2013.10.24 - Homecoming

Four backdrops covered each of the Gymnasium walls (Yes the dance is in the Gym. Logan wants to be authentic with the experience). All of them depicted a twilight sky complete with stars. Parts of the gym floor looked like a reflecting pool as the stars and everything in the room could be seen in them, the other parts were imitation stone walkways with green plants outlining them all. Similar greenery decorated the outsides of tables surrounded in black table cloth, all tables had two chairs but could easily sit four if there were some double-daters. Inside the plants around the walkways were Lanterns that provided the lighting to the room.
A long circular area was closest to the speakers and a DJ area, who was more of a person with expensive speakers and a docking center for an ipod complete with a playlist. Between most of the tables and the dance area was a Eifel tower that lit up an was ten feet tall and about five feet wide.
Off toward the back was a photo booth covered in black and the vines with the assorted flowers as found on the tables that was free to use. There were several walkways to tables that had archways that looked like those in Paris. Nearby the photo booth was a single archway where a professional photographer also waited. So whether someone wanted to be silly or serious with their photos there were options.
Toward the back of all the tables were several long tables with an assortment of goods to eat on par with a catered event. Over roasted chicken and ham rested in heating trays, a brisket rested under a heat lamp on top of a wooden slab while someone was there to cut slices. Also, on the dinner table was a plethora of salad fixings, even radish rosettes, rolls, and other goodies to complete the meal. Clearly someone was trying really hard to give students everything for this dance.
Logan waited about five minutes before opening the doors. All of the decorations were in place. The room was lit thanks to the lanterns and stars. Everything was covered in a soft glow. What may be most shocking was Logan standing in a white tuxedo jacket, black pants with a matching vest and tie. If it wasn't for the mean demeanor people may have confused him for hired help or a bouncer in Vegas. His hair was slicked back in a ponytail. Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball blared over the speakers as looked over everyone waiting. "Enjoy yerselves."
You had to fricken play wrecking ball, didn't you Logan? Now we're likely to somehow get a gender bent Quentin Quire licking Thors Hammer and straddling the Absorbing Mans ball and chain...
Errr...
Now that mental image won't get out of anyones head, won't it? Sorry!
Cough!
Anyways...
As this part starts, it might turn out that there's someone here. They may have already been here. Or they might not of. Instead, they may have somehow managed to pull off sliding in via a side exit.
But anyways, one Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23 is here. And not in uniform for once! Is she in a dress? Yeah. Sorta. It's just a plain looking 'little black dress'. Nothing fancy looking. Or expensive. And she's wearing a pair of black flats as well. All while she stays off to the side, alone, and partially hidden by shadows.
Nate's return that morning was met with relief, despite his overall look. Amongst his blabbering that he yammered out between naps he mentioned a party, a dance, a .... Homecoming? So while he was in a short power nap Rose took the time to utilize high tech databases to figure out what he was talking about... A Homecoming. What she saw both terrified and appalled her, leaving her staring at glamorized youths dancing, eating, pictures, partying. She could handle that, the attire is a whole other story. The dresses did not look anything like they were very mobile, fitting, and took five people to cram you in, zip you up and remind you to breathe while you sparkled from neck to toe.
"I'd look like a walking disco ball.. No. Way."
Rose went shopping anyway and found something almost workable, though when it was time to go she stood at the side of her motorcycle and after a few failed attempts to swing her leg up over the seat she huffs and rips the leg slits higher. "You go missing then this. You -want- me to hate you." Rose says before they depart, quickly pulling up to the place he directed her to.
Having picked up her car from the airport, once Magneto's pet teleporter dropped her off from their cross-hemisphere trip, Jean guides the Lexus up the driveway, opening the gates with a telekinetic push accompanied by a telepathic pulse to identify herself to the system. (Needless to say, there's a security fellow on duty who just about has a fit when the ID flashes by.)
The car's wheels crunch over the driveway as she guides it into her usual parking spot and turns it off. The motor falls silent, ticking off the freeway heat. The red haired telepath leans back in her seat for a moment and closes her eyes.
Home. It's so good to come home.
She shoves the door open and steps out. Her clothing is borrowed -- a simple red and gold dress cut in a classic style, her baggage lost in Genosha. So, she has nothing else to bring in with her. Frankly, she was just lucky she left the keys with the airport valet.
