Ahhh, for those who were on the edge of their seats in Emily's Good-Bye, here is the answer to the question that must have been plaguing you.
Also, the characters: Thaddeus Tolansky, Fritz Wagner, Tobius {Toby} Angelus Maximoff and Tock are characters I made up. However, as open-minded as I am for people wanting to use these characters....THESE are ones I will guard with a vengeance. You have to ask if you want to use them. I put a lot of work into creating personalities and such. Other than that....have a blast.
Toad rested on the edge of his bed a moment. He watched the phone carefully. He, for some odd reason, was expecting a call from Emily from Maine. Ever since she left, he's had a gut-wrenching feeling...as though there was something different. Something new....something.....she had not told him. He was almost obsessed with it. He just felt so...extra connected to her somehow. The waiting only made him tired...and before he knew it....he had drifted off into a nap.
***Waking Up***
Toad opened the window. He took in a deep breath of the air and gasped when....everything looked different! He ran outside only to see a battle in progress. Some of these mutants seemed familiar. In fact, he did know them. But, they were older...different. He saw Pietro, broader and sturdy. He was falling behind upon his youthful grace he once had. Not far behind, he saw Lance, also older, broader...and a hint of scars. He evn saw Blob....who...had...hair! And he had a costume change. Oh, yuck, spandex was not complimenting. Yet another figure looked somewhat familiar.
" Ke...Kevin?" He almost couldn't believe it. He knew that movement. It was like his own, but he knew it wasn't him. It had to be one just like him. The only other he knew to wear clothes like that, to move like that....was Kevin, the Incredible Frog Boy.....err...Man. But, who were these young people?
He almost recognized one. He looked almost exactly like Nightcrawler, only he had all five fingers, and assuming all five toes. That was hard to tell, as his animalistic stule boots covered his toes. His fuzzy fur was not blue, but a dusky red or maroon. He look young, about 21, he'd guess.
Another boy wasn't too far behind. He looked somewhat overdone. His features also seemed a little familiar, yet he had never seen him before. He too seemed about 21. Yet another boy seemed to lead them. There was something oddly familiar...and...homey about this boy.
The battle ended. The mutants turned and seemed surprised to see him.
" You're alright!" The older boy cheered. He ran over and hugged him.
" Wha...Who are you?!"
" Pietro,...why doesn't he know me?"
Pietro shrugged, " I have a feeling Tock would be behind this too. Seems our little friend may have opened a time portal. But, that's just a guess. Either that or he went pretty quick in creating those clones." he turned to the young lad behind him, " Toby, check him out."
The one named Toby approached and took Toad's face in his hands. He gasped, " This isn't ours....but...he...is!"
" This isn't him?!" The older boy screatched. He grabbed Toby, " Then, where is Toad?!"
" Y'know," from the fuzzy one, " this is getting confusing."
" Who are you people?!" Toad demanded.
" Do you know what year it is?" Pietro asked. Toad shook his head. " It's 2027."
" I've been asleep for 26 years? What, am I Rip van Winkle or something?!"
" Slept away your wrinkles," From the fuzzy one. " And I thought Toby was a heavy sleeper."
" Alright," Pietro warned. He turned back to Toad and pointed to Toby, " This is my son, Toby. And you already know Kevin."
Kevin shook Toad's hand, " It's an honor to meet the master in his youth as I first saw him." Toad arched a brow and turned to the fuzzy one, " Are you Kurt's spawn?"
" To coin a phrase," he smiled, swooshing his spaded tail, " I'm Fritz Wagner."
Toad turned to the oldest boy, " And you are?" The boy looked hurt, " I'm Thaddeus Tolansky." Toad almost fainted at the name. He touched the boy's cheek, " I...have...a son?"
" Call me Tad, if it makes you feel better."
" By chance....who...would your mother be?"
" Don't you know?"
" Please."
" Your wife. Emily Tolansky. Duh. You really don't know, do you?"
Toad's knees almost buckled. " Then....when she left....she never answered...she....I knew...she was...is....oh my god." He hugged the young man before him, " Oh, I knew it!"
