Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own the X-Men, I GET IT!

Somehow (and she didn't know why) Alyssa Earnest had been coerced into going to see a movie with Emily and John. Oh, she wasn't John's biggest fan, but she didn't hate him, and Emily WAS her best friend, after all, so it only seemed normal that she'd go to a movie with them. She did like movies and watched them all of the time on days she didn't have class, but she just didn't like romantic comedies. She just wasn't a big fan to the public eye because she didn't like all the gushy, gooey-eyed girls that fangirled over the cute lead. She hated seeing romantic comedies with other people because then it proved she was just as big of a fangirl as the rest of them.

She pouted in her chair the entire time until the really cute lead came out. Then she settled into her chair, a tub of popcorn in her lap, and Emily and John to her right. To her left was some really smelly football player who kept eyeing her. He probably didn't see many good-looking girls who weren't sitting by another guy. He probably thought she was lonely, going to a movie with another couple. Okay, ew. She wasn't about to leave Emily alone with John. Not because she didn't necessarily trust him (but she didn't), of course. She went with them mostly to make sure John didn't start any trouble, though that seemed hardly unlikely, due to the fact he was probably the most humble, gentle guy in the room, pyromania aside.

Alyssa deftly wiped a tear from her eye as the credits came onto the screen, and she and Emily and John filed out of the theater. "That was a sucky movie." She complained.

Emily laughed. "Yeah. Whatever." She gave Alyssa a little push.

Alyssa rolled her eyes, but immediately softened when John held the door open for the both of them, and two old ladies who were walking behind them. She laughed as John handed the door off to a couple who looked like they were on their first date, and the guy was hoping to impress his lady. Good luck there, buddy.

"What did you think of the movie, John?" Alyssa asked him in a too-sweet tone.

"Oh, it was crap. I mean, the lead dude needs his head blown off, and the other guy who was going for the really needy girl needs to blow his romantic shit out his ass." John said as if he was reciting something from a piece of paper.

Alyssa beamed. "Ah, now there's the John I know. I was frightened, thinking you were actually a froofy, sensitive gentleman. Thank you." She placed a hand over her heart, laughing. Emily giggled as well.

John shook his head at the girls and then marched on towards the Toyota Camry Mr. Summers had grudgingly given over to their care. It wasn't his favorite car, but it was still a car, and cars were not to be trusted to teenagers. It was only when Professor Xavier promised to buy him a smaller model of the Blackbird did he shut up and go do… something.

Emily dug into her pocket to find the key and then froze. Oh God, Mr. Summers was going to kill her. He was actually going to kill her. And then he'd get killed by Logan because he'd killed one of the students. Oh God, she was so dead! She quickly checked all of her other pockets, slowly turning to face Alyssa and John.

"What's wrong?" Alyssa asked, her face darkening with dread.

"I… lost the key." Emily whispered, her face clearly saying what she didn't think was appropriate to utter: Oh shit. "Do either of you have a cell phone? Oh, Mr. Summers is going to kill me! I'm so dead! I'm so dead! I promised him that I'd give him the keys back the moment we got back to the mansion!"

Alyssa took her purse from off her shoulder and fished through the cluttered mess for her phone. She searched more wildly when it wasn't in its special little holder. She looked up at the others.

"Oh crap, I don't have it. I was sure I brought it with me! It was on my laptop because I texted one of my friends as I was working on my term paper. Oh my God!" She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, needing to take a deep breath as she felt her shirt start to get wet. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She muttered as Emily looked at her questioningly.

John shrugged. "There's a pay phone right over there, I've got some change in my pocket." He and the girls started to walk over to the pay phone when John's arm was grabbed.

It was a tall, slender man, someone who Alyssa and Emily might have thought was cute if not for the horrible scar on his right cheek and the fact he was as pale as a sheet. Obviously an unfriendly human who had seen Emily's ears, or their nightmares of vampires had actually come true. Alyssa was hoping it was the first one. They could fight a normal human being off if they had to. But unless John had some holy water on him or Emily had a stake hidden underneath her sweatshirt, they were so screwed if it was a vampire.

"Looking for these?" He asked casually, holding up Alyssa's cell phone and the Toyota keys.

"Hey man, come on, give them back." John was obviously agitated, but he managed to rein it in well.

"I don't think so." The man smiled condescendingly, pulling the keys and phone away from John as he tried to grab for them.

"Oh, that's cute, man." John's voice was slightly darker and he reached for his lighter.

Emily stopped him. "John, don't." She hissed, keeping his hand locked in his.