So, unencumbered by anything but bad memories, the woman walks up the steps and into the mansion that has been her home for the better part of a decade-and-a-half. She turns toward the stairs, intending to retreat to her quarters, but pauses at the base of the stairs, one hand on the rail, one foot on a step, as her ears pick up the sounds of the party in the other part of the house.
She blinks. Glances to a poster.
Homecoming. That's tonight?
Aw, hell.
Supposedly Nate should be recovering at Muir Island. But he rarely does what he is supposed to do. He left Muir in the morning, almost exhausted himself flying to New York and spent most of the day at Halo. Somehow, he also managed to convince Rose to come with him to a 'Homecoming' party.
Because 'it would be fun', and he has never been in any. The usual Nate-reason.
Besides, the fun started seeing Rose caring so much about how she looked at the party. Hilarious. On the other hand, he just transformed his uniform into something resembling a formal outfit. White shirt, black pants and shoes, dark grey blazer, and something that resembles a tie. Otherwise, he looks pale and tired, like a guy that just recovered from some deadly diseases. Which is just what has happened.
Jocelyn had to take a different teleporter home from Genosha than Jean. She had to 'wrap things up' at the hospital. And by that we mean setting things up so that she was deemed 'unfit to continue as administrator in a crisis'. One of the contingencies the X-Woman had put in place for her cover to both keep things running smoothly there and to extract her from Genosha. Once, it was to hide her cover from Magneto. Now? Now it was to keep things running smoothly there.
Spotting the large number of people in the area from where the woman walks onto the grounds, something clicks in Jocelyn's head. Right. Homecoming. That was soon. Jocelyn slipped around back and made her way up to her room, which had apparently already been vacated by Laura, and started digging around for something to wear. Where was that stupid dress? Geesh. She'd kind of hoped she'd miss the dance, but she figured she should at least put in an appearance. If nothing else, to let certain people know she was still alive.
Rose cared, down to footwear. That's where the care stopped. Trying on heels, stilletto's, not platforms - POW war torture devices. She is wearing her boots, a peek of them here and there beneath the hem of the full length black dress when it slipped from the loose formation of high rising slits with threads showing her already-abuse.
"Remind me why you're here?" She asks, leaning towards the revenant looking Nate. "You should have let Void do something, it's also not everyday you come back looking like death warmed over."
Was she speaking /all/ for him or for her own discomfort as well in this scenario as they got closer in paces and she is tugging at the dress as well as pushing the hair that fell from the bun back behind her ear.
Josie's style is usually tomboyish, generally wearing a boy's style but with girlish colours or patterns or decoration of somekind. Tonight, though, she breaks that pattern, actually wearing a dress. Admittedly, it was likely cheap as it's a style that's a bit outdated, but she doesn't seem to care as she makes her way into the dance, looking around with a smile at the decorations.
Jamie decided to show up for homecoming cause well he's still a new teacher and all, and well what better way to get to know the students than this, right? So he dressed in a dress shirt and pants, but of course he is still wearing the trench coat. Hey trench coats are totally awesome and need to be worn at all times! He comes into the dance and winces at the music choice, he should have made a dupe to be the DJ. The music choice would be much better than Miley.
And just like he did when he was younger, Jamie hangs out by the wall. It made his younger school dancing days weird, especially since he was home schooled and the only one at those dances, that he through for himself. Hey Jamie can actually be a little shy at times, unless the right dupe comes out of course.
No. Laura does not move from her spot off to the side. She just sort of silently stands there... And watches.
She watches Logan. She watches Rose and Nate as they enter, before nodding once, slightly, in their direction. Then there's a slight nod at Josie as the younger mutant enters. And yet as Jamie... One of the /teachers/ moves over near her at the wall, the clawed mutant girl frowns slightly.
Nate tsk, taking Rose's arm and leading her into the gym, "I have been hurt before, I never let it slow me down. And you would do the same," except maybe with a 300% more alcohol. "Besides, you get to meet interesting people here, and crazy people too. Oh, and there is Laura there." He smiles at the dark-haired girl.
Storm is not one of the first people to arrive despite her best efforts, though that's likely not a surprise considering she had some last minute administrative work to get out of the way. She is wearing a floor length dress, which in and of itself is not all that odd, but the fact that it is a solid colored fabric might make one pause. Shimmering silk-like fabric in a dark gray reminiscent of heavy rain clouds brushes the simple sandals she prefers wearing, the bodice of the dress consisting of two wide pieces of the same cloud-grey fabric artfully wrapped over her shoulders and across her back to wrap around her waist and tie in a simple knot to emulate a sweetheart neckline.