" Look, now that we know each other," Fritz began, " Can we, like, go and save our Toad?"
" Why would you help us...the Brotherhood, Fritz? Your dad is an X-man."
" Ja. My mother is too." He swished his tail again, " But, my grand-mama love when I visit her. However, seems lately, when I come over to see her, something always has to happen. Oh, I'm such bad luck. Everything goes wrong when I show up. I just...jynx everything. I guess that's why my parents named me Fritz.
" Tock had some bright idea to make an army of clones of yous." Thaddeus remarked.
" Why mes?"
" You don't realize how much potential you have," Lance chimed in. Fritz skipped over to Toad and gave him a hug, pretending to sob, " You're a great guy, man!"
Toad felt weak. Pietro caught him as he slipped backwards. " Perhaps, Toad, we should take care of you first."
***Later***
" Stop staring at him," Mystique chuckled. Toad hadn't taken his eyes of Thaddeus all evening. He hadn't even touched the meal brought out for him. He was still so confused. He smiled. Thaddeus was such a lovely young man. Lovely, even with his father's features. Those large eyes, the ruffled brown hair...even a little bit of that slouch. He was very tall and slim, yet built. He had even noticed a small amount of webbing on his hands, though it did not reach as far on his fingers as his own. And he returned on the thought of those eyes. How much more attractive they were than his....being the sweetest shade of green. And the bitter swamp smell that was his own lacked in this youth. He was so clean-cut, and so well-respected. Yes, so much of his father's appearance. But his pleasantries....oh...those were definately from his mother. He recognized those as her most wonderful traits. He couldn't help but let his smile grow. Thaddeus was also, as Toad saw him, unlike him. Thaddeus was a highly respected gentleman. And the respect was very high among the Brotherhood, who loved him as a man...himself. They didn't use him for anything. Not his degrees in science and technological arts, not the money he had come into, not for his mutant abilities...no...just as a man...as Thaddeus Tolansky. Throughout the evening, the Brotherhood had brought up anectdotes of Tad, trying to lighten the mood with some humor. Thaddeus blushed at these memories, but was not offended by them. They were funny to him, even if some were embaressing. Toad learned that, throughout his high school life, Thaddeus was a ladies' man and quite the womanizer....a kiss and tell all sort with the respect expected of him as a highly sophisticated man with a superhuman genius. He was certainly a symbol of pride here.
" You'll make him nervous."
" Huh? Oh....sorry," Toad muttered to Mystique. " I--I just can't believe it." He sounded almost exasperated, " He's beautiful. So cool...calm...collected....and so...comfortable. His history is...amazing. Am I seriously this capable of raising such a spectacular child into such a man?"
" Thaddeus is a nice kid. We're all very proud of him. He doesn't follow our view per se, about mutant superiority and all. But, he manages here and there. He's very intelligent and we've learned to trust his instinct. A very valuable individual. You did fine....or will."
A sudden gasp from around the table caught their attention. Fritz let out a hollar and leaped onto the table. He began to sing....purposely a little off-note. " Woo-hoo! Go baby! Boom boom! I'm too sexy for my fur...too sexy for my fur! Woo! So sexy...it hurts!"
" Fritz, get off the table!" Mystique scolded with a chuckle, " I've told you a million times, please keep your feet off my tables! What, were you raised in a circus or something?!"
" But, Grand-mama!" Fritz tried to argue.
" Down."
Fritz let out a sigh. He climbed back into his chair. Even as a young man, seemed Fritz was the least likely to truly grow up....dude, he was just like his dad.
" Man, your tail dipped into my milk!" Toby sighed.
" Dear, Tobius," Fritz smiled, " Precious little Angie....I thought everyone loved a tail here and there."
" It's Angelus!" Toby hissed. " Tobius Angelus!"
Fritz let out a laugh and grabbed his tail, and pretended to scold it as if it were its own living thing, " Bad tail! Look what you did. You made Angie mad at me!"
