The cool, crisp night air took no time at all to envelope the frantic mutant's body as he stumbled out of the mansion. The voice inside of his mind made a cold shiver run up and down his spine. The feeling gave the sensation of white-hot needles stabbing him along the middle of his back. He couldn't stop it; all he could do was suffer.

Finally, the mutant collapsed onto the wet grass; the dew clung to his face and rolled down his flushed cheeks. Whatever was inside of him, he wanted it out. He wanted it out now.

'Why do you torment me!' He silently screamed. The voice only laughed. It was a laugh of pure insanity and malice, of gleeful condescension. John hated it. He didn't like to be laughed at; he wanted to be rid of this taunting voice.

'But what fun would that be?' It questioned him. 'What fun would there be in it for me?'

"You think you can break me!" John screamed, "But I won't give into you. I know who you are!"

Although John felt that his confidence would win him through, the entity inside of him shook its head.

'And you think that I can't see through you? Think again. I know everything there is to know about you. I'm connected to you and there's nothing, nothing, you can do about it.'

John considered for a moment. He knew he wasn't insane. He knew that the entity inside of him was one of evil; he didn't want it. Finally, he came to the only conclusion that he could think of:

"I'll kill myself," he whispered, "That way, I won't have to deal with you!"

John's voice rose in audibility as he spoke to the nagging voice. There was silence until he heard it speak to him again. This time, it was soft and neutral.

'You don't want to do that, Pyro. Even if you did, I wouldn't let you. I can make you do anything I want you to. Observe.'

Suddenly, John felt his body being lifted upward. He wasn't willing himself to do anything at all; automatically, he was picking himself off of the ice-cold grass. But he didn't stop with standing. When John thought the display of power was over, he began to rise into the air. He rose above the mansion and into the vast sea of stars. His feet dangled below him as he found himself floating away from the mansion.

"Where are you taking me!" John screamed as he realized how far he was being taken.

The voice only chuckled in his mind. It didn't speak to him, but simply rendered him unconscious until they reached their destination.

No light greeted him save for a few small candles that were placed around the room. John had to squint to see exactly where he was. Reaching his hand out for a moment, he summoned the flame of one of the candles toward him and caught it neatly in his palm. Quickly, he expanded it and took note of his surroundings.

It was a murky place. There were dusty bookcases lined up on one wall; the books appeared as if they'd been read a hundred times, but not in this century. He was lying on a comfortable enough mattress, he noticed. A single mirror adorned the wall opposite him and he made out two pure black couches next to the bookcases.

The flame grew brighter as he scanned the walls for a door. And he found one. Flinging his feet over the bed, he silently hoped that it wasn't locked.

Turning the knob he noticed that... it wasn't.

The fire still dancing on his palm, John walked into the pitch-black hallway and located a staircase a fair distance away. There were no other sounds than that of the small creaks that emitted from the steps once in a while. John gulped as he thought about where he was and precisely how far away he had been taken from his home.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he peered around a corner and noticed another candle was positioned on a lone table. Cautiously, the mutant inched toward the light and into another room.

Then, without warning, a dark figure pounced out of the darkness and grabbed him. John screamed loudly as he was knocked backward; his body flew back toward the stairs as the assailant moved in on him again. Frantically, John tried to steady himself and he expanded the ball of fire in his hands. Rapidly, he sent numerous fiery spheres toward his attacker, but it jumped over each one expertly.

Again, it pounced. It seemed as if his attacker didn't care about the deadly element in his hands. This made John circumspect; he didn't know anyone that wasn't afraid of fire.

Then strong hands grabbed his arms and pinned him down. John twisted and turned but nothing made the assassin relent. The darkness crept up on him as the fire in his hand started to diminish.

This was it. 'I'm going to die,' he thought.

But no sooner had he said it, John's attacker released his arms and jumped backward off of him. Hastily, John scooted away from the assassin and expanded the flame in his palm. The light grew brighter and wider until he saw the face of his attacker.

"Mornin', Mate," it said happily, "Ya 'ungry?"

John felt the fire burn inside of him; his blood started to boil.

This freak just tried to kill him and now it was offering him breakfast?

"What the hell is going on here?" Pyro demanded, his brow thoroughly covered in sweat.

The mutant in front of him laughed again, "I was just messin' with ya, Man. Wanted to get a bit of a rise outa ya."

John sneered, "Well, I guess you got it, didn't you? Do you feel better now, Toad?"

The flames danced in Pyro's hand and they reflected off of Toad's face. The green mutant's lips curled into a mischievous grin, "You bet your arse, I do, Pyro, me friend! Now, 'ow bout that breakfast?"

John was in no mood to socialize with the mutant that had just attacked him, but he couldn't ignore his stomach that growled in protest. It seemed to threaten him: 'You feed me, or I'll damn well cave in on your sorry ass!'

Reluctantly, John picked himself off the ground and followed Toad into the kitchen. When the green mutant gestured toward the empty table, John looked at him quizzically.

"Go on, sit down," Toad said, "I'll have breakfast up in a jif."

Furrowing his eyebrows, John took his seat. He couldn't ignore the questions that ran through his mind, but he didn't feel like asking someone as arrogant as Toad. Well, there was one was to get information...

"So you're the Brotherhood maid, eh? Hell, I would have asked for another job. How's the dental? Judging by your teeth, I'd say you'd be better off workin' at the post office."

John snickered loudly and watched as Toad glared daggers at him. Then his light accent ruptured the silence, "Well, at least I don't scream like a bloody girl. 'Oh no! It's a big bad man comin' to get me!'"

Toad mocked Pyro by flailing his arms around in the air and spinning in circles. When he stopped, he glanced at John. After a second or two of silence, the two broke out into roaring laughter.

'He's not as bad as I thought,' John thought. Then he reconsidered, 'But there has to be something behind it.'

"Nah, Mate. There's nothin' behind it. You seem like a decent guy; there's no reason not ta like ya."

John snapped his head in Toad's direction. "What did you say?" He asked.

Toad just smiled as he flipped three pancakes onto a plate. John narrowed his eyes at the green mutant and spoke again. "What did you say?" He enunciated clearly and stared at Toad until the mutant felt the need to speak. Finally, the British accent sounded again and John listened intently as each word fell from his mouth.

"I'm not even gonna try to play stupid with you, Mate. Ya see, we know that you're not dumb. That's one of the reasons why we want you. Now, what's happenin' here is going to come as a shock, but I think you ought to know."

John leaned forward as Toad sat down in the chair opposite him. He was about to find out everything that was happening.

"Now," Toad began, "you're going to find out everything that's been goin' on. I'm not sure I'm the one to tell ya, but I'm going to anyway."

Toad took a deep breath and made sure that he had Pyro's complete attention. Then he continued:

"You see, it all started three months ago..."