7s and 2s

[readsalot]

SIToad - "…Right. I almost forgot where I was. The dickheads are always coming out this time of the season…Fuck it we do it live!"

Time for a test drive.

Click to shrink...

Heh nice
Kick ass Toad

 

[Turnwise]

I hope you enjoyed

Click to shrink...

I did.

So going by the visual changes, enhanced physical condition, some manner of enhanced sight (night vision maybe?) and going by the ridge placement he's either got a boost to his spitting and/or tongue or has some manner of sonic power.

 

[SpectreOfChaos]

Hell yea we ball

 

[Carlos99]

Wooow!!! Thanks for the chapter!!!

 

[onurpower]

What do the ridges mean, anybody got some ideas?

 

[EnygmaSoul]

Might be gills? That'd be more of a Lungfish thing than a Toad thing, but amphibious adaptation seems like a secondary mutation that's on brand for him, and Rebirth might trigger one.

 

[Nicohals J Westerberg]

I really did enjoy, I can't wait to see the beat down next chapter and how his powers grew

 

[WaywardWriter]

Chapter 20: Absolution is Action​

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution. I own the OCs.

---

I was expecting many things to happen once Rebirth activated and the process was complete.

The severe drowsiness that arrived when the light flooded in and the out of body experience was uncomfortable but it wasn't painful. Nor was the sensation of sinking into a warm pool of water, the faint memory of darkness as I plummeted without seeing a bottom in sight incredibly vivid. It was oddly comforting rather than terrifying.

Any chance (or desire) to resist never arose so I just…rode it out.

I didn't feel the transition from my original physicality to Super Soldier level conditioning. Didn't felt a fundamental change begin or end. I just knew that by the time the light had faded and the drowsiness subsided, all I could feel was-

Solidity.

That was the best way to describe how my body felt. There was a strength and steadiness in all my limbs now that made existing…effortless. Even after becoming Toad and gaining firsthand experience of being a low level Superhuman, the feeling of being bound by gravity never quite went away. Even with how light his powers made him.

That ever present drag of gravity pulling you down to the Earth and using the most basic of conscious effort to stand upright. I didn't feel that anymore. The energy loss was so negligible it felt like I was floating. I felt…free.

The moment I opened my eyes; nothing could have prepared for…this.

The world looked different. Colors in the room bloomed to me in ways I never once conceived. Light and heat flowing in ways I could visibly see; refracting off the air and around solid objects. Even with the foggy glass directly in front of me, my vision pierced through it easily and gave high resolution snapshots of the world outside in real time. It was like I was walking around my whole life partially blind and got handed a 4k camera to use as eyeballs.

The difference should have been disorienting. It should have been nausea inducing.

It wasn't. I quickly theorized that my newly enhanced brain was now receiving, processing and relaying every detail back to me in a way that didn't give any strain. Because this would have given my old noggin a fucking headache. That I knew without a shadow of a doubt.

All this went through my head in a fraction of a second, giving even more weight to my theory (You never realize how fast you can think until you gain the ability to process things even faster). Once everything finished coming into focus, I took stock of the development within the lab. I saw the soldiers in black combat gear and wielding military grade weaponry standing at the corners of a smashed open door. I saw a giant of a blond man with a smoldering arm standing in the center.

And I saw the doc, holding the line with the alien gun before turning around and staring up at me in shock. I took all of it in for a second.

Then the blond man went for something on his hip, and I was on the move.

Two things surprised me off the rip, one of which was how the glass gave way at my lunge. Not because it broke or because I didn't think I could do it.

What surprised was how trivial it was to do so. The glass parted like water in my charge instead of the physical material it was, the countless shards bouncing off my skin or leaving tiny white marks rather than piercing it like I thought they would.

The second was my speed. I leapt from the Rebirth Chamber with the same level of strength that's always allowed me to cross close distances in a single bound, if a little stronger to successfully barrel through the glass. Faster than most people are used to but nothing crazy enough to lose track of me.

My surroundings blurred as I flew from my position like I was shot from a railgun, reaching the tall man before he could even blink. I placed my foot in front of me on instinct.

It connected with his chest in an ear ringing, thunderous clap. I felt innumerable unholy cracking and groaning sensations beneath my heel as the force of the impact sent us rocketing out of the lab through the busted door.

The blond man slammed into the concrete, his back cratering the hard surface and sending thousands of cracks spiderwebbing across the wall and up to the ceiling. Dust and fragments of stone flew everywhere, filling the entire space.

'Oh he's dead.' I rationalized internally while lowering my aching foot, the man buried a few inches into the rock and a deep foot imprint left behind on his chest, his head hanging low. He didn't move after that.

The soldiers reacted instantly.

"Hostile Enhanced!"

"Yeah, no shit!"

"Shoot him!"

There were four on my right side and three on the left, all reacting with various levels of surprise and fear to which they pointed their guns at me once enough of the dust cleared.

Despite bearing witness to what was a totally unexpected development (me and them both), they didn't break formation and responded with disciplined quickness.

Problem was, to my eyes, it was like they were moving through quicksand.

They weren't standing completely still, but they were moving so slowly that by the time they fully raised their rifles, I had taken a single long stride and landed right in the middle of the group of four. Now vividly aware of my greatly enhanced strength, I sent an uppercut to one of the soldier's midsection at a quarter of the strength.

