A/N: Sorry for the wait. I started working full time and this chapter never seemed ready until now, enjoy!

Thanks for all of the reviews...keep 'em coming!

What the Hell?

Ch. 7

Lab Rat

(A few hours later)

"Has anyone seen John?" Rogue asked that same question to everyone in the mansion and the responses were all the same: no.

She ended up in the kitchen annoyed and frustrated, plopping down in a chair across from Logan.

Logan snorted. "Sounds like deja vu."

Rogue rolled her eyes at him. This wasn't a joke. She knew deep down something wasn't right. When Bobby entered, she asked, "Have you seen John?"

"Not since this morning. He looked like hell," Bobby replied while getting a tub of ice cream. If you touched his ice cream and he found out... it wasn't a pretty sight. John did it often, on purpose. Sometimes he would take it out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter to melt, and other times he would purposely put nuts into the container because he knew Bobby was allergic. He would place them on top of the ice cream where they would be spotted right away. It's not like he wanted to kill the snowman. Once John placed one nut on top and put the container back in the freezer. When he went back to his room he started laughing. Bobby knew right away something was up, "What did you do to my ice cream, Dyce?" After that John was hysterical and Bobby ran down the stairs like a speeding bullet. Even with one nut, Bobby would toss the container in the trash. It was amusing to watch him bitch. Bobby would 'yell' and John would grin flicking his lighter letting everything his roommate said go in one ear and out the other.

"He had another dream yesterday... he didn't talk about it. I woke him up during it and that's when he grabbed my arm."

Logan's expression changed.

Rogue pointed her index finger at him. "Don't do anything, Logan! It was entirely an accident." She paused remembering John's expression after he woke up from his dream, "You should have seen him. He was pretty freaked out. I saw him today, but that was a few hours ago."

"Maybe he went back with Magneto," Bobby said in a neutral tone, looking for a spoon.

She snapped, "He wouldn't do that to us again, Bobby. Not to me at least!" Rogue paused to stop herself from doing something she'd regret. She stood up from her chair and went to the window to stare outside. Before she continued, she took a deep breath and let out an annoyed sigh, "You know something's out of the ordinary if you don't hear that damn lighter at least once every half hour... every hour at the most."

John was still unconscious from the injection Mystique had given him. He lay on a metal table, hands and legs bound to it. The room was basically empty besides the machines he was hooked up to. The machines started to beep more rapidly as John was coming out of his unconscious state. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he immediately turned his head to the side to see where that annoying noise was coming from. John groaned at the vital monitor and looked back up at the ceiling. Feeling well enough to sit up, he tried using his hand to prop himself up, but it wouldn't budge. "What the f-"

"Welcome back, Pyro."

The firebug recognized the voice, but that only added tension. He turned his head to the right. His former leader had a big grin plastered on his face. John turned away to stare back at the ceiling. Magneto was the last person he wanted to see. "Please tell me I'm dreaming."

"No, as a matter of fact ... this is very real."

John's day was getting worse by the minute. "Why am I here? What do you want?" he asked, irritated.

Magneto walked closer to his bound guest. "I told you there would be hell to pay if you left."

"I left three years ago... why now?"

"Excellent question, Pyro."

Mystique walked into the room holding venipuncture essentials and another syringe.

John tugged on the restraints, "I bet I wasn't being paranoid... you were watching me weren't you, Mystique?"

She grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes." He stopped tugging at the bounds because it was getting him nowhere.

Mystique handed Magneto the syringe and then he held it up for Pyro to see. "This is why."

Smartasses never resist the urge to crack a joke. John grinned, "I already took my booster shot this year. Can I go now?"

Mystique disinfected near John's cubital fossa (aka elbow pit). "Make a fist," she ordered. He refused. "Do it!" After a few heartbeats, he reluctantly complied due to a lack of options. She used a butterfly needle to pierce his skin into a vein. The blood flowed through thin tubing into a vial. Once it was full, she removed it, placed it to the side and took another one to fill. The shapeshifter had four vials of his blood before removing the winged infusion tool.

Magneto glared. "No. You'll be with us for a while."

"It was worth a ... shot." Pyro was still grinning. He was starting to get on Magneto's nerves and each moment was priceless.

His past allies meant business and Pyro's smart mouth would have to be ignored as Magneto went on with the main objective ... his latest plan. "This, my boy, is one of a kind," he said, marveling at the syringe.