" Angelus! Tobius Angelus Maximoff! Not Angie! Angelus!"
" Whatever, Toby Angel."
Mystique let out a sigh, " Yes, he is Kurt's son. Most definately my grandson. Only my bloodline could be so screwed up and mentally deranged. What have I done wrong?" She held up her hands in defeat. Toad let out a laugh. This bunch had gotten very lively. He suddenly had a thought, " Why does it matter so much if you find the future me or not? I mean, why do you care? You wouldn't have even given a second thought in my time. Why are you suddenly giving me all this respect. Man, I feel so...worshipped."
" The big origin of such respect if your role as a father," Tad smiled. He sighed as he suddenly changed the subject slightly, " Oh, if Mom were still alive, she'd be so happy to see you in your youth again. She loved you so much."
" With the little tadpole thinking so highly of ya...and one heck of a wife...with one heck of a swat," Lance chuckled, " We couldn't bare to break his heart."
" Man, you threw yourself into all kinds of death-defying feets for me and my arrogance," Tad laughed along.
" It's amazing what a coward like you would do for the love of your family," Pietro winked. Toad lowered his head. It wasn't Pietro's semi-rude comment that bothered him. Heck, if he couldn't handle that, he'd might as well give up. In his time, that would have been Pietro on a generous day. He looked over at his son, a little downhearted and confused, " Tad, when will I get to see you? Emily, in my time, is in Maine. Probably, if my gut feeling is right, carrying you."
Thaddeus nodded, " You were there. Shortly after finding out she was pregnant, or so she told me, my mother was sent back. My parents were married not too long after. My grandparents are not at all happy with children born out of wedlock. So, as much as they disliked you, and they did, they treated you well and with respect enough. They demanded a wedding. They came around, so Mom said. You were there when I was born." He smiled as he thought back on his mother, " Mom said the first day after being brought home, you refused to put me down." He let out a laugh. " You were so taken. So, I suppose I've always had a dying devotion to my father and truly looked up to him."
Toad gave a nod. " So, I am a....good parent?"
" You did your best," Mystique comforted behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She would have never done that in his time.
" Like every family, we had our ups and downs. There were arguements, and bad days....but, what family doesn't have that, right? I think we all turned out okay."
" Just look at this kid!" Pietro laughed, pointing to Thaddeus. " Does this kid look like he had a bad family life? The kid is a superhuman genius! Top of his class in school and college, possesses several degrees and obtained them in less than half the time a normal person would take. This man has been to the alumni!"
" How you pulled that off, I'll never figure," Lance laughed. Still the same old Lance....rude and contrary to the end.
" And who am I saving myself from?" Toad asked, arching a brow.
" A mutant villain named Tock," Pietro began. Fritz skipped out of his seat over by the wall and spun about. He was full of energy tonight. " Tick Tock," he laughed, " Just like my old clock." Toby leaped out of his seat and slammed Fritz into the wall. Fritz became quiet and disoriented. Pietro shook his head at the sight. His son wasn't the most humorous of the youngsters and he was known to be the slightest bit violent. He conitued, " He has the power to mess with time. However, the power is very very limited and he'd kinda helpless otherwise. However, he has aquired some technology."
" The problem?"
He's creepy," Fritz spoke out, regaining his composure. Toby slammed him into the wall again, " Shut up, Fritz!"
" He's very mysterious," Lance laughed. The laugh was intended toward poor little Fritz. " He wants to rule the world with an army of yous....clones."
" Just like stepping into some freaky sci-fi movie, eh?" Fritz laughed. Toby looked at him. He leaped back, " I know, Toby. I know!" He tossed himself into the wall....phasing through it. When Toby leaned in to examine, Fritz shocked him with en electrical jolt.
" And this is all that stands between world domination?" Toad asked. Fritz seemed a little too...unstable. Boy, he thought, that kid is in serious need of ridaline.
" Looks good," Tad smiled. Toad patted the dust off his "old" costume and checked himself out. " So," he said, turning to Thaddeus, " ...Tad, what do you do?"
