(no subject)
Almost night. The last sparks of the sun have turned the water a dull, muddy red. A speedboat slides towards the dock, its engine barely running. In a perfect world, the little boat where Toadling is hidden would be easily visible. But it's not a perfect world, and Toxin has been looking for it for the last half hour or so. She cuts the engine completely upon spotting a small rubber raft with a tarp thrown over it. Could that be it? She uses the boat's momentum to guide it closer to the dock, then reaches out and tosses a loop of rope over a cleat and leaps onto the dock, heading over to the raft.
If Toad's in there, he's certainly not moving. And with good cause. Leave it to Bella to have the foresight to put him asleep before releasing him from her romantic power. It would have been Hell to subdue him otherwise, and there's still no telling how he'll react once he awakens. But for now he's out like a candle, sprawled out and face-up.
Toxin finally gets to the raft, and very carefully lifts the tarp. Aww, look, a sleeping Toad. Isn't he cute? Not really. Toxin sighs, looking around the dock and shaking her head. "You're damn lucky I like you." she finally says to the slumbering male, untying the raft and dragging it slowly over to her boat. Now, how to get him -into- the boat? Toxin's strong for a girl her size, but she's still only about five foot five. Sighing softly, she finally ties the raft to her boat, and wraps her arms around Toad's waist. It takes several attempts to get him up and over the lip of the boat, but she finally manages it, sprawling out on the floor and letting Toad thump down beside her. Toxin scoots over to her pack and starts digging. Gotta make sure he stays out.
And how eventful would that be? This wouldn't be the real world if things went off without a hitch. Up, up in the heavens, where spiritual beings watch mere mortals struggle, one suggests a twist of fate to the event. The beings cast their vote, it is agreed upon, and Toad stirs. Being pulled and dumped isn't something one sleeps through... At least not with a few bottles of liquor in him. He's only just slowly moving his limbs, however, barely lifting his eyelids. Admittedly, this was some of the best sleep he's had in a good, long time.
And the noise Toxin is making digging through her pack probably isn't helping either. However, once she finds the syringe and turns around, her eyes widen at the sight of a slowly waking Toad. Well...crap. She could still stick him, but there's the possibility that a needle being plunged into his arm could wake him up the rest of the way, and explaining the syringe away might just be a tad difficult. So, the syringe is re-stowed in the pack, and Toxin leans back against the side of the boat, politely sitting back and waiting for Toad to wake up.
His body may need a moment to adjust to this level of comfort. Meanwhile, his brain has started up and is refreshing his memory on where and what he's been doing for the past few days. The moment it all dawns on him is quite evident when he sits up, eyes wide open and full of rage. His body twists left and right while he rapidly takes in his surroundings and eventually he settles his glare on Toxin. Does he need to say it? All right, he will. "Where the 'ell is she!"
Toxin isn't phased by Toad's glare. After all, she's been the object of it many times before. At his question, she shrugs her shoulders. "No idea. And more importantly, I don't care." She certainly sounds like she means it, at any rate. "At the moment, I've got to get you back to the island." She shifts position and moves to stand up, stretching her arms over her head. Turning around, she digs in the pack and comes up with a couple of squeeze bottles, and a pack of something. "I imagined you'd be hungry." The articles are dropped on one of the seats, she starts to head for the cockpit.
Oh, he's hungry, but food definitely won't satisfy it for him. Toad's glare is far more intense than any he's ever focused on Toxin but that's mainly because it isn't for her. "W'ot the fuck was that all about??" His question comes out in a strained tone rising in pitch. "Why the 'ell did she do that to me?? Why! And why'd she just dump me 'ere like a sack'ah shit! That bitch 'as lost 'er fuckin' mind an' I'm gonna fuckin' cut 'er up if I see 'er again!!" He kicks the chair with the food hard enough to cause it to lean, pulling two bolts out the floor and sending the food supplies splashing into the water.
Toxin swings around and returns the glare. But unlike Toad's, hers reeks of fatigue. And possibly something like defeat. But her voice betrays none of these things, instead showing off anger. "How should I know?? She took you probably because you were in her way!" She takes a couple of steps towards him, her hands clenched into fists, the knuckles turning white. But he isn't the person she'd like to hit. "You won't see her again. I'll kill her myself." While her last statements were angry, this one just sounds resigned.
"The 'ell you will!" Toad's wounds have been salted a bit too much to acknowledge this sudden change in Toxin's opinion of Bella. "'Er and the rest of those rats jumpin' ship, bein' gutted's too fuckin' good for all of 'em! Especially 'er!" Oh, then something else dawns on him. The room, sneaking out, brainwashing... He reaches out to grab Toxin by one of her wrists, snarling as he speaks, "W'ot the fuck did she do to Lensherr???"