John looked down at her, and then sighed, accepting defeat. He crossed his arms over his chest, taking a small step forward, putting himself between the person and Emily and Alyssa.

"Dude, what do you want?" He asked, bored of this stupid game. "Why don't you just chill out, give us our stuff, and we can all go home?"

"Well, see, there's where the problem is." The person began, almost contemplatively. "You won't be going home. Boys!" He called.

John, Emily and Alyssa whirled around, looking for their adversaries. Almost immediately, they were completely surrounded. Alyssa created several balls of ice in her hands and levitated them so they were eye-level with her. Emily steadied herself and readied her claws. John stuck his hand casually in his pocket and fished out his Zippo lighter. He flicked it open, feeling the familiar rush of fire flow through him.

"Why do you just leave us alone, and we won't have to take you all down one by one?" Alyssa asked, attempting to take on the manner she had seen Cyclops use in battle. He was absolutely in control. He chose his words beforehand and used them to his greatest advantage. Only after words were found to be useless would he attack, but then, he would attack at full force.

The thugs around them laughed and started to close in. John attempted to blast them with fire, but his arm was grabbed in a vice-like grip and a syringe sunk into his elbow. Moments later, he fell to the ground, as if dead. Emily screamed, but she was subdued as well. Alyssa was the only one left and all thoughts of being like the X-Men she admired left her. Her fight or flight instinct kicked in, and she chose flight. She sprinted through the parking lot, dodging through the rows of cars, looking over her shoulder frequently to see where her enemies were. Her breathing was ragged and harsh, but she was so close to the street.

Alyssa screamed as a heavy body crashed into hers, and laid on the ground, stunned. She felt something warm trickle down her chin and she groaned. She began to struggle as best as she could through the daze of getting tackled into the ground, but she whimpered as a needle was inserted into the her arm, and she was out.

XXX

Ororo walked into the foyer to see Scott and Logan bantering back and forth about some useless subject. Logan grabbed Scott by the front of his t-shirt and seemed about to unsheathe his claws when he spotted his girlfriend. He dropped the smaller man and put on a winning smile.

"Hey, 'Ro." Logan greeted, kissing her as Scott got up and made a face.

"You guys are gross." He muttered, but smiled at Ororo as well. "Hey Ororo, what's going on?" He asked casually.

"Emily, Alyssa and John haven't gotten back yet, and I'm worried. It's almost ten o'clock, and the movie was at seven." Ororo crossed her arms over her chest. "Have you guys seen them?"

"No, not since I gave them the car." Scott's face was suddenly stricken. "What if they hurt my car?" He fought the urge to squeal, but he was still very, very concerned for his car.

Logan rolled his eyes. "They probably just went to get something to eat. You have Alyssa's phone, and she never goes anywhere without it. Call her, if you're so worried." He passed his cell phone to Ororo, who quickly dialed the number.

"Hello?" Ororo spoke into the phone. "I'm sorry, I'm looking for my friend, Alyssa, and this is her phone number… oh, sorry. My mistake. Yes, you too. Goodbye." She managed to keep her voice somewhat normal, though she grew steadily more frightened throughout the entire call.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't dial the wrong number. Someone has Alyssa's phone." Ororo took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "I'm sure she simply lost it… but why hadn't the person said they simply found the phone?"

Logan took the phone from Ororo's hand and put an arm around her. "I'm sure those kids are fine. Alyssa and Emily are X-Men, after all, and John damn well knows that if he screws up, my claws are going to rip him a new one." He had a slightly animalistic gleam in his eye for merely a moment, and then it passed. He was Logan again.

Scott looked around the foyer. "I don't have a good feeling about this. John would be doing everything in his power to make sure he stays in our good graces. Alyssa and Emily are both very responsible, too. Maybe we're too worried, since they're all adults and have every right to get something to eat or do something fun after a movie, but the girls know they have responsibilities and would have been back by now." He focused on his teammates and friends. "We should wait an hour, until eleven-oh-five. If they're not back by then, we figure out a plan."

Ororo nodded. "Alright, Scott. I'll meet you both back here then." She kissed Logan, and then left the two men by themselves.

"I'm worried about those three." Logan muttered.

"Me too." Scott murmured in return.

"You think they're alright?" Logan turned to the door and glanced out the small window into the clear night.

Scott shook his head. "I don't know, Logan. I hope so, but I think we might have a rescue mission on our hands." He clapped Logan on the back. "I'll see you in an hour. I'm going to go make preparations. I don't have a good feeling about this."