The blow sent the soldier flying up a foot into the air. He folded like I took a sledgehammer to his abdomen. Whatever he had to eat earlier was vomited out, the food chunks and stomach acid spilling from his face mask (that was disgusting).

Swiveling on my feet I sent an elbow to the second soldier's chin, this time pulling my punch even more, to the point I felt like I was giving him a love tap.

That love tap snapped the man's head in the opposite direction of my blow, dislocating his jaw and dropping him like a puppet cut from his strings. Coincidentally, he landed the same time the first soldier came falling back down to the earth. I placed both my hands on the backs of the last two and gave them a shove.

I didn't have it in me to be surprised anymore when they were sent flying off their feet, colliding with their compatriots across the hall like human projectiles, the impact of bodies on bodies resulting in the crystal-clear sound of breaking bones and brutalized flesh.

I looked to the soldiers now lying motionless on the ground. 7 heavily armed and presumably trained soldiers, all systematically taken down in what seemed like seconds. Perhaps even less.

And I hadn't even broken a sweat. I stared down at my outstretched hands in silence, turning them over to look at my palms. I rubbed my fingers together as if for the first time in a long while.

Low voices and shuffling feet drew my attention down the hall to the main lobby. Were there more-

I ducked at the sound of an unnaturally heavy hammer being cocked and trigger pulled. A split second later a thick bullet pierced through the space my head was originally occupying and entered the wall, creating a fist sized crater.

'Did I just track that bullet moving through the air?'

That observation was somehow placed on the back burner as I looked to the source of the bullet. Pressing his ruined arm against the wall for support and half hunched over, the blond man pointed what looked like the world's most aggressively customized desert eagle in my direction with a livid expression.

I gave what I thought was a perfectly valid reaction.

"You're still alive?!?"

He responded by shooting at me again. The blond man was significantly faster than his peers, his movements somewhat approaching normal speeds compared to the other soldier's sloth impressions.

Still, by the time he adjusted his aim and took another shot, I had leapt to the ceiling and was running towards him on it.

I rapidly hopped from wall to ceiling to floor as he desperately tried to track and hit me. Each shot from the ridiculously large barrel sounded like a cannon going off with the bullets gouging out holes in the concrete. When I skidded to a stop in front of him he moved to shoot me point blank in the chest and I grabbed his wrist, pulling it harmlessly to the side.

My other hand reached up in the same motion and caught the haymaker meant for my face. That actually succeeded in forcing me back a step; I had to recenter my footing to avoid being thrown off further. The man tried to break my grip on him and while I ultimately held on, it wasn't without a fair share of effort.

'He's stronger than he looks…' My brow rose when I heard the creaking of metal and strange hardness under my hands as he kept trying to escape. Looking away from the blond man's stoic expression of anger (and no small amount of growing bewilderment), I looked down at the fist I was holding and saw the lines of silvered bones revealed inside the burned away skin. There was no blood or muscle tissue inside; just circuity. "Ah. So you're a Cyborg. Or…is it Android?" Callum never did explain the difference, nor did I ever get around to asking Jet about it.

Of course, I wasn't really expecting him to answer so I wasn't surprised when the blond man just tried to headbutt me in the nose.

My knee rose to meet his lower jaw, the sound like a gunshot going off as the bottom of his teeth meet the top, resulting in a clatter of broken metal fragments spraying from his mouth. That part of his jaw became deformed.

As if the partial mutilation of his mouth was a mere inconvenience, the man spat a few of the fragments at my face (to which I leaned to the side) before lunging forward to bite my neck with his remaining teeth, diminished in number but the broken edges gleamed menacingly in their own way.

I released the grip on his fist. He stumbled forward as I stepped to the side and grabbed his other arm tightly in both of my hands.

The man was thrown off his feet as I swung him with all my strength over my shoulder.

The hallway shook from the sheer force of him hitting the ground, making another crater and sending another cloud of dust upward. He immediately tried to stand back up, twisting his arm around to get a better shot and I swung him again, this time into the wall.

Then into the other wall. Then to the ceiling. Then back to the floor again. The last two more times.

Despite being tossed around like a ragdoll for the better part of 20 seconds, the blond man never once cried out in pain or cursed. He didn't even give a single grunt of discomfort. He just kept trying to reposition as best he could, either to break my hold or get a clear shot (it was honestly pretty impressive how he never lost his grip).

Regardless of the tenacity though. By the time I redecorated the sterile corridor with more holes than a poorly made road after hurricane season, I stopped and held him aloft with one hand.

The arm I was holding was completely bent to shit. The joints had long snapped in half at some point and the wrist broken so he was just dangling.

The rest of his body was hardly in better shape. His uniform was shredded to bits, the fake skin underneath full of cracks and pieces of internal wires were exposed, oil like fluids leaking from them. His legs were scuffed and horribly scratched up. He looked like he went through hell.

And he was still trying to bite me!

"You're a trooper huh?" I said, holding him at arm's length so he couldn't get a bite off and swatted away a giant knife thrust meant for my thigh (where the fuck did he get that?).

Tossing him against the wall, I held out an arm as he scrambled to stand up. Considering how things have been going since leaving the Rebirth Chamber, I was prepared to expect anything when using my Mucus.

The sensation of the substances building in my upper chest, the Mucus mixing with the Toxin and mentally diverting the combination to my forearm was familiar as ever, but it took half as much time to create and I only experienced a fraction of the usual exertion.