The second her wrist is caught, Toxin moves in close to Toad. "We CAN'T! We'll fuck them up at every turn, but we can't until we know if she did to them what she did to you!" There's a little pain in her voice. Does it really bother her, what happened to him? At the question about Magneto, her eyes narrow and her stare gets a little more intense. "What do you think? She turned her little seduction powers on him and stayed with him long enough to make sure her little ones got away." She starts to pull away from him, then pauses and whirls back as something occurs to her. "What do you know about the nanites Essex put in Magneto?"
Toad throws her wrist aside and turns to the back of the boat while she returns his yell. Eventually he crouches low and holds his head in silence. Damn manipulators. Damn emotions. Damn women! He doesn't even seem to be listening when Toxin asks her final question. He's got his face buried in his hands, wondering how many bottles of beer it'll take to erase this memory from his mind. Need, desire, lust. How /dare/ she make him feel that way! "Fuckin' bitch," he says aloud, but the rage has died down to childish self-pity.
Toxin is tempted to just let him be, and she does that for now, untying the raft from the boat and sending it on its way. She starts up the boat, unties it from the dock and sets them out, making as few waves as possible and moving fairly slowly. As soon as they're out over open water though, she cuts the engine again and drops the anchor. Heading back to Toad, she crouches down beside him. "Toad..." she starts, then pauses and shakes her head. "Mortimer, please. You're scaring me." An odd admission, but perhaps she can shake him out of this long enough to get him to the island and to Magneto.
Toad remains in that position while the boat pulls away from the dock, listening to his mind tell him off. He left himself open to this. He let her get the best of him. He's /always/ letting people get the best of him. All those bombs, all that training, and he's still a damn loser! What if she had killed Magneto? Failure. Shh. Failure to protect yourself. Shut it. Failure to protect others. Shut it! You're so weak. "Shut it shut it SHUT IT!! DON'T FUCKIN' COME NEAR ME," he outbursts and crawls backwards away from Toxin. His back comes against the broken chair and he stares through her at whatever's haunting him right now. Being forced to feel something... Coming down from it is worse than having a hangover.
Toxin doesn't move as Toad yells and then crawls away from her. She's afraid that if she does, he'll either take a flying leap overboard or toss her over. Either of which would be disasterous. "Fine, I won't come near you. But Magneto has to know -anything- you know about the nanites in his body. The ones Essex put there." She pauses, glancing back over to the cockpit. Maybe she should just get them back to the island. But first... "Bella told Magneto she could reactivate them. And kill him."
Toad breathes heavy. Calm down... Everything's good... Outbursts bad... His focus gradually returns to Toxin and his whereabouts, bringing him back to the real world in time to hear her last statement. His breathing pauses. "Reactivate w'ot?"
Toxin sighs softly, and continues. "The nanites in Magneto's body, the ones you got from Essex. Sabella told Magneto she can reactivate them and use them to tear him apart. We've got to know if that's true." She pauses and looks away from him, gazing out over the water. She still isn't looking at him when she starts talking again. "We can't find the doctor, and Bella isn't about to tell me anything. You're the only one who might know."
Toad runs his hands through his hair and rubs his temples, this time actually listening to her. "Bullshit. Essex told me they were programmed t'repair 'is tissue, nothing more. They should've passed through 'is system with a piss a long time ago." His nagging voices are dying down, thank goodness. Keep talking about something else! "Does 'e think they're still in 'im?" Well, Magneto would know. Metal thingies and all.
Toxin nods, leaning back against the side of the boat. "That's good to hear. In that case, we won't have a problem going after her." At his next question, she shrugs. "I'm really not sure, but he seemed to think there was a possibility there were enough left to hurt him. I imagine hunting for the little things in his intestines hasn't been his biggest priority."
Toad shakes his head and frowns. Essex may be the devil on earth, but he is a man of his word. Still, his word didn't include anything about the nanites leaving the body, just doing what they had to do and then stopping. Damn. Doing deals with criminal masterminds; it's like making a wish with a Genie. "I'll ask Magneto if 'e knows they're within 'im. If they are, I know a bloke w'o'll give me w'ot I need t'ave them removed." It was a one-time-only treatment, so they really shouldn't be floating around inside Lensherr, anyway.
Toxin nods. "You should probably report to him as soon as we get back. I told him I wouldn't return until I had found you." She gives him a very faint smile and stands up again, turning and starting for the cockpit. "Is there anything you want before we head back?"
Toad sighs but remains seated. "A sock to the jaw for bein' an idiot." He shakes his head. "Just drive." Yes, he will have to see Magneto as soon as they hit the island. His anger isn't quelled yet, the stove's just been turned down to simmer for now.
"Not your fault she did what she did. All the guys are vulnerable to her." That comes out as more of a mutter than anything, and whether Toad hears it or not, Toxin has no idea. But she does pull the anchor, then start up the speedboat again and they head in the general direction of Brotherhood Island.
Toad's rescue, part one.