XXX

John groaned as he finally came to, though everything was blurry and fuzzy. He was laying on a cold, hard surface, and he moaned as his head began to pound. He curled up as tightly as he could into a ball, shivering from the lack of blankets tucked around his body. He cracked his eyes open as the headache began to pass, and sat up. He was in a concrete holding cell of some type. It was one small room, barely big enough for the three metal beds that were squished together at the far end from the door. There was a small window above the middle bed, but beyond that, it was concrete.

"Emily? Alyssa?" He called to their unmoving forms.

"Mmmm… John?" Emily whispered, whimpering as she, too, felt the headache begin. John rubbed his eyes and saw her cat ears poking up from the middle bed.

John moved from his bed to hers easily, seeing as how there was only three inches between the metal frames. He sat up against the cold concrete wall, still shivering. He didn't bother to look for his lighter. He knew it was gone. Hesitantly, he brought her head up slightly and put it on his thigh, making something of a pillow for her.

"God, my butt's cold." He complained, feeling, rather than hearing, her chuckle against him. John once again surveyed the stark room. Scant metal frames for beds, no pillows, blankets or mattresses. All he could really say, considering he'd been in much worse, was that he hoped there was a separate lavatory facility. 'Cause he was not going in front of two girls!

"I hurt." Alyssa mumbled childishly as she began to wake up. "Emily? John?!" She exclaimed, her words garbled by the aftereffects of whatever drug had been pumped into them. She forced herself to sit upright, looking around the room, letting out a relieved sigh when she saw her two friends. "Uhhhhhnnnngggg…" She groaned as she slid back down into a sleeping position.

Emily lifted her head from his leg and, with John's help, sat next to him, her back against the wall. She blinked several times, her ears twitching in agitation. She was not fond of small spaces, and was struck with a strong urge to attack the walls with her claws in her fear. She massaged her face, letting out a sigh. Soon, Alyssa was in the same position, and the three friends sat on Emily's bed together.

"I hate this." John muttered, glaring at the solid door. "They took my fucking lighter!" He growled, using his anger as a shield. He was completely helpless. He was a shrimp compared to most other men, and he wasn't very strong either. Without his mutation, he couldn't protect himself, let alone protect Emily and Alyssa.

Alyssa reached a hand out, attempting to draw the moisture out from the air and create a small ball of water, or at least feel the water, but she couldn't. She stared at her hand in sheer terror, shaking her head, convincing herself that it was just an aftereffect of the drug, and she'd be able to feel the moisture again. She created a fist and slammed it against the wall beside her.

"This is killing me!" She took a deep breath, focusing on suppressing her anger. "Okay. How long do you think it'll take the team to realize we're gone?" She asked the others.

"They should have figured it out by last night when we didn't come home. They know we wouldn't stay out late, and we were teaching classes tomorrow. We don't do that sort of thing, after all." Emily pointed it out, trying to take comfort in the fact the X-Men never left someone behind. Even if the odds were against them, Storm and Cyclops would figure out some crazy, hair-brained plan that would end up working. They'd done it a million times, and it would be idiotic to think it would be the last.

"Yeah." Alyssa nodded, raking her fingers through her hair in frustration. "So, any ideas on how to pass the time?" She inquired randomly.

"Well, we could always talk about our crushes and who we want to go to the prom with!" John suggested with girly enthusiasm, but his face transformed to its previous scowl. "Yeah, right."

Alyssa looked at Emily with a fake look of peace on her face. "Ah, as it goes. All men revert to their previous states while in a huge, concrete cell."

Emily merely rolled her eyes as the trio lapsed into silence. The minutes seem to tick by at an impossibly slow rate. The only clock they had was the sun, and it appeared to be fixed in one place. To pass the time, they each took turns staring out of the tiny window, though it was more like a hole the construction workers decided was too much trouble to fill up. The other two played thumb wars and they arm-wrestled until their arms were sore. After that, Emily pulled off her sweatshirt and they made it into a ball and tossed it back and forth between the three of them, each making fake bets on how long they could throw it without dropping it. Considering the small room, it would probably be a long time.

Soon, the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, and shadows were harshly cast across the room. John was lying on the floor of their cell, doing sit-ups to work on his self-titled "rock hard abs". Alyssa was on her back on her bed, her head facing the door as she hummed silly songs underneath her breath. Emily had taking her sweatshirt and formed it into a pillow (they'd long since grown tired of throwing the ball back and forth).

"Alyssa, God! Shut the hell up!" John snapped. It wasn't that he was really angry with her, or with anyone at the moment, except the idiots who had imprisoned them. He was so sick of sitting in a cell, and if the X-Men didn't get there soon, LOGAN would be the one to get a new one ripped.