Pyro's smirk vanished. "I don't want it," he said, now serious. This wasn't a game. The Master of Magnetism doesn't play games when it comes to mutant superiority.

"You don't have a choice." Without further hesitation, Magneto jammed the syringe into Pyro's upper arm.

John winced. "God damn it. That hurts!"

"I thought you were tougher than that," mocked Magneto.

"Well," John paused and glared, "If I wasn't strapped down to the table like a mental patient, things would be different."

Magneto gave his former advocate a patronizing short laugh, and said, "I highly doubt that... Pyro."

John noticed the change in the older man's voice when he said his code name. It was odd and definitely on purpose.

"Mystique and I will be back later. We need to let the serum do its work."

"Can I at least get a television set in here?" John asked.

"No," Magneto replied over his shoulder before leaving the room.

John yelled, "Well, what am I supposed to do? Just lay here and twiddle my thumbs?" He paused for a second, "Shit! I can't even do that!" 'I hope you heard that... leaving me here to be bored to death, asshole.'

"Where's the Professor?" Rogue asked.

"Out," replied Logan.

She was getting impatient. "Don't tell me we are going to just sit here and wait!"

To her disappointment, that's exactly what they were going to do. Time wasn't a thing to waste.

Rogue left the kitchen and went upstairs to wait for him. She knew John wouldn't betray her like that again. He just couldn't! Could he?

Pyro was left alone for over an hour and he didn't feel any different. However, the second hour was a different story. He definitely didn't feel the same as he did earlier.

Magneto and Mystique came back a little under three hours.

"How are you doing, Pyro?" Magneto asked using the same tone when he said John's codename.

"Fuck off!" John snapped.

"That bad?" Magneto shrugged. "Well, I guess there are a few side effects." He released Pyro's hands and feet using his power. Pyro sat himself up to death stare Magneto as he swung his legs over the side.

"I'm sure you're wondering what I did to you, and I'll be more than happy to tell you." Magneto paused for a few seconds to let Pyro's thoughts wander. "The serum I gave you took away your mutant 'gift,'" he said bluntly.

Pyro was silent.

"Therefore, you no longer have the ability to manipulate fire." He showed no remorse for what he was telling Pyro. Frankly, he was enjoying every moment.

He laughed sarcastically. "Bullshit!"

"Not that you will need this anymore, but I believe this is yours," Magneto smiled as he handed the shark lighter to John. He flicked it open, started the flame and concentrated on the flames willing them to extinguish. Magneto could see the frustration and defeat on the young man's face. The Master of Magnetism was grinning even more now ... his concoction had worked and he had proof.

John tried a few more times before giving up. He pocketed his lighter and once again glared at Magneto.

"It's genius really," he gloated. "It took me three years to complete it and you were my first lab rat, congratulations." Magneto mocked.

John was furious. He made a fist as he made eye contact with Magneto. He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word so there would be no misinterpretation: "You. Are. Going. To. Pay."

Magneto laughed in his face. "What are you going to do?"

He was silent. All he knew was Magneto would pay one day and that's all that would matter.

"Mystique, throw this human out," Magneto ordered.

Pyro slid off the metal table and gritted his teeth. "I'll throw myself out." As he marched to the door, he heard, "It was nice seeing you again, John" and immediately stopped short. His ex-mentor would not get the last word! Pyro turned around only to see Mystique and Magneto with big white smiles. He turned around again so that his back was facing them. John flipped the birdie before the door shut behind him. It wasn't the best come-back because clearly Magneto won overall, but he was granted with the last gesture.

As soon as John got outside he knew his whereabouts. It took him over an hour to make his way back to the mansion. He felt worse than he did before. John's breathing was heavy. In addition, he was also very pale and extremely tired. Just barely making it home, he leaned on the front door for support and fumbled for the knob.

The door was opened from the inside. Using the door frame to maintain balance, he built up enough strength to stand on his own to avoid hurting someone.

"John!" exclaimed Rogue.

He flashed her a half-smile before passing out on the threshold.

A/N: You like? I like! Hit me ... with reviews ... or I just won't update anymore...how would you like that? Ack, don't throw tomatoes at me...I'll update don't worry! The reviews just help ... a lot!

Still think I'm evil, Orli?