She looks across the ballroom, taking in the decorations and the students that have already arrived before walking quietly over to where Logan is standing. She could easily offer a small joke about his current attire, but decides perhaps it's better to not joke. Not right now, anyway.
Moving into the gym more Logan looked over the crowd. Spotting Jamie hanging in the back he moved toward the younger teacher. He gave a nod, "How ya holding up?" Logan looked at his fellow teacher, "No date?" He figured Jamie would have had a date, or at least one of Jamie's duplicates would have brought a date. If it wasn't meant for the kids Logan would have brought out the cigars and maybe a flask. Sadly, he was here to make sure the kids didn't do the fun stuff until they were legal. Spotting Laura's frown he gave a nod to Jamie, "If ya wanna dance with her it'd probably embarrass her less if you did it instead o' me." The plan for Logan was quite simple: Hang back, watch the students, confiscate any booze and enjoy said booze after the dance. His date was well...was dead in the ground or floating in the air after being vaporized.
Another nod was tossed out, this one went toward Storm. He would make a comment about her looking good, but that would require yelling. "Why hang back? Enjoy yerself...as best as a teacher can at one of these things."
One of the teachers should have fun and so Logan was pushing Jamie to enjoy himself.
"Which -is- Laura by the way? Crazy or interesting? Start naming and catagorizing." Rose nudges Nate lightly in the jest while her focus levels on that of Laura, offering her a light up nod in acknowledgement. To Nate's point all she has to say is.. "Touche."
The dress she wears leaves one arm bare, while what seems to loop around the neck is the fabric that bleeds from the one sleeve around and down to start the formation of the top of the dress, solid down the front ssave the small gap between the top and that wrap-twined sleeve. The back on the other hand criss crossed down like straps of a corset to the small of her back before the wrap commenced much like the sleeve to fall towards the floor. It was like watching a cat try and figure out a hammock to see Rose try and dress in the dress...
Jean lets her hand fall away from the railing. Better to go now, really, than later. At least go long enough to check in with some of the faculty - let them know the reports of her death were... well, not so much premature or greatly exaggerated as no longer true.
Thus, her quiet footsteps take her down the hall to the great room where the decorations hang and the sounds of contemporary top 40 can be heard thumping beyond the oak paneling in the hallway.
She pushes through the doors and steps to the side, back lit slightly by some of the lighting as she waits for her eyes to adjust.
Storm returns Logan's nod and detours away from her path to speak with him, instead going to make sure Laura is doing all right. She's working awfully hard at holding that wall up, after all. And, because she's pretty much all the way across the room from the entrance, she doesn't notice Jean's quiet arrival.
"How have you been enjoying your classes, Laura?" she asks of the typically quiet and aloof young lady.
After a quick *blink* into her room to change into the strapless, slinky green dress with a bow at the left hip that ruffled it and made the skirt a bit asymmetrical (along with a pair of matching, heeled shoes), Clarice returned to where she'd left Kaydin waiting.
It's not the best welcoming to Westchester or the Institute, but you do what you can when there's a threat. The pink elf pauses in pulling her hair back into a low ponytail to cough into her hand. She frowns a bit and scrubs away the flecks of... is that red? She looks a little pale- which is a strange hue on her. "Welcome to Xavier Institute. This is where... well, a lot of mutants end up when they have nowhere else to go, or need a place to better learn how to handle themselves. It's a /safe/ place and the Staff will know how to handle things."
As they head for the gym, Clarice is trying to explain a homecoming to Kaydin, but she barely knows what is is herself. "So, it's... like a celebration of starting the new year. I guess. I think it's just a reason to dress fancy and dance." A glance over to Kaydin and she realizes the Atlantean will stand out. Well, no helping that. She coughs into her hand again and continues forward, approaching the doors. "I hope Josh got my note..." They were supposed to meet and arrive at the dance together, but it was pushing it just to get changed into the dress, let alone wait for her date.
"Jury is still deciding," replies Nate, well aware Laura can hear everything. He nods to Logan, who he met briefly a year ago while fighting Marauders. He had almost forgotten that. Now the Marauders are with Sinister, maybe they always were.
He sighs, "lets get some drinks, alright? Oh, and someone is coming and something tells me she has not told anyone she would come. This should be good."