I flicked my wrist and it splattered over the blond man and the wall, hardening like it always did.

I watched however as the Mucus's yellowish green tint turned darker and darker as seconds passed until it became an almost black green.

I knew my Mucus better than anyone. Even after the discovery of my Toxin and how adding a small amount could greatly elevate its toughness, I knew that my old Mucus would have never held this dude. Not for very long anyway. Now?

His expression was still carved from stone but I could tell he was trying his damn hardest to rip through the stuff…and was failing spectacularly. His arms would move an inch or two before the Mucus's shape would snap them back into place, starting the vicious cycle all over again.

With how strong the guy's blows had felt, the fact he was struggling to even move right now was…

'Holy shit.' That was unreal. How strong was my Mucus now? Was my Toxin equally as affected? Would my regular slime have some notable differences? (I didn't feel anything different right now but a closer inspection later may reveal something).

It seemed stupid to be so surprised at this development considering how much stronger and faster I got but a physical increase from the Rebirth Process was always a sure thing in my mind. That aspect stayed the same no matter the universe.

The chance it would directly alter my Mutant abilities was less assured. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth, the implications just hitting m-

A croak echoed throughout the hall.

I froze. So did the blond man, if temporarily. My hand found my throat and became aware of the countless little bumps lining my neck. A probing touch revealed they were almost uniform going down; arranged in curved ridges.

I stared at the man. He stared back.

"That was…You heard that too right?"

"…"

I looked away from the blond man to the shuffle of multiple heavy footfalls coming down the hall. I spotted another group of soldiers walking down from the main hall and to the lab. Their weapons were at the ready and there were 8 of them. I squinted at the strange, unnaturally bright orbs at the tips of their guns.

A blink later and the orbs, that were shining an oppressive white light, weakened to a much more manageable soft white. Their forms also got a lot clearer and I saw that they were flashlights.

I didn't realize before because I was too busy avoiding gunfire and getting used to my power, but were the lights turned off outside the lab? The ting between the lab and outside the hall was subtle but noticeable now that I got a chance to breath. Can I see in the dark now?

'Right. Toads have a sort of night vision, don't they?' Pretty sure I read that somewhere. I also remembering reading that they couldn't really see all that far with most things becoming blurry at a certain distance but I could easily see the moment the soldiers rounded the corner at the end of the corridor and begin their approach.

The soldiers made it part of the way in middle of my musings. I wondered if the Rebirth Process integrated with my Mutation to give me the eyes of a toad and the vision of a peak Human, the two merging their best parts into one whole. It would explain how I could see color in the dark as well without my vision being impaired by plain old light.

I stepped forward when they finally saw me, near all of their flashlights snapping in my direction. Their frames stiffened at the sight of all their compatriots on the ground (I assumed), and I didn't need my newly enhanced senses to notice their poorly-hidden worry.

"H-Hands up!" The leading soldier yelled, not very confidently at that. "Identify yourself!"

I tilted my head at that, an idea entering my head. Should I? My short pause caused the blond man to scowl and turned his head (as best he could anyway) to the men, speaking with a broken lisp.

"Jut oot him alre-"

I took a breath. An unconscious action that I've done countless times in both lives, I didn't feel the usual sensation of my chest getting full of air well past the point it should have. I took in more and more and more air without pause.

And there, at the very bottom of my sight, I saw the skin around my neck and parts of my chest bulge to an unnatural size.

Experimentation with new abilities in the middle of combat was never a good idea; that was something I knew even before gaining powers. In the heat of battle, unproven abilities would more likely than not be a detriment than an asset. It was common sense.

Still. I kept breathing in until I felt my lungs finally reach full capacity and-

Croak.

I lost all sense of hearing for a moment, and a ripple went out in waves through the air.

The entire hallway shook violently. Even more dust and stone fell from the ceiling as what I could only describe as a localized shockwave squeezed its way down the corridor in front of me.

The shockwave slammed into the soldiers like a physical wall, sending them flying off their feet and carrying them all the way back to the main hall, their bodies banging against the walls and ceiling as they were swept away. If they made cries of surprise or pain when they landed near a hundred feet away in the other room, I didn't hear it.

All I knew was that when the shockwave ended and the air stopped rippling, my hearing returned with a small popping sound. I unconsciously clicked my tongue.

The soldiers were piled in a corner in the main lobby, having met an actual wall where the shockwave pushed them. I glanced over to the blond man who was staring at me with wide eyes (that was the first real sign of emotion I've seen from him). I scratched my slightly sore throat in contemplation.

…Dude.

'Oh, there you are.' I thought absentmindedly, still ruminating on the earlier sensation. 'You were real quiet through all of that.'

Yeah, no shit. I didn't want to distract you and I was too busy just keeping track of…everything going on.

'Ah…That makes sense I guess.'

Seriously man, that was…that was…holy fucking shit!

I couldn't help it. A soft snort leaked out, followed by a louder yet still contained laugh.

'Holy fucking shit indeed…' A wide smile spread across a smile as I rolled my shoulders, admiring the newfound strength filling my body. While I had expected my physical parameters to improve after Rebirth, the sheer level they were brought to boggled the mind. Add in the fact my other Mutant abilities were also amplified?

This was a game changer. And while I knew on a base intellectual level it just wasn't true (not by a long shot), in this very moment…I felt invincible.