" Nightcrawler gave me my code name." He said proudly, " Drachen."
" Eh?"
" It's German," he laughed, " for dragon. I have many interesting features and abilities."
" Like?"
"A battle is coming. You'll see."
" Oh," Toad moaned, " This is so off the wall."
" Tell me about it," Thaddeus laughed. " Here I am talking to my dad, who is half my age. Ha! This is certainly an interesting predicament."
Both let out a laugh.
***Tock's Lair***
A groan. Future Toad opened his eyes slowly. He was on the floor, propped up on the wall in a corner. He examined his situation. He patted the dirt from his black costume with the red splotched {much making him appear rather like a frog than a toad}. He got himself into his crouch and looked around.
" Ah, awake?" Tock laughed. He peered in at his prisoner. Future Toad cast out his tongue. It was zapped by an invisible force field.
" It's no use, Mr. Tolansky. I've won this war. Your little pals are no match for me."
" War?" Future Toad asked, " Don't you think your conquest is overdone? Then again, how can I expect originality from a man who calls himself Tock?!"
" Silence!" Tock demanded. " Stop mocking me!"
" You know they'll come for me."
" Perhaps. But, won't you choose to protect your son over saving yourself?"
" What?" Future Toad stood up, " If you harm one hair on my son's head, so help me, I will make you sorry. Even if it costs me my life, I will come back and haunt you."
Tock laughed. He knew how to pluck at his nerves and enjoyed his suffering.
***Elsewhere***
Fritz crawled up front and began to mimic the Mission Impossible theme. Toby gave a yank at his tail.
" Man, quit! You're always goofing off, Fritz!"
" Goofy is my middle name," Fritz laughed.
" Mine's Donald," Blob laughed along. Toby rolled his eyes, " Mine is Angelus. A sophisticated name."
" By God," Pietro sighed, " I raised a spoiled rich brat snob."
" Hush," Lance scolded. Pietro covered his mouth and pointed up. All looked up. Thaddeus flew by and landed on a builsing. He got comfortble and made his wings vanish. He closed his eyes and raised his head a little, hissing out his forked tongue. Any hidden presence? No. Nothing. No human/mutant heat being picked up by his tongue. He motioned for his team to move forward.
" What's he doing?" Toad asked, " Where'd the wings come from?"
" Thaddeus?" Pietro chuckled, ‘ Our dear Drachen is quite a battle tank. The kid has a back-up device should he go blind. He can fork his tongue and use it the same way a snake would, picking up heat and infared signals. As for the wings....little adapting ability he has. He is full of tricks. You should see what he does in hand to hand combat to a deadly attacker."
Toad sighed. So much happening at once. It was beginning to drive him mad. Something about this mission troubled him. He was anxious to see himself as a well-respected man. He was excited to see his son...his team in battle...and feared it. He, in his youthful immaturity...feared the opponent to come. Fritz crawled over to a vent and smiled, " Wunderbar! Found a way in!"
" We can't all fit in there, Bunny-Boy," Blob commented. Fritz cast him an annoyed glare. Blob was the only one to call him Bunny-Boy and he hated it.
" Well," he replied, still glancing at him, ‘ We could try the front door. Tock would expect us to come in every way but that one."
Toby yanked his spaded tail.
" Ow! Tobius, quit it! That hurts!"
" Enough!" Pietro scolded, giving his son a warning swat. " Toad, Drachen, Fritz, you go in through the vent. The rest of us will try to find another way in. Our chanced of getting in will be better.. Fritz lead the team in. You'll be able to phase through the vent and find your position."
Fritz smiled and nodded. Drachen followed, and then Toad. The others went of to find another way in.
" Seems we have visitors," Tock said casually. Future Toad gave a sly smile. Tock turned back to him, " Don't get your hopes up, my friend. I've been expecting them....and expecting them to come through the air vent." He suddenly gasped, " What the---?! How?!"
" What's wrong, Tock?" Future Toad taunted. He didn't know what the problem was, but if Tock was upset, then it was obviously in his favor. " Something slip past you?"