Jamie just blinks at Wolverine when he starts to talk to him, "Well I'm single. And well some of the people my dupes end up dating shouldn't be around kids." Hey that Playboy Dupe really dates some interesting ladies you know. Jamie looks at Laura, "So would you like to dance? And before you say no I'm giving you fair warning. Saying no will result in me making twenty dupes all of them will keep asking you if you want to dance until you cave."
Kaydin stands where she left him, looking around and very much looking like a fish out of water. Anyway, for those with enhanced senses, they can smell the man's scent isnt normal human and for those who recognizes the smell of an atlantean out of the ocean, they will know what he is, even if the sigils on his armor are symbols of Atlantis. Once Clarice comes back and coughs, he looks to her and see's her pale. He then moves to grab her wrist gently. "Perhaps you best not go...You seem to be sick." He says as he looks at her with concern but if she continues walking he doesnt stop her.. "What in the name of Poseidon is that noise?" He asks now, distracted again.
And as Jean opens those doors, Laura glances her way. And blinks. And tilts her head. And sniffs the air slightly.
Then just... Shrugs?
Yeap. Laura just shrugs.
All though, it's almost as if she might hear something else... Possibly from the nearby teachers. Because as she does, the female 'clone' of Wolverine balls her hands into fists. Then again, as Jamie does ask her...
*SNIKT!*
There comes the claws, even as the girl slowly raises one hand and points it at him, before she shakes her head.
"No. You are a teacher. You should know better."
Gee, does that help answer the question you asked Nate, Rose?
Jean went unnoticed by Logan too. And there were too scents in the air to figure her out. Teenage anxiety was a bit overpowering. Seeing Jamie take Laura out for a dance Logan decided to just help himself to some water, that he pulled from a cooler nearby the serving tables. If it wasn't for the whit tux he would enjoy some punch. Sadly the stains would be murder on the wallet, blood got on it once and it was so much to get it out, never again.
Pulling off the cap Logan watched the crowd just making sure no one was getting too rowdy. Seeing Laura pop the claws he figured that was her version of a "No." A smirk pulled at his lips, "Maybe the playboy dupe shoulda been out." He sipped some water and tried to ignore the happy couples about.
"Drinks?" Rose's voice seems to lighten at that, though she doesn't know this is alcohol free - she will soon enough...
Ever on the alert of her surroudings, especially those she 'knows' her eyes keep flicking from Nate, to keep close to the familiarity, then back to Laura who seemingly is deeclining a mans advances. A pale brow rises simultaneously with one corner of her lips. "Interesting, indeed." Though after their first meeting that question had been answered fully, Rose just -had- to poke.
Looking back to Nate her head tilts a bit as she glances over the strange and unknown faces. "That a good thing, or a bad thing?"
One happy couple never even got the chance to begin. Clarice will have to think about that later. Josh -finally- asks her out (kinda) and this has to happen. It's only served to cement in her why she's avoided making the first move herself.
"Made a promise," she mumbles to Kaydin, but shakes her head. She tugs her wrist back, mostly to hide the flecks of red once again on her hand. Stark, even against her pink skin. "Gotta tell someone what's going on."
The music within the hall seems to stun even her and she fusses at her hair. The dress, which is stunning on Clarice, does seem a bit off-set by the way her entire body is held taught. A fighter's pose: like a boxer just waiting to get back in the ring. Light on her feet; tension across her shoulders.
"I'll get you to your friends after we're done here." Clarice swallows and winces slightly at the pain it causes. She must have inhaled as she dove through the cloud left behind, tackling Kaydin out of the way. Gaze flickers until she spots Wolverine. Regardless of timeline, he's an anchor for her. Not willing to shout or cause much by way of distress, she starts working her way through mingling students in that direction.
Jean's eyes, not to mention her mind, scans the crowd in the room. A small smile touches her lips. Somehow, it figures the people she most needs to see are at the far side of the room.
She steps further into the atmospheric room, starting to weave between the students, probably passing fairly close to Clarice, as she does, since they seem to be headed the same way. Thus, as she gives a smile of greeting to a few of the kids -- some of whom do stare and start whispering -- she glances toward the pink girl and can't help but sense her agitation.
"Clarice?"
Well he did warn her what would happen if she said no, so well he has to follow through. He starts stomping his foot, and there are now 20 dupes, every single one of them keeps asking Laura to dance. Hey she wouldn't snikt them, would she. Prime does back away and chuckles to himself, "Well I did warn you that I would do that if you said now. It'll be fun, plus I'm a really good dancer."