Alyssa pushed herself slightly off of her bed so John was upside down to her. "Fine." She glared at him. "You're so lucky I don't throw my shoe at you, you… well, there's an idea." She looked at her worn converse that looked like they belonged when the shoes had first come out.

"Lyssa, don't." Emily murmured, half-asleep.

"No, that's not what I meant." Alyssa waved a hand at her. "John, you got good aim?"

John caught where her thoughts were going, and laughed at her. He was soon overcome with what had been intended as mocking laughter, as the true hilarity of what his semi-friend was suggesting. He curled on up on the floor, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Alyssa crossed her arms over her chest. "What's your problem?" She asked, huffing.

John somehow managed to get control of himself, and smirked at her. "You think a shoe, or six shoes, for that matter, is going to get us out of here? Even if I had my lighter, and we could use our powers, since I think they're suppressed until the drug's out of us, you think we're going to get out of a place like this?" He sniggered. "Like hell we are. Listen, honey," His voice was dripping with sickly sweetness. "This is the Friends of Humanity, or one of their affiliates. Wherever the hell we are, it's not chump street. They're going to have guards and security cameras and guns and a shitload of fancy drugs that will make you high as a kite, and then so depressed you want to kill yourself, just so they can experiment the crap out of us."

Alyssa and Emily watched him with wide eyes, and he cursed himself inwardly for letting himself go all 'badass' John again. He let out a low sigh, leaning his back against the concrete wall, his eyes riveted on the ground. Nothing he said had been a lie, and it was probably better that it was out and on the table, then all of them throwing their lives away on some stupid escape attempt. If John knew one thing about Mr. Summers, it was that he would have the team in and out as soon as the realization that they were gone appeared in his mind. He knew he would remain strong in that thought for the girls. He knew they could handle themselves just as well without him, but while he was here, he would do anything he could to help them.

The door opened and a nondescript guard in a black uniform walked in. He eyed them suspiciously, and then handed John a tray and a jug. When John had put the two things down, the guard gave the glaring young man a kick in the side for good measure.

John fell over, groaning, but gasped for breath and sat up all the same. "Hey buddy, how about some blankets?" He asked roughly, still heaving for breath.

"I don't think so, dude. Enjoy your meal." The guard smirked, and then closed the door.

John sighed, refusing to feel defeat. He picked up the jug and tray, and set it down on Emily's bed. "Come on, guys." He said, rubbing his side, hissing as he did so.

"Take your shirt off." Emily blushed.

John grinned. "Really? So excited to get my shirt off?"

Emily blushed once more. "You know what I mean!" She took a deep breath, refusing to look him in the eye. "Now, come on, I want to make sure you're all right."

Pyro knew he could just pull the side of his shirt up, but decided to go for the full show. He started to hum stripper music and gyrated his hips, slowly pulling his shirt up. He did a small dance and then slowly walked towards her. Emily blushed furiously and looked away, Alyssa unable to stop laughing.

John stopped the torture and pulled his shirt off, sitting down next to Emily. "I'm done." He rolled his eyes dramatically, letting her run her fingers over the red spot that had been created by the guard's foot. "Is it bruising?"

Emily moved his arm so she could get a closer look. "Is that a birth mark?" She asked, poking it.

John swatted her hand away. "Yes." He rolled his eyes. "Now, come on. Is it bruising?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, I think a little bit." She gently pressed on the spot. "Does that hurt?"

"A little." He admitted. He took deep breaths when Emily instructed him to. "What is that supposed to do?" He inquired.

"It's to make sure your ribs aren't cracked. It really, really hurts when you break a rib. Take it from me; I broke one in the Danger Room once. Was not pleasant." Alyssa interjected before Emily could reply.

"Well, I think you're okay, John. You should probably get some rest after we eat." Emily turned her eyes to the three small bowls of what looked like unseasoned oatmeal. She made a face, but handed Alyssa a bowl and dug in anyway. She made another face. "Ugh, that's disgusting."

John rolled his eyes as he took his bowl and finished it off in two gulps. "Now, I thought they would be giving us five-star meals here in prison." He mocked her as he went to lay down on his bed. "Just go to sleep, girlies."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and Emily scoffed, tempted to scratch him. It would serve him right, after all. As the sun finally rolled down completely behind the mountains, the three teenagers settled in for a (hopefully) good night's rest, each using an article of clothing to prop their heads up. John had kept his shirt off, Emily was using her sweatshirt, and Alyssa pulled off her outershirt and was down to a camisole for the night.

Little did they know the scientists' plans for them, but those would wait until morning.