Hungry

The house was quiet. Scary quiet. Lance couldn’t help but shudder as he splashed his face with freezing water from the bathroom sink. His reflection was paler and sick looking. He hadn’t really expected anything less, however, considering he’d just mated with a cannibal. He swallowed hard, eyes looking towards the door that separated him from said beast. Todd was on the other side, curled up in a blanket in the hallway, awaiting his “lover’s” return. Lance had tried to get him to come into the bathroom and wash up as well, mostly to keep an eye on him, but not even blood could get the toad to get clean. Thus, they had split up, to the fear of the rock tumbler.

As far as he could figure, Todd switched personalities against his will. Not completely against his will, as there was something driving that other half. But the teammate who was such a coward in battle could never have committed the acts the animal had. That was a given. So, there had to of been a trigger that changed them. What it was and why it had suddenly appeared, Lance had no idea. That alone scared him. Not to mention the fact that said monster could be waiting for him instead of the gentle boy he actually knew.

Which brought to mind his other fear. Another shudder went down his spine. This two faced person was his mate. He knew from class that certain animals only mated once, for life, and their partners never, ever varied. He’d never thought Todd had been one of those, as he seemed to have crushes on just about every Gothic girl he met. However, he was. Now, Lance was his chosen mate. From what had been said and done by both sides, he knew, without a doubt, both of them accepted him as the mate and he had no chance of escaping that fate. What that implied, he wasn’t sure. He figured Todd would just like the company. The other side, though, that was where everything faded to grey. Surely, they would mate again. That warm feeling was pleasant enough to cause the rock tumbler some ease. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this partnership meant something much more and would cost him dearly, especially if the animal version of Todd continued to rear it’s ugly, blood thirsty head.

“ I wonder when we’ll mate next...” he mumbled into a towel, before taking a deep breath and opening the door. He wasn’t sure whether he expected a head swimming kiss or an attack, but he certainly wasn’t expecting what he got when that door opened.

Todd was gone.

“ Holy fuck!! No! No! TODD!! TOAD!! WHERE ARE YOU!!” he screamed, body moving without command. He found himself ripping open all the doors on the top floor, his throat growing raw from his frantic yells. His feet found their way down the stairs and all time froze. His spine went rigid, his legs straight, his hands hung limply at his sides, as the world went black for a second. Air vanished, light dimmed, and there was nothing more then that pounding in his chest that must of been his heart.

Lance let out a cry, his hands grasping his face. The blanket laid across the stained floor, bathed in the light of the day. The front door was wide open and there were footprints in the dirt, right down to the sidewalk.

Todd wasn’t just gone. He was loose. He was on the hunt.

Someone was about to die.

The mutant burst from the Boarding House and bolted down the driveway. He turned right and ran down the street he knew led to the Xavier Institute. Somehow he knew that was where the toad had gone. Something in his gut told him so. And he had to get there fast, he just had to. He didn’t have time to waste in the rush hour traffic he knew was going on throughout Bayville. He had to warn the X-Men. They didn’t know about the danger Todd now posed. They didn’t know. And somehow, Lance just knew Todd was on the hunt. He was hungry again.

And that meant someone was about to die.


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There was a giant white building in front of Todd when his feet stopped moving. All around him, there was a cool breeze and the sounds of nature as it went on with it’s normal sequences. None were aware of his presence yet. He crept forward, smelling a scent similar to that of his mate. Clean. Not like water, but like air. A simple clean smell that was unpleasant in a way for him. Nevertheless, it was the smell of something quite alive and anything alive had to have flesh and blood upon which he could feed.