" It can't be!" He turned back to Future Toad, " Your pathetic little brats may think they can defeat me with their little secret weapon. But, I still have the upper hand.!"
" We'll see."
***Back in the Vent***
" Dude, Fritz. Get your tail outta my face." Drachen whispered.
" Then, you get off my tail. You're follwing too close."
" Would you two just shut up a minute?" Toad shuddered, " Where are we?"
Fritz paused and turned a glance back with a smile. He phased his upper half through the vent and peeked down. A loud female scream rang through the air, sending chills up his spine, causing his fuzz to stand on end. And nothing is as silly looking as a fluffed out spaded tail. He let out a very surprised and feline hiss and darted back into the vent, quivering with the sight in his mind.
" Not it?" Drachen chuckled casually. Fritz shook his head as he tried to flatted the fur on his tail.
" Fool, did you just hiss?" Toad asked. Fritz grew a guilty smile. His felinity was quite a useful ability, but there were some feline habits he wished he could overcome. A sudden odor came about.
" Vas?" Fritz began, " Ack! It's gas!"
" Fritz, get us out of here!" Drachen ordered. Fritz turned and grabbed hold of both of them, " Brace yourselves, mein fruends....this might sting a bit."
With a loud pop and a crackle of static electricity, Fritz teleported, leaving behind the cinders.
" OUCH!!!" Toad cried when they ported back in.
" Sorry," from Fritz, " Electric shocks are my thing."
Drachen pinched the fuzzy-boy's cheek, " He's our personal little Pikachu."
" Quit!" Fritz growled, slapping Drachen's hand away, " I'm not a Pikachu, I don't like Pokemon and I'm not even Japanese."
" Welcome," a voice rumbled. The three turned. Tock had ambused them!
" Man," Fritz moaned, " I told you we should have used the front door."
Tock released his clockwork soldiers. Fritz leaped forward onto all fours with an amused glare in his eyes. He gave his foot a small scratch on the floor and a spark began to travel upward his body, growing in power as it did so. Bu the time it got to his chest, he was sorrounded by clockwork henchmen. Fritz send the energy back down into his tail, where he swished it wildly, sending electric sparks all about him, shattering several soldiers.
" Good work, Fritz!" Drachen cheered. He was next to step forward and semi-crouched in a ready position. Before he could make a move, a soldier opened one if its valves and shot some strange liquid into his eyes...causing temporary blindess. He screetched in surprise.
" Thaddeus!" Came a concerned cry in unison from Toad and Future Toad. Drachen shook his head and growled, " Tock, it'll take more than that to stop this beast."
He hissed out his narrow forked tongue. Toad had gotten a closer look this time. The tongue was normal by all means, but on a whim, Thaddeus could tense the muscles, narrowing it and splitting the end. Drachen tasted the air, extending his tongue farther out and quicker, so as not to make it a target. He was able to see like a snake would, tasting the heat and being able to form mental images from the messages his tongue picked up from the air. He could imagine the soldiers crowding before him. He steadied himself and took a deep breath...and exhaled...flames! Toad fell back from awe.
" You..." he heard, " You're...me!"
He turned and saw...himself....well at the age of forty...but not looking a day over thirty in his opinion. He admired his future self. He almost couldn't believe it was him. He was a little fuller, due to some muscles which had been worked and developed. He was certainly taller, though it was hard to tell due to he was squatting down. He had a manly appearance, certainly more appealing than his present one, perhaps it was the maturity that made him look that way. And...his odor....it was....where was it? Had he learned to emit the odor on a whim during the years? Like a ladybug would? His own powerful glare frightened him and he took a step back.
" Hey, calm down," His future self chuckled, " While Tock's busy, go over and flick those controls. Get me out of this stupid forcefield."
" Uhm, see....well..."
" Oh, nevermind," Future Toad sighed, shaking his head. He had almost forgotten how afraid he used to be as a boy and how much he lacked confidence. He frowned, " Thaddeus, look out!"