Well, Kwabena hadn't been home for long, and in truth, he hadn't been around for a while. Rumor had said he'd left the Institute, after all. Plus, now that he's back, there are far too many things to accomplish. Still, hearing word that Logan, of all people, had thrown a homecoming dance? Along with one of a scant few who know the truth about Jean Grey surviving death? Well, he couldn't pass it up.
Having found his belongings where he'd left them months ago, he dug up his linen suit. A fashionable mottled skinny cut, paired with a black shirt, purple tie, and snakeskin oxfords. Still, he enters the gymnasium without preamble. He's tired, worn out, and only just exhibiting his first few hours without illness, but the 'magic potion' provided by his (ahem) contacts from the magical world (let's not even acknowledge that it exists, because we're stubborn like that) seems to be doing wonders for his energy level.
Remaining quietly off to the edge of the room, his mis-matched eyes take notice of Jean. A soft curl of his lips, a knowing expression, comes to him. His eyes flick from Jean toward others... Ororo, Logan, Jamie... and there is simply waits, watching.
Kaydin lets go of her wrist when she tugs. "If you give me directions to the ocean then I can run the way." He says calmly as he glances around, blue eyes looking about unsure. Perhaps what draws most peoples eyes is the sword that is sheathed along his side. a hand rests on the sword's hilt as he tries to keep up with the pink skinned woman.
Ororo looks from Laura to Jamie and back when the girl ignores her in favor of very decisively expressing her opinion of the younger teacher's offer to dance. Well, looks like she's settling in about as well as Logan did. Maybe it's best to leave things be.
Nodding toward Jamie, she starts in the opposite direction from where Logan went, still somehow oblivious to Jean's presence. Maybe it's because she's mostly just going through the motions here, letting her eyes skim across the gathered people instead of focusing on any one individual. Skirting slowly around the perimeter of the room, she's gradually making her way back toward the entrance. Perhaps this is a less static version of the wallflower effect?
Without a date and among the youngest in the gym, Josie ends up keeping mostly to herself, wandering this way and that around the gym but staying out of the way of those dancing. When she spots Jamie and Laura's interactions, she can't help but giggle, but she still stays out of the suddenly crowded section of the gym.
Nate and Rose look like a happy couple, at least. Although no one is sure if they are a couple, least of all themselves. "Good thing, good surprise," he gets to the drinks table and sighs. Of course no one would have been able to get alcohol past Weapon X (pardon, Wolverine's) nose. That is bound to make some couples /less/ happy.
"There she goes," he mentions, gesturing to Jean with a drink of something soda-like. Then he glances to Jamie's multiplication trick. Madri. He tenses, suddenly very wary.
Logan coughed once then went toward the photo area and looked over it all. He looked toward the door. A sight caught him off guard then he shook his head thinking it was just his mind playing tricks. Sadly he doesn't look back toward the door. His eyes just ran around the place and hoped everything was going good for others.
And here's Rose without her bottle to spike the punch. Staring down into the bowl she picks up the large ladle and scoops out a cup full of the stuff, looking kind of forlorn at the fact that it is 'happy juice' free she sips it and in as quick of a moment forgets, her eyes following the woman Nate gestures to, one shoulder rising and falling though her eyes fall back on Nate with the look of momentary concern. Lips part to inquire and then just close, occupying them with the punch instead of seeming too concerned, replacing one inquiry with another. "Who is she?"
It takes a moment for Clarice to register that Jean is speaking to her. The pulsing music, the various lights. They're all very overwhelming. The pink elf wavers on her feet and lifts a hand to her forehead. White eyes close for a few long seconds.
Then it registers and those eyes fly open. She turns to face Jean and it all comes out in a rush: "Kurt! Talia! They're... they're..." And the tears are welling up again as her voice cracks. "Oh balls," it's not a major swear, but something you usually wouldn't say in front of an instructor. "/He's/ here."
Certainly the telepath would know well of Clarice's own special background. Especially considering there are others from the same timeline about. Unfortunately for anyone listening in, she's unable to get more out as she stumbles and starts to fall forward.
And even more unfortunately... Poor Kaydin doesn't even get an introduction yet.