Feed. Instantly, he moaned and hugged his stomach, his knees buckling together. The pain was different. He wasn’t empty. He was actually very much full. How he longed for more, though. He wanted more, needed more. And his stomach ached with that longing, his body shaking in the breeze that did not even move the leaves. His senses were sharp enough to know that without looking at the treetops. He was so hungry, his senses had become thus sharp, thus sensitive. This ache had made them so. And these heightened senses made his head swim painfully with the sights and smells of the things that surrounded him. His thoughts raced, his eyes jumped from thing to thing. That smell of clean was overpowering him as he fell to the ground, a moan whispering along the wind. He couldn’t focus. The pain, the pain, the scents, the sounds, the sights, everything was too big for him. He collapsed, hitting the ground and feeling it as if a million needles had just been shoved up into his skin.

He gripped the ground, desperately trying to breathe as his stomach arched up in agony. Blood and flesh and clean were everywhere, but he could only gasp and take it in. Where was it? He knew not. His eyes attempted to open, but the pain made his head throb and he could not. A cough left his lips, his body shuddering in the sudden cold of the summer day. The breeze was breathing ice down his back and then the clean was right by his face.

Two devastatingly bright red lights glowed near him. Two hands rolled him onto his back and he could only cry out. The lights hovered over him, a finger grazing his cheek. That touch could’ve drawn blood, it was so painful.

And then there it was. That underlying scent. The one only his extreme senses could pick up. Blood. Flesh. A living being, with veins full of the liquid that he treasured and the food he needed to fill his already full belly. His eyes slowly opened upon realizing that this thing with glowing lights was alive. He saw a face with dark shades and dark hair, leaning over him and speaking rapidly. A vein popped in his temple, right above those eyes. Another one in the cheek.

“ -ou alright? Are you sick? Tolansky?” a voice echoed in the far off reaches of the universe as he carefully rose up into a sitting position. In a spilt second, he was directly in front of this boy, their faces were even. He knew in the more human side of his brain to avoid the eyes. The vein in the temple was too dangerous.

More words were spoken. Todd never heard them. He watched, inching down slightly so as not to frighten the prey. A hand felt his forehead, and the boy began to rise to his feet, saying more things foreign to those animal ears. There was a flash of movement and a scream rang out as Todd slammed the boy down into the ground with a strength he hadn’t been aware he possessed. More noise. It was making the pain searing throughout his forehead worse. Baring teeth, he shoved his hands inside that warm mouth. He grabbed the upper and lower jaws and jerked them in opposite directions as a fit rage washed over him.

A loud rip and crack and snap echoed in the quiet of the grounds. The lower jaw tore away from the upper and blood began to pool up quickly. It filled the gaping hole as the body gave shudder after shudder, dying. The red liquid poured into the grass in thick streams from said hole. One last violent shudder splattered blood across the cold eyes of the toad as he licked his lips and quivered with absolute delight.

Like a wild creature, Todd lapped up the blood as it rested in the human head bowl. The liquid was warm, but fading quick. Yet, it was the poison he longed for, desired more then air. It ran down his throat and settled in his belly, creating a warm sensation almost too sinful to bear. He let out a gasp, a pant, and tilted the bowl, greedily drinking up the blood as it gushed over the teeth. He licked the cheeks, the eyes, the shades, free of the blood as it dried, his hands caressing the neck that stretched full length. His tongue ran over the skin and his stomach gave a lurch. Stars popped in front of his eyes before he could control himself.

The desire was too much. There was no time to enjoy or savor the moment. His fangs ripped through the cheek, breaking the bone off with a sickening crack. He swallowed, hands twisting the neck around. The bowl thudded into the ground, the spine giving off pops as it broke several times. The back of the head was now forward and then the flesh ripped and there was no head at all. He plunged his mouth over the hole and chewed on the spinal cord. Chunks of flesh were torn off, a shoulder was gone, and then he dug his fingers into the tissue and muscle revealed. His eyes glazed over as he began to shove strips down his throat, his speed increasing so much so he wasn’t sure what he was eating until he was biting through what remained of the spinal cord. Half the corpse was gone and he’d only gotten started.