'The doc does some damn good wo-'

Lionel. My eyes widened and I hurriedly turned around to run into the lab but stopped at the threshold. Glancing back at the stuck blond man, his scowl returned with full force when I splashed him with a bit more of my Mucus, adding an extra layer on top (just to be safe).

Reentering the lab, I immediately saw that the doc wasn't in the front of the Rebirth Chamber anymore. Quickly scanning the room and taking a jog around the terminals, I ended up finding him huddled in a corner, hiding behind the terminal in charge of the facilities' cameras.

"Doc." I called out to him and, like a skittish animal, Lionel snapped around and leveled the alien rifle at me. I stopped and held up my arms. "Whoa. Easy doc, it's just me."

"T-Todd?" He asked hesitantly and I nodded, smiling softly.

"Yeah. It's me. Sorry for scaring you back there; I figured I had to act quickly before things got more dangerous but I dealt with the men out there." I explained. "Are you alright?"

My question seemed to mollify the doc because he lowered the rifle with a relief breath, his body slouching. His expression was pale and he was little out of breath but overall, he looked fine.

"I-I'm okay. Shaken up, but I'll live." He said before looking up at me, a skeptical light in his eyes. "What about you? Are…Do you feel okay? Does anything hurt? Does anything feel…wrong?"

I could hear the worry in his voice at the questions, his worst fears from previous Rebirths still fresh in his mind even after learning how Mutants were the key to making it work. Raising a hand under his view, clenching and unclenching it, I stared at it in thoughtful wonder.

"Honestly doc?...I don't think I've ever felt better than I do right now. I feel incredible."

Lionel slowly stood up at my claim, grabbing my hand for support and gave me a long look over. He got up close and personal, placing a hand on my arms, shoulder and my torso, prodding and asking if anything came back painful.

When I shook my head he did a whole lap around me, double checking if I was hurt in the fight. He even took a look at my neck and it was through him that I learned my eyes were now different.

He asked me again if I was sure. That I was really, really sure nothing felt odd and could be worrying. Apparently even the most successful Super Soldiers who lasted weeks beyond the usual average would exit the procedure feeling lethargic and with acute sensitivity in places that, by all science, should not be giving them pain.

There was nothing. No pain or out of place strain, even after that fight. I was the picture of health. He fell silent for a long moment.

Then he grabbed both my shoulders, a stunned expression on Lionel.

"We did it…" He whispered.

"We did it." I echoed with a smile. A laugh full of disbelief and what must have been years of repressed exhaustion exited him, culminating in a massive bear hug.

I was careful in returning the hug, not wanting to accidentally hurt the old man with what I think is a simple pat on the back. Giving him a moment when I heard sniffles, we eventually separated and Lionel gave me a pointed look.

"We need to take samples. Do blood work and the like; you may not feel it now but it's important we double check while we have the means to do it properly."

"I'm game, but we should probably deal with the guys outside first before getting into that." I said and Lionel blinked.

"Oh. R-Right. Yes, you're right. I got a bit too excited there." Rubbing his eyes tiredly, the older man steeled his expression a second later. "Let's see what we're dealing with before getting to work."

"I didn't see any iconography on the soldiers when I was taking them down. The only other person still awake is this real friendly conversationalist but I don't think he's in the mood to answer our questions. Probably best to just check their pockets and see what we find."

"Actually." Lionel started with a deep frown. "I might have an idea who this might be…"

We exited the lab after that Lionel a step behind me while I surveyed the corridor. The unconscious soldiers were just where I left them, their shallow breathing indicating they were still alive. Others were a lot more quiet.

The blond man was also still stuck to the wall. His murderous expression was very prevalent and it went unchanged at the sight of us. Lionel scanned him and up down, taking special note of his cybernetics where they were obvious past the Mucus prison. His frown grew heavier after a moment.

"I wasn't able to check before, but getting a closer look, it looks like I was right."

"You know him?" I asked with a quirked brow and Lionel shook his head.

"Not personally but I have heard of him from others who worked on the project to make people like him." Lionel said and gave the blond man a scrutinizing glare. "Considering there was only one real success…Todd, meet Frank Simpson. Officially known as Weapon VII, though the people who worked on him gave him the nickname Scourge."

"Weapon VII?" I blinked in surprise, giving the silent Frank a curious look. "He was part of Weapon Plus?"

"Yes. Like all projects he was meant to be the next way to making Super Soldiers. They went the cyborg route but supposedly scrapped the whole thing when it got too expensive to create and maintain them; even the weaker and slower ones. There were also a lot of compatibility problems. Most of the time, the body would just flat out reject the cybernetics and those that didn't needed a bunch of drugs to exist without immense hormonal imbalance."

Wasn't Wolverine known as Weapon X or something? Wouldn't that make this guy his predecessor or something? That…That sounds pretty major.

Frank's glare shifted to Lionel momentarily at the lore drop before moving back to at me.

"You'e aking a maive mitake."

"Is that right?" I drawled.

"You hae no idea wo you-"

"Clichémooksaywhat?"

"…Wha-"

I slapped more Mucus over Frank's mouth, preventing him from saying the rest of what he wanted. It wasn't like we were going to get anything useful out of him. If he had heat vision, my head would have combusted into flame by how scorching his glare became.