Before his son could respond, a net was raised, tangling Fritz and Drachen together. Fritz send an electric shock about his body, not to Drachen's liking.
" Stop! That hurts!"
" We're stuck!"
" Teleport us outta here!"
" It won't let me!"
" Phase us out of here!"
" It won't let me! Oh, T.L. we're gonna die!"
" Quit being dramatic," Drachen sighed, " It's a net!"
Fritz mocked a sniffle, " Before we go....what does the L. Stand for in your middle name, Thaddeus?"
" Would you knock it off?!" Drachen hissed, scolding his little buddy. " My middle name is Leopold, if you must know!"
Future Toad covered his face, " That giant rat always lets his mind run away with him."
Toad looked up at the net and cast out his tongue, thinking perhaps he could snap the cable. No avail.
" Little me!" Future Toad called, " Over there! The switch! Flip the switch!" About that time, Tock stepped back in.
" You can't even defeat me as a full grown man, Toad." He taunted, " What makes you think you're any stronger as a boy?!"
" He's not doing it alone, Tock!" A voice called. It was Quicksilver!
" Where'd you guys come from?!" Fritz called.
" You were right after all," Toby shrugged, " We used the front door."
Kevin leaped high into the air and cast out his tongue, grabbing Tock's arm. Tock merely flung him backwards over his head and into a wall. " Ouch."
" Man, he did learn all he knows from me," Toad muttered. Pietro zoomed in circles around the villain, hoping to make him dizzy. Tock just laughed, not even looking. Lance held out his arms and created a tremor. Tock struggled to keep his balance. Toby came next. He conjured up a hologram of serpents growing from the floor and tying themselves around Tock's feet. Tock became startled and didn't even notice Blob charging at him. He was hit and down. Toad leaped over and cast out his tongue, flicking the switch to the forcefield. Future Toad leaped to his freedom beside his teammates.
" Good work!" He commented on them and leaped up the wall, snapping the cable. He cast out hsi tongue and caught Drachen and settled him gently on the ground. Blob held out his arms and caught Fritz.
" Fritz, Blob, Lance!" All three looked towards Future Toad, " Destroy that machine! There's only room enough for one Todd Tolansky in this lifetime."
Lance mustered up a larger quake, loosening the machine from the wall. Blob ripped it completely loose and began to batter it. When he finished, ge stepped back, leaving the rest up to Fritz, who sent an electric jolt to the remains, making it explode.
" You haven't defeated me yet!" Tock declared. Toad glanced at him and spit goop over his mouth, silencing him.
" Oooh," Fritz swooned, " Tock looks....ticked!" He fell over laughing at the joke while the others moaned at it.
***Back at Headquarters***
Toad sat on a rock pier and sighed. The waves splashed gently through the rocks. The smell of salt water and the cry of the gulls overhead gave him a fair amount of comfort and serenity. He loved the shore. It felt so....homey.
Thaddeus was on his mind. He was very disappointed he couldn't have been more useful in saving himself or his future son. In aggrivation, his own thoughts of what he wanted to say to Thaddeus echoed in his head, " Face it, Tadpole, your father is a loser." And now, here he sat, alone. His only comfort being that semi-quiet shore. He saw soem dolphins some distance out.
He felt a hand on his should as a figure sat beside him. The grip was confident and strong, but caring. Looking over, he saw it was his future self.
" Pretty sunset, huh?" Future Toad asked.
" Yeah."
" Y'know, Tad's a nice kid." He smiled, " Almost as high-strung as his name sounds. T.L. Tolansky."
" Yeah." He gave a weak and false smile, " Leopold, I don't think I've ever heard that name."
" Y'know, he proudly names his daddy the cause of his good upbringing and achievements."
Toad glanced again at his future self. " I wasn't very inspirational today."
" No, perhaps not. But, I remember what it was like when I was you. But, thinks will get better. I can't be you anymore, but you'll eventually turn out to be me. I think it's a big and wonderful change. It's worth every moment. And I wouldn't change a thing. Every little experience in life, good or bad, ultimately makes us who we are and shapes us into our future selves."
