Title: Todd

Author: Hebi R.

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution. As Todd might say, 'nuff said.

Yo, there's a reason I eat flies. 't's not like they're my favorite food or nuthin', even if they do call me Toad. An' I don't really like wearing the same damn thing all the time, or my hygiene. This stuff just kinda happened.

Look, my parents ain't bad people. My family has issues, just like everybody's. 'ts not like they beat me or nuthin'. They don't really wanna drink all the time; they just don't know what else ta do. So, mosta the welfare cash went ta pay for their booze, and I stole school lunches. And, once I got my powers, ate flies. They tasted really bad at first, but I got usta 'em. High protein and whatever. I didn't really have the option of bein' all picky. An' before you say it, my parent's didn't ditch me for bein' a mutant. They wanted me ta live in at the Brotherhood 'cause they knew it would be better for me, gettin' decent food an' stuff. They call sometimes. I visit a couple time a month, an' they're always happy ta see me. We're lovin' and stuff, but kinda broken too, ya get it?

Look, I don't feel too bad stealin' luches from anybody who's drivin' around in a convertable or somethin' an' probably buys 'is lunch anyway. I'd work for my food if I could, but it ain't happening. Come on, if you were some fast food joint, or store or whatever, would you hire me? Didn't think so. The more I wash, the faster I sweat slime. Gave up after awhile. I brush my teeth twice a day, but they stay green and my breath still stinks. I ain't gonna get a job. So, same clothes every day, and I keep eating flies.

Now, from what I hear, they gave me some sorta trial run up at the mansion once. An' when I failed, the jerks wiped my memory. What'd they expect? I ain't gonna fit in up there. No table manners for one. Heck, we don't even have a table back home. Well, we had an old card table, but it's not the kinda thing you use for them fancy dinners an' stuff like I bet they have up there. Hey, I wanna eat some snails, I don't need ta make a big deal 'bout it. An' I never heard that they gave blue boy a test before they let 'im in. My powers just ain't powerful enough for them X-Geeks. Who needs 'em. As if I went an' picked out my powers. Look, if I coulda picked bein' super fast or makin' stuff float around instead a' hopin' an' havin' a long tongue an' slime, I woulda.

I like the Brotherhood for a reason. They accept me here. I remember once, Lance went out ta the store, an' picked up like, a whole ton of different soaps and shampoo an' stuff. Pietro acted like it was some kinda…'clinical trial,' he called it. I used one product each day, an' they figured out which worked best on me. An' then, nobody ever mentioned my hygiene again, but they always made sure ta buy the right stuff.

Freddy knows what it's like better'n anyone else. Maybe that's why he's my best bud. I've seen 'im try to diet an' stuff. It don't matter how much or how little he eats, he's still gonna be the same size, an' people are gonna make fun of him. What they don't know is how much he likes all that health crud. Freddy'll eat chips and stuff, but he also eats tons of fruits and veggies. He thinks he might become a vegetarian. Say's if he's gonna hafta eat so much, he doesn't wanna be eatin' stuff that feels pain.

An' Wanda. She's messed up, yeah, but she has reason to be. Her dad's a real piece a' work. She couldn't control her powers as a kid, so he abandoned her. He had her locked up in some nuthouse, an' never visited her or let Pietro see her neither. She has nightmares all the time where I hear her screamin' for her ol' man. She says she's sorry, she'll never do it again, please don't send her away. The only time she lets me touch her is when I wake her up, an' she cries. I'm thinkin' that maybe when he was tryin' to teach her to control her powers, ol' man Xavier shoulda been tellin' her it wasn't her fault instead. Maybe she'd be able to control her powers if someone helped her fix her mind.

See, here's the reall difference 'tween us and those X-greeks. They keep tryin' ta pass for normal. We know we ain't never gonna be normal, and we're tryin' ta deal with that. Yeah, I know everyone knows who they are now, but they keep at it. They're all tryin' ta pretend that beein' a mutant don't mean more'n havin' blue eyes or bein' double jointed. Tell that ta me'n Freddy. An' if ya look at who they let in, ya gotta think they only want the pretty mutants or ones with real special powers an' stuff.

I know I'm the Toad, an' no matter how much I wanna just be Todd, that ain't gonna happen.

I ain't gonna try and play superhero so people'll tolerate me bein' in their presence. I'm not bitter anymore, 'cause I got my buds. I don't worry 'bout where my next meal's comin from no more. I'm just real sick of people actin' like I don't exist, or like I'm somethin' that exists just for them to mock. If the only way I'm gonna get a little respect is ta fight for it, I'll do that. But I ain't gonna fight for the same jerks who try to trample me. An' if you don't wanna try an' understand me, at least don't try an' make me somethin' I'm not.