A courtesy searching of his pockets and those of the soldiers didn't net us much else. Other than the standard military grade gear like pistols, assault rifles, grenades (I was keeping a couple of those), body armor, etc. none of the soldiers had personal items hidden away in their pockets. There was no obvious connection to Weapon Plus on their persons that we could find.

What, were you expecting to find a "Welcome to Evil Group number 185" Handbook or something? We're up as it is; let's not press our luck.

Most of Frank's clothes and equipment were shredded beyond repair after our fight. Wrenching the heavily customized desert eagle from his grasp and storing the giant knife away, I applied a bit of my Toxin to the Mucus weakening its firmness just enough to rip the man from the wall without taking a part of it with him.

Every unconscious soldier was stripped of any communication device and I dragged them into the Subject Quarters, throwing them into the cells (I gave Frank his own personal cell) before sealing the door shut with a copious amount of Mucus.

They weren't getting out of there any time soon.

"Probably for the best we don't stick around." I said after the doc took a couple samples from me. Rubbing the place where he drew blood, I sat up in the patient's chair and watched as he brought them over to the lab's computer. "If Weapon Plus did send them here then they're going to notice when they don't report in. A back up team will definitely show up."

And? We'll just kick their asses too. The world ain't ready for the true, and improved Toad!

'Easy there. That kind of thinking is just asking for trouble.' If Weapon Plus learns that not a single member of the team returned then they'll assume whatever they dealt with was beyond their capability to even escape. They'll be cautious. They won't send a weaker or less equipped task force.

Whoever comes next, Weapon Plus will have sent them with the confidence that they'll succeed where Frank and his team failed. Better safe than sorry in that scenario to get out of dodge.

Lionel didn't disagree with that assessment. The older man gave a curt nod before returning to his implements and studying my Rebirth altered genes, my previous DNA already on the screen to use as comparison.

Seeing him so focused, I hopped off the chair and took a long stretch. Bending backwards until the back of my head touched my butt (not much change in terms of flexibility), I righted myself and glanced over to one of the large screens in the lab. It was offline so I saw my reflection in the black screen. I already asked Lionel on how I looked but seeing it firsthand?

On the surface, not much had changed physically. I gained a bit of mass around my shoulder and chest area while growing a couple inches in height. Months of physical conditioning and proper nutrition had allowed me to gain a bit more muscle and with the Rebirth Process, any leftover baby fat was wiped away leaving an utterly chiseled physique.

We got abs! Actual abs!

The biggest changes were the dotted ridges on my upper torso and my eyes.

Beginning at my underjaw, these tiny bumps covered the front of my neck and went down my chest in an almost diamond shape, ending at the top of my navel. The skin where the ridges were was also paler than the rest. It wasn't lost on me how that had been the section to expand when doing my new croaking blast.

Then there were the eyes. Taking a step forward, I stared straight into my reflection's eyes with a long look. A low whistle rang in my subconscious.

Wow. We got some pretty ass eyes now…Never thought that description would ever be used when talking about us.

My former sickly green irises had been replaced by almost glowing emerald ones. Little flakes of black dotted the backdrop of the green and my pupils had changed into pitch black horizontal slits. They were pretty cool, that I couldn't deny.

They were also incredibly obvious. Any person could take one look and immediately pick up on the fact they looked nothing like human eyes with the inhuman glow actually getting brighter when the light hit them just right.

Paradoxically, they shined even harder in the dark.

'That's going to be annoying to hide…' Unless I wore some shades to cover my eyes, going around and talking to people was going to be a pain in the ass. 'Oh well. Scott makes it work; no reason I can't.'

Other than those two things I didn't really look any different. Cracking my neck, I looked to the doc who was deep in his work and got an idea. Grabbing my pants (I was still in my underwear), I quickly put it on while moving towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Seeing my movement, Lionel turned to ask. Not stopping, I gave him a cheeky grin over my shoulder.

"Not far. Since you look busy I thought I'd go for a walk until you're done. While that-" I gestured to the destroyed hallway. "-was very informative, I think a proper test drive is order. I still got a lot to see."

"…Don't go too nuts."

My grin widened at that.

---

Making sure the door was secure and there were no more surprises in the surroundings, I left the Cathcart facility for the surrounding forest. As promised, I didn't plan to go far. Close enough where I can get back to Lionel very quickly if need be but far enough I can really cut loose.

And I wanted to cut loose. My energy levels were still through the roof from that earlier fight. I hadn't seen the new limits of my enhanced state and learning them was all I could think about.

It was mid-morning when the doc came telling me about his discovery and how we were ready to do a Rebirth. Considering the procedure took just 5 minutes and the whole fight with Frank and his team took even less time than that, the sun was just cresting above the horizon and casting a morning glow across the mountain when I stepped outside.

And it was beautiful. If I thought the cold, dusty lab inside Cathcart was nice to look at upon awakening, then Paradise Peak in the morning was as I returned to the Astral Plane Holly sent me all that time ago.

The rays from the sky pierced through the clouds and littered across the land like golden pillars. The long patches of grass stuck out like seas of green and warm browns. Even the rocks, gray and monotone, glistened in the right light (and to my eyes, they were always in the right light). Looking up at the endless sapphire blue sky, I took a long refreshing breath.

Yeah, yeah. It's all very gorgeous and zen or whatever. Just hurry up so we can get a move on. I wanna see how high we can leap now!