" I suppose." Wow, Toad thought, how'd I get so smart and philosophical? He looked up at the orange and purple clouds. With a weak smile he commented, " I guess I do turn out to be a good guy after all. You sound so sure....confident." He turned back to his future self, " And, I'm told I made a good father and husband."
Future Toad nodded, " There's only one thing I would change, Todd. Do this for me. Protect her. Her death could have been prevented, and it is something I've never been able to forgive in myself. I don't care what has to be done, just try and keep her alive." He smiled weakly, " We were talking about having another child...before..."
" I'll do my best," Toad replied.
" That's all I can ask for," Future Toad nodded, standing up, " C'mon, I gotta get you back."
***Inside***
" We're not playing games anymore, Tock," Toby declared.
" Keep your word or we'll have to crush you," Blob chimed in, pounding his fists together.
" Alright!" Tock sighed, " You win okay?! I'll do it."
At that moment, Toad and Future Toad walked in. Future Toad looked around, " We ready?" Everyone gave a nod.
" Wait," Toad pleaded. He looked to Blob, " Spandex...man....since I'm gonna be outta here anyway, let me just give my opinion..." At that moment, Future Toad rolled his eyes and recited in unison with his past self, " Seeing you in tight spandex makes me just wanna stop in my tracks and gag."
Everyone let out a laugh. Fritz smiled at them, " That was the idea."
Blob looked surprised and grabbed Fritz, tossing him full force towards the wall, which Fritz phased through just in time. He came back in, " Grand-mama! Blob's being mean to me again!"
" Fritz," Mystique sighed, " Please would you just sit down and calm yourself. Don't make me sit you in the corner for a time out, you're twenty one years old, can't you act your age?"
" But, Grand-mama!"
" Hush, Fritz!"
Fritz gave a pretend sniffle and ran over to Toad, " We're gonna miss you, man!"
" Hey, Todd," Thaddeus called, talking to Toad, " Keep an eye on Mom. I want a little brother or sister."
Toad smiled, " I'll do my best....any names you wanna suggest?"
Thaddeus thought a minute, " Mom always wanted a little girl named Andrea. But, if I had a little brother, I'd suggest the name Jasper. Sounds wild."
Future Toad covered his face. He past self was taking orders from his son. It was confusing and embaressing. But, he let out a laugh anyway. Fritz faked offense, " You don't need siblings. You got me and Toby Angel."
" Angelus!" Toby hissed.
Thaddeus laughed, " I want siblings. But, you guys will always be my best friends." Sarcasm was beginning to grow, " Besides, if I have a little sister, I might be able to get you a chance at a date."
" Ha!" Fritz scoffed, " Tall, Red and Fuzzy stands more than a chance!"
" I said I'd do my best," Toad repeated. " If anything good came out of this experience, it put me at some ease. Options look a lot clearer to me now." He went over and gave his future son a tight hug, " But, I'm still gonna spoil you rotten." Both let out a laugh. When he let go, he gave a ready nod.
" Okay," Future Toad began, turning to Tock, " No funny business! Het him safely home to his own time."
Tock summoned up his time-shifting power. A cloud of bright smoke surrounded Toad and he was unable to see much of anything. A loud ring sprang out.
***Present***
Toad woke up to the telephone ringing. He picked up with a smile, " Emily?!" He listened as Emily talked over the phone.
" Emily, there's something you need to tell me, isn't there?"
" I kinda had the gut feeling you were. Calm down, everything's fine, I'm still here for ya."
" I've been expecting this call for a while. And what do you mean I wouldn't go for all that marriage stuff? Is that what you want? Just say so."
" Alright, yes, I am sorry it had to turn out this way so soon...but, it's happening. Just calm down. You have a lot of support, trust me."
" Alright, I'll see you in a couple of weeks then. How far are you along again? Time sure flies. Okay, I'll let you go."
He got quiet a second after Emily's reply. " Yeah," he replied to her, " I love you too."
END
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