doorway which led out into a much larger room with what looked like a metal panel covering the end. There were a few minutes of silence as they looked around followed by a faint 'clang' from behind the metal.

Behind his glasses Gambit closed his eyes briefly, merde.

Toad gulped, and then almost swallowed his tongue as Mystique placed a hand on his shoulder and then hissed quickly in his ear, "Get out the way as quickly as possible, Sabretooth has no quarrel with you and he's no danger unless you're near him, Gambit fires off explosions do not get on the wrong side of him."

"What?" He croaked. His mouth had gone dry again and suddenly she was no longer there, but standing behind Magneto looking determinedly innocent. His back had healed properly by now, but he suddenly felt it aching again, coupled with a twinge from his fingers where they'd been broken all that time ago. Oh shit, there's gonna be a fight.

"Step forward." Magneto commanded, and they did so. Moving out into the empty space, they both tried to keep as far away as possible from the metal panel, which was starting to shake. Gambit raised his eyebrows at Toad in a faintly good-luck-ish type gesture, and then Magneto moved his hands and the metal panelling shot forward, zoomed across the room and clattered against the back wall.

He was angry now. Thinking only lasted so long, and he'd decided long ago that he'd follow the old man, hell he'd follow anyone who'd agree to get him out of this damn metal box, it was too confined, he'd never liked confined spaces.

And now there was nothing left but the anger. Anger against the Cajun, for bringing him here, anger against himself for getting tricked, against Stryker for just being Stryker, against the world for throwing him into the shit and then shrugging as he drowned in it.

Anger against that stupid little Canadian prick that he couldn't remember the name of, for getting him into the whole mess with Stryker in the first place (his memories of his time in the army weren't so good anymore), anger at the Wolverine for giving him the idea of escaping, against the old man for trapping him in, against the metal for being there.

And suddenly it wasn't.

He blinked in astonishment. The metal had just…gone. Swung away as if it were a strip of paper blown away on a breeze. And there, oh glory be, there was the Cajun right in front of him, and some other kid who looked about to piss himself.

He gave a roar and charged forward, barely noticing as Toad gave a strangled yelp and jumped, to disappear somewhere among the rafters. There was nothing in his line of view except a trench coat and a pair of shades and suddenly a small card which flamed blue and then exploded right in his face.

He gave a yowl, throwing his hands up, trying not to get blinded, swerving out of line. Then there was another card, bursting into stars of pain in his arm, the Cajun was moving, there was shouting coming from somewhere, and he wondered briefly whether it was him.

From his vantage point up in the rafters Toad watched, fascinated. Gambit was dancing around, flicking cards off, while Sabretooth pretty much spun around on the spot, occasionally lurching forwards. The miniature explosions resounded off the walls, occasionally shooting sparks in his direction.

He gave a gasp as suddenly Sabretooth's arm shot out, colliding with Gambit who folded up gracefully to land in a pile on the floor. Sabretooth grabbed and flung him against the wall, Toad's head followed in a fascinated arc, wincing as the man hit the side of the metal wall and crumpled.

Sabretooth seemed to be on a mission of destruction. Toad hoped that Magneto was planning to intervene at some point, surely he would, wouldn't he? He glanced down at the old man and almost fell of the rafters with nervous shock when he realised that Magneto was staring straight back at him, a calculating look in his eyes. He understood then with a sort of cold certainty, that the man was not going to do anything, Magneto was waiting for him to do something.

"Shit." He muttered. Mystique had told him to stay out of trouble, but he couldn't help but think that he'd be in an awful lot more trouble if Magneto came out with the impression that he was useless.

So…fighting. How did that go? He tried to drag up some of the memories from school. People surrounded you, usually, and then you hit and then they hit and then you curled up trying to get away from it and then if you were lucky Lance waded in and pulled you out and knocked everyone else down and then you both got detention.

Maybe it was time for a new strategy.

Toad took a deep breath and jumped.

A/N: yeah…short little chapter there. So much is happening at the moment, I hope I didn't loose all the readers with the big gap between chapters :).

The first section in this had to be re-written as well because the first time Magneto and Mytique sounded too much like Mal and Zoe from Firefly. Heh.