Author's Note: GEE WILLIKERS, BATMAN! I don't remember if I had another one of these "Liberty Island Flashbacks" in another one of my fics. Well, if I did...this one came first.

Chapter 22

He dreamed that night. He dreamed about the night. His first skirmish with the X-Men. He had gotten cocky, he scolded.

Storm.

What had he said to her that night? "You're beautiful. You all are, really- you X-Men. Some mutants get all the bloody luck." he had said it angrily and spitefully- not a compliment in the least.

He knew it was true. He was hideous, a thing to be shivered at. He remembered the look on that Jean Grey's face when he had fought her. Pure and utter revulsion. There was fear in that look, but most of that fear came from the idea that he was going to come closer. He had joked around with her still, with his same sardonic demeanor, but inside, although he wouldn't show it...

He was hurt. And ashamed. Angry. Mort hadn't planned on killing any of the X-Men, as that would get in the way of further fights like this one, but that prospect couldn't quell the spark of rage in his chest.

So, he had slimed her. A death sentence in itself, he was the only one who could possibly pry the muck from her skin. "Sorry to kiss and run," he had said, smirking, after striking her with his tongue.

He had seen her begin to suffocate, accomplished, leaning over the balcony. She had made an assumption about him, and it was never wise to make an assumption about someone who was so attuned to other people's emotions. You had to be that way to stay alive when you were such an obvious mutant.

She had thought him vile, dangerous, a cold blooded killer. And at that moment he hadn't felt the need to show her that she was wrong.

As he had said, all of the X-Men were beautiful. None of them faced the hardships that he, Mystique, Sabretooth, and other obvious mutants had. They didn't understand.

Xavier's students found their cushioned lives so difficult, but they always had each other. Mortimer would give anything for someone or something's unconditional love. The X-Men had compassion for each other. No one, no one that he could remember had ever given him the slightest bit of acceptance or compassion, besides for his fellow Brotherhood members.

The Brotherhood knew the hardships of his life, they had their own, and that's what joined them. The X-Men were living a jaded fairy tale. They'd find that out sooner or later. They'd hopefully learn also that fighting mutant against mutant was a poor game plan, especially when they were both fighting for the same cause. But the X-Men believed that the Brotherhood's motives were always detestable.

So, they attacked.

He woke up suddenly. Two armed guards shoved food to him through the bars. Three packets of Saltine crackers and a quart of milk that looked far past its expiration date.

"Mutant 1011." said the officer. "We're going to bring you to observation sector M-13-"

"Just open the damn door." he said glumly. The collar he wore gave off a shock.

"Cooperate-- and I won't have to deep-fry you." said the guard. The door was unlocked, and his collar was removed. It was replaced by a pair of handcuffs and a muzzle, per usual.

They strapped him down to yet another table, unlocked his handcuffs and muzzle, and left the room. One scientist entered the room. Bero. "Are you going to kill me?" he asked, as if he were commenting on the weather.

"Not deliberately." he said. "But in medical science, malpractice is always considered an option-"

"I didn't volunteer for this."

"It doesn't matter. No one on the outside of these walls knows you're here. No one gives a shit about you, 1011. No one cares."

"Why am I so important to this so called 'medical science' experiment?" he hissed.

"Hasn't 125 told you? I believe she has. I don't think you believed her. We went through a lot of trouble to track you down, 1011."

"There are plenty of other mutants out there with-"

"Not that are so cloistered as you were. No one will notice you're missing for quite awhile."

"You kidnapped me in the middle of a-"

"Yes, you were trespassing on private property." Mortimer felt somewhat relieved. He didn't know Xavier's school was a safe-haven for mutants. Although he despised most of the adult X-Men, he felt protective of the children.

And even...

even though he was angry...

Marie.