I exhaled softly at Toad's impatience. I couldn't blame him though. I was curious myself. Looking down at my feet, I squared them and got into the same familiar crouch I've done hundreds if not thousands of times before. I took a beat.

The first thing I heard was a muffled bang. I realized a second after I was in the air, after jumping with all my strength, that it was the spot where I had leapt from. The gravel and stone under my feet had been smashed to pieces by the sheer force of my jump.

The wind buffeted my face. The acceleration from my initial jump refused to peter out as I went higher and higher into the sky. The ground got farther and farther away until, finally, gravity retook hold. I reached the peak of my jump.

Then began my downward arc.

"Whoooooaaaaa!"

I cheered up uproariously as I flew down the side of the mountain at breakneck speeds. Countless rocks, wildflower beds and bushes passed under me in a blur. I passed beaten paths and over small canyons like a toad shaped meteor.

Eventually, the downward arc of my jump was also ending, so I braced for my landing.

I almost shouldn't have. I landed on a patch of grass, and besides a sharp jolt shooting up from the bottom of my feet to the rest of my body (which disappeared as quickly as it arrived), there was no other effect. I was unscathed.

The surrounding grass couldn't say the same. My landing kicked up a veritable shower of dirt, grass and stone, scattering the materials in every which way with impunity. Blinking away at the dirt that got lodged in my face, I looked down to see that my landing had caused a large crater.

I looked upward. Seeing Paradise Peak looming high above, my gaze landed on where I leapt from and where the lab was. I did the mental calculations of how far I jumped…and did it twice when I thought it was a mistake.

It wasn't.

Did…D-Did we just go from halfway up the mountain to the very base of it? In one jump?

'Yes.' I thought, equally as flabbergasted. 'Yes, we did…'

Toad had no follow up.

Of course, I knew the curvature of the mountain helped us cover more ground. The downward angle and riding that arc meant I traveled much farther than if I were to have jumped from flat land. I knew that.

…Still.

'That was fucking sick.' I smiled like a child on Christmas morning. Taking another glance up the mountain, I crouched before shooting off with another holler.

I leapt up and down Paradise Peak for the better part of half an hour. I was proven correct in my initial assessment when I tried to see how far I could jump up the mountain and it was far less than the first jump that carried me, though with the added benefit of my landing being much more controllable and not nearly as destructive. My original limit for how far I could jump was a couple dozen feet in a broad jump and maybe 50 or so feet straight into the air.

I was crossing hundreds of feet with a single strong jump and at my highest vertical leap, I could easily reach over a 100 to 150 feet in the air. When I make it back to a city, I would be able to casually scale skyscrapers with just one or two jumps.

Close, tighter jumps were even crazier. Like in the lab I was a blur to the world whenever I jumped to a spot within a dozen feet, the shorter bursts containing enough power to carry me anywhere within that radius in a fraction of a second and my enhanced sight allowing me to move with that kind of speed without experiencing horrible tunnel vision.

Honestly, out of all the things I got from Rebirth, these eyes were quickly becoming my new favorite addition.

They definitely would have been nice to have when facing against Pietro in that sewer. Guarantee that fight would have gone a lot different with these bad boys.

I reached the peak of the mountain in just over 40 high jumps. The peak itself was thousands of feet from sea level and was topped with layers of snow.

I took a breath of the thin chilly air, mindful to take longer breaths to make up for the lack of oxygen. Walking across the snowbank, I spotted a man tall boulder lying off to the side, untouched for who knew how many years at the top of this mountain.

I lashed out with my tongue and it instantly crossed the dozen feet to wrap around the boulder. I became aware of each individual muscle on my tongue, each twitching and straining as I mentally commanded it to lift the boulder. For a moment nothing happened.

The ancient stone made an echoing groan as it was lifted from its spot. Holding what was probably a multi ton hunk of rock aloft in the air, and feeling a mild strain, I generated my Toxin and sent it up the extended appendage.

I watched dispassionately as the boulder melted right down the middle, both pieces falling back to the ground in loud thuds that echoed across the area. My somewhat sore tongue returned to my mouth and I rubbed my chin in thought.

That hadn't been the best experiment when it came to seeing if my Toxin had changed. Even before the procedure my Toxin could melt through things like metal, stone, and even alien materials like nothing. I'd have to find something really resistance to corrosive elements to test it.

At this point, the sun rose above high enough that it reached the top of the peak pushing away the shadows up here and reflecting off the snow, making them appear extra sparkly. I smiled at the sight and closed my eyes basking in the warm rays. Not that I needed to. It wasn't even that cold-

'Wait.' I thought, opening my eyes with a frown. 'I've been up here for a few minutes, shirtless and bare foot at that, but I haven't gotten cold at all.'

It was only than did I realize that I was running hot. I didn't know when but at some point, it felt like someone placed a furnace in my abdomen. There was warmth and it was spreading throughout my body with ease; enough to banish the cold.

At first I thought it was a complication from Rebirth and I was prepared to book it back to Lionel but realized that the heat simmered when I thought about it. Pausing I pressed a hand to my stomach and, after a moment's hesitation, projected the desire for the temperature to rise.

My eyes widened when the heat did so, returning to the original temperature and warming me up. A couple more tests, exerting a level of concentration that was very similar to generating my slimes, I learned the heat can reach a low simmer that made it practically nonexistent and unnoticeable.