On he gored, barely tasting the pieces he ate as he did. But this wasn’t about the taste. It was solely about the feeling he had in his stomach. That feeling that he was filling that gaping, agonizing hole inside him with this boy. That feeling that his stomach was stretching to make room for all this extra, unneeded food. He wanted to be full again. He knew he had to. That or his stomach would turn inside out and he’d be swallowed up into oblivion so dark he would be consumed by that throbbing in his head and he’d have nothing left but to scream for the rest of eternity. So he had to eat. He had to fill himself. And this boy was perfect. So clean, so big, so bloody, so right. He would fill him. Fill him so the pain would stop and he could go back to his mate.

His mate. Where was his mate? Todd froze over the arm he had been tearing to pieces. His eyes slide to the left, to the right, then forward. He was alone with the prey that laid in a sticky pool of dried blood and bits of itself. His mate was nowhere to be found. In his desire to fill himself, he’d left behind the only thing that could truly fill him.

Slowly, the mutant’s eyes changed back into gold. The memory of the pain vanished and he was left shaking in cold terror as he stared down at the remains. The head gave him a disgusting, distorted stare, shades knocked to the side. His body went icy, backing away as he tried to speak. Flies began to buzz around the body and he choked, hands feeling the bulge of his stomach. Tears ran down his cheeks, but there was nothing he could do. His thoughts jumbled together, his body rising and running from the scene as a single blood drop ran down the cheek of the boy he’d know for years.

It looked like a tear of blood.

He cried out, running off the grounds of the Institute at break neck speed. His world was bathed in red, that image floated across his eyes repeatedly. All he could do was sob into his hands, fighting the urge to throw up. As he wasn’t looking, he gave a startled cry when he crashed into someone and that someone held onto his arms.

“ TODD!! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!!” Lance roared, spinning around so that he could pin the younger mutant against the gate. Todd hiccuped, trying to say something. His sobs, however, made the words incoherent, “ What! Who’s dead! I know you’ve killed someone else! Who!”

“ S-S-S-Sum-Summers...Oh Gawd,” Todd threw his arms around Lance’s waist and let out the howl of a wounded animal, his legs giving out beneath him. The rock tumbler was jerked down at the sudden weight, but he remained standing. Shock made him unmoveable. All he could do was stand rooted to the spot and try to will himself to say something to comfort the boy clinging to his shirt so tightly.

“ Scott?” was all he could manage, though. He felt Todd give a dry heave and his hands automatically locked around his head, securing him. The younger shook so hard, his words once again drowned in the sheer violence of his sobs. The older merely held him, his grip so fierce out of horror and fear. They remained as such until Todd collapsed completely and Lance was forced to support him.

A shrill scream pierced the sky. Both of the them jerked towards the Institute. Todd appeared to be frozen by it, whereas Lance was brought to life. He grabbed the toad’s wrist and ripped him off the ground. He dragged him down the sidewalk, looking all over the place to be sure no one saw them with all that blood. The other followed as if he wished to but only did because he had to. In a matter of moments, they burst into the blood stained entrance hall and Lance had the door shut. He slammed himself against it, staring at the still shuddering, tear streaked face of the mutant in front of him.

And it suddenly became clear. Lance hadn’t been aware that it wasn’t clear from the beginning, from the moment he saw the paperboy splashed over the walls, from the second he was swallowed whole. But it hadn’t been. But it was now. Clearer then crystal. Todd was a murderer, possessed by the animal side of his mutation, and Lance was enabling his possession. There was little doubt that this exact train of events would happen over and over again. The killings would continue. That was increasingly obvious, as Lance had already concluded that Todd had no control of when or where or why he shifted personalities. But it was now clear what was going on behind the scenes.

Lance was the mate of a murderer. And he was going to protect him and allow him to kill at will. Why, he had no idea. He would, though. He would, for sure, he knew as he looked at those terrified, unsure golden eyes. Somewhere beneath that fear lurked a purple eyed monster that was pleased with itself, he knew.

He only smiled as he stepped over and embraced his mate, knowing full well that it was all so very wrong.