While upping the heat actually made my skin warm to the touch, the cold outside unable to faze me, even when a strong wind passed by.

…So you got the power to warm yourself up?…That's cool, I guess…

It was quite a random power to gain. Was there some obscure species of toad that can regulate their own body temperature? I looked my right hand where I sent a portion of the heat (looks like could control that too) and tilted my head curiously when that hand began to lightly steam in the current air but there was no pain.

Oh well. As far as extra esoteric powers went, this wasn't so bad-

My hand lit on fire. Literally.

One second it looked like a regular if greenish arm, the next a plum of emerald and orange tinted flames erupted from it, coating it up to the elbow in a bonfire of eldritch looking fire.

I blinked. I blinked twice. Staring down at the burning limb my mind blanked for a long, long second.

…What the fu-

What the fu-

---

"…"

"…"

"…Ignite your slime?"

"Yes."

"…Okay." Lionel began diplomatically; his expression hyper focused to make sense of what he just learned. "…Why?"

"It's one of my new abilities. I thought it just made all my slime ignitable now but I tried using regular flames to light some on fire and got nothing there. I'm thinking it's an intent thing and the slime only activates when it's exposed to my body heat raised to a certain level."

"No, I get that part…kind of. Your other power make sense with the context that they're all based on the natural abilities of a toad. Your enhanced sight, your ability to jump very high, your slime and even your croaking sonic wave thing, that's all acceptable…but why can your slime ignite?"

"Perhaps the combination of my peak Human DNA and toad physiology granted another weapon to use against what could be considered a predator to me?"

"…That's not how nature works Todd."

"Yeah. I was talking out of my ass there. I honestly don't know doc; your best guess is as good as mine."

I smiled in amusement at his exasperation as I focused on the road. After returning to the lab after my power test run, the doc had all but begged for a little more time to finish up. Considering everything he's done for me I didn't have it in me to refuse and we ended staying a couple more hours in the facility.

I stayed on high alert on the outside while Lionel finished his work. I didn't want to get caught flat footed if Weapon Plus sent a follow up team. At the first sign of trouble, I was grabbing the older man and hopping for the hills.

Thankfully, he ended up finishing with what he was doing once it hit a little after noon. His bag packed and full of his things, we stood at the entrance of the laboratory. Finding a few more explosives among the soldier's things, we stuck them to the terminals, machines and a couple on the support pillars. Handing Lionel a grenade, the older man took one last look at the lab and the Rebirth Chamber with a stoney expression.

Then he pulled the pin and chucked it inside.

As we walked away, the facility shook as flames and shrapnel exited the lab entrance before the crumbling of earth buried it all with an echoing silence.

And so we left. Leaping down the mountain with Lionel on my back, we got into my truck and drove away from Paradise Peak. We didn't return to Winnemucca, instead going around the small town and heading straight to Reno. It was a couple hours out but neither of us were in a hurry.

The doc had gone quiet after my revelation, choosing to stare out of the window for the remainder of the drive. I entered the city and Lionel asked for me to drop him off somewhere. Obliging without much fanfare, we reached the spot in a short amount of time.

"Are you sure here's okay?" I asked as I slowed to stop on a mostly empty street, to our immediate left was a crosswalk leading to a train station. "I can bring you somewhere farther you know. I got nowhere to be."

"Thank you for the offer…but this is fine. It'll be enough to take me where I need to go."

Lionel said this in a strange tone and I glanced at the older man to see that he was staring off into space, not even looking to the train station. My prepared goodbye dying on my tongue at his expression.

"So." I said instead, palming my steering wheel. "What do you plan to do next?"

Lionel didn't answer at first. Continuing to stare off into the distance, I was going to ask my question again, thinking he didn't hear me.

Then he leaned down. Opening his bag at his foot he delicately grabbed something and slowly held it up.

It was a vial. A small, clear vial full of a greenish blue liquid held between his pointer finger and his thumb. I looked to it, then to Lionel. I did this a few more times.

"…And what is that?" I finally asked and Lionel's expression became full of melancholy.

"The key." He said cryptically, before snorting softly. "It's funny. I never expected to be able to synthesize it so quickly…but I guess that's just the thing about answers. Once you have them, everything else just clicks into place."

I'm lost.

So was I…Waiting a little longer, my patience was rewarded when Lionel continued.

"It's the key Todd. To making Rebirth work. Inside this little vial holds the path to the future. With it, humanity can finally take that next step in the evolutionary ladder. Everyone better, stronger. Healthier. With this a person can survive the Rebirth Procedure…That, or it could be used to stabilize the process already done to a good innocent man, who sacrificed whatever time he had left to do the right thing."

……

D-Did he just-

"Doc." I ignored the pounding of my heart at the reveal and stared straight at the older man. "Are you sure about this? A 100 percent sure?"

"That's the thing Todd. I haven't been sure about anything for a very, very long time." Lionel admitted with a forlorn face. "But this? I have not a doubt in my mind...I've forgotten what that feels like."

I leaned back in my seat at that, the confidence in his voice surprising me. Nearly as much as the unspoken plan he was clearly brewing. I looked between the vial and the doc a couple more times.

"…How are you going to do it then?" I eventually asked. "Are you going to get in contact with Shield?"

"Hell no." He said with a snarl. "After everything they've done? Everything they let happen? No. No I don't trust them with this. They're just as likely to tamper with it and mess something up than get it to where it belongs."

"Then…how?"

"I'll figure something out."

"Figure something out? Doc, it won't be as simple as you entering where they're keeping him and jamming a dormant super soldier with that vial. You won't even get close. It's suic-"

A hand was placed on my shoulder. I looked up to see Lionel holding onto me…and became stunned at the soft, completely free of guilt smile on his face.

"It's fine Todd. Let this old man worry about the details. You got what you wanted; we're even. There's no need to stress yourself about this anymore. And you've done more than enough to deserve that much." He said, letting go of my shoulder and leaned back in his seat with that same smile. "Thank you."

"…For what?" I asked lowly and his smile got a little wider.

"For everything. My whole life, I thought my penance was to rot away somewhere, alone and afraid in some forgotten corner of the world. I thought that's what I deserved. You taught me that wasn't true. Absolution…it doesn't come for those who do nothing. It only responds to action. So, thank you. For allowing a worthless old man the chance to take that action."

I was utterly tongued tied as Lionel gathered his things, gave me a pat on the shoulder and exited his side. Standing at the open door, he leaned down to give me one last smile.

"I'm glad I got to meet you, Todd Tolansky."

He closed it after that, and I watched through the window as he walked to the train station, his head held higher than I've ever seen it. Lionel always seemed to walk with a drag to his feet like something was weighing them down. It was almost unnatural to see him move so smoothly and with such ease.

And so I sat there. Watching as Lionel walked to the train station with purposeful steps, his back straight as

I didn't move.

…Oh just go ahead already. Sappy bitches I swear...

I placed the truck in drive and roughly turned the wheel. Doing a quick U turn on the wide main street, going over the sidewalk in the middle to reach him, Lionel turned around with a flinch as I stopped the truck right next to him.

He looked at me with wide eyes when I opened the passenger side door.

"Tod-"

"Get in." I said, cutting him off. "I'm going to help you."

He fell silent at that, staring at the open door and seat for a long second before responding with-

"Why?"

Why? In the moment, I had many answers to that, some I wasn't fully confident on. Maybe the thought of allowing the old man to go on what was essentially a suicide mission by himself didn't quite sit right with me. Maybe I wanted the glory of helping cure the first Super Soldier and being the catalyst for Captain America returning to the world. Maybe I had nothing else going on.

Or maybe, just maybe, his speech on absolution hit harder than expected. Ever since I came this universe and got my powers, most if not all of my actions were done with selfish intent behind them. I haven't made a truly honest, selfless decision with any of my superhuman abilities, and perhaps this would be a good first thing to do after going through Rebirth. To start at least.

Perhaps none of those were true. Perhaps they all were. I wasn't really sure.

There was one thing however, I was confident was true.

"Because. You were wrong." I said with the straightest of faces…before making a long, wide grin. "You said we were even. We're not. I got way more out of this little deal than you…And I don't like leaving a friend hanging."

His face went blank at the claim, before he steeled his expression and gave a nod. Without another word Lionel entered the truck, slamming the door behind him with finality. He looked to me as I pulled the truck away and down the road.

"It'll be dangerous." Lionel warned, to which I gave a laugh.

"That's my secret doc." I said with a grin full of teeth. "I'm always in danger."

Giving an amused smile at that, I followed his directions to our next stop, a highway that I can take up to Alaska. Apparently, the location of the frozen captain himself was not as secret as I once thought. Better for us I suppose.

I pressed on the gas.

Time to go wake up a Legend.

---

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you all, the Super Toad! I was worried of making him too strong but in the Marvel universe, this advancement still doesn't let Toad break into the true heavy weights. Barely even in the middle weights. There's still plenty of people that could kick Toad's ass if he isn't careful so I went a little ham.

In essence, and in order, this is the list of new stuff Toad got (for those who want an easier spread):

• Super Soldier Vision + Toad Eyes = Enhanced Perception/Night vision, 4k resolution, Superhuman Movement Processing
• Greater Strength, Speed, Durability, and Senses (Smell, Taste, Hearing, and Touch)
• Sonic Croak
• Ignition Slime
• Longevity (he's not aware of it now since there's no real way to test that)

I erred on the side of caution from giving him too many abilities that were different from his main continuity. The Sonic croak is the only ability that isn't canon to any other version of Toad, which is weird as fuck considering that's the main thing anyone knows from toads. In the main universe the closest thing he had was a wind breath that can knock Wolverine on his ass. Impressive, but not very toad like.

Also yes, the Ignition Slime thing is a real ability the main toad has. It doesn't make much sense to me either.

I hope you enjoyed!

 

[Carlos99]

Thanks for the chapter!!

 

[Nicohals J Westerberg]

Thanks for another chapter, the ignition slime took me completely off gaurd tho lol
Tho I suppose despite many mutants having themes it's not like they always stay to that theme completely

 

[SpectreOfChaos]

dude at some point he's got to go rob A.I.M. and evolve into a thermite Toad like a Pokemon evolution getting more fire like each stage

 

[WaywardWriter]

Thanks for another chapter, the ignition slime took me completely off gaurd tho lol
Tho I suppose despite many mutants having themes it's not like they always stay to that theme completely

Click to shrink...

It was pretty weird for me too when I found to find out that's an ability the main Toad has in his universe. Lionel's reaction was honestly my own to that knowledge