When Clarice started to waver, Kaydin moves behind her with an arm out to catch the woman should she fall. When she starts forward, he moves close again and this time catches and picks up the pink skinned mutant completely. "Two beings, one they called Nightcrawler and another called Talia Wagner attacked mid town. Several sick, some dead. Then Miss Ferguson teleported us away, probably saving me from the toxic cloud the one called Nightcrawler exuded when he teleported." He explains to Jean, keeping a firm grip now Clarice.
In a gym, set up to look like some poorly done fake version of Paris? Yeah. Laura would SNIKT in here. Heck, she just glares at one dupe. And then the next, and threatens to stab any and all of them that get too close.
"No. You are a teacher."
And then as Clarice falls? Yeah. That pulls the 'clones' attention away from Jamie for now.
Jean's hands land on Clarice's shoulders nearly the moment the girl starts to swoon. But, when she says those fateful words -- 'Kurt! Talia!' -- the telepath's eyes fly open widely. "Where did you see them?" she asks the girl quickly, now, focussing on her. More importantly: "When?!"
Her attention snaps around to Kaydin as he offers an explanation. "Today? Before you came here?"
'Balls!' doesn't even begin to cover it, as far as the telepath is concerned.
Her mind rises and she reaches out to touch the minds of all the instructors in the room. ~ We need to quarantine this room. NOW! ~ There is no mistaking Jean's presence, now, especially as Phoenix fire flares around her faintly. And there's no mistaking just how serious the X-Men's resident medical expert is, either.
"Both of you," she says to Clarice and Kaydin, now, "You need to come with me. Come and sit down."
She also reaches out telekinetically, and the doors to the room all close.
~ Nate! ~ she sends, knowing the young man is here. It's not like he's 'quiet'. ~ Pestilence and Famine have been here. We need to quarantine. ~
Shift's ear is like a magnet drawn to the word, 'Nightcrawler'. Even amidst all of the music and noise, those syllables seem to draw his attention like a bullet. Though he is a distance from those gathered, his expression suddenly becomes both stern and crestfallen at once.
They should be celebrating, happy that Jean has returned. He's not surprised that she hasn't made a grand entrance. It wasn't her style. And yet, his sternly drawn eyes flash over toward Logan and Ororo, considering the irony that they have yet to notice Jean. Considering that if he's hearing two strangers, present right here at the homecoming dance, speaking of Nightcrawler... it may have already begun.
Jean's voice shatters any sign of indecision in Kwabena's mind. He immediately rushes toward the nearest wall, and presses a series of places upon its surface. A rectangular series of lines appears in the wall, which slides away to reveal a touchscreen console. Shift punches commands into the console in rapid fire, immediately shutting down the institute's heating system and locking off the ducts that connect to their room, rerouting the incoming airflow to a selection of oxygen tanks and return air collectors.
Seeing one of the dance guests collapse caused Logan to hustle. He was moving through the people growling, snarling and yelling, "Move!" Then something stopped him dead in his tracks. "Jean?" Logan said quietly then started to run faster. Why couldn't one social event go right? No attacks. No anything just the closest bit of normal. Logan made it to the group standing around Blink, "When did this happen?!" he asked. His eyes gazed over Jean and his heart went into overdrive for the split second they met hers. Last night he was looking through the attic's old photos of the team. Three photos of the group were snagged because Jean was in them. They were going to be framed and put on a night stand in his room. That was when Jean was dead. Right now she was very alive and trying to prevent an exposure to God knows what.
Josie turns quickly as she catches sight of Clarice falling, and she starts to wander over closer. She pauses mid-step as the flames start to appear around Jean and the doors suddenly shut. Not being a teacher, she doesn't get the telepathic briefing, so there's no worry on her face, just confusion, as she looks around towards the other teachers present.
She doesn't pass out completely. Not yet. There's something holding Clarice here. Multiple somethings. One is a gold figure she's been /really/ hoping to see. Especially now as the reality sinks in: she's infected. So rather than simply worrying that Elixir thought he'd been stood up, she now /needs/ the golden healer.
There's a bit of surprise as Kaydin lifts her, but also an appreciation. Clarice's feet won't hold her up right now. She keeps a hand over her mouth as she coughs more. A slight nod to Jean's questions, but it earns closed eyes. "Downtown... New York. Lots of people dead." And infection spreading.
Blink's eyes do open, seeking out Jean. "Call Josh."
"Oh, she is Jean Grey," Nate is looking to Jamie, though, making sure he is not a crazy priest of the cult of Apocalypse. Okay, cannot be. Jean and Logan would not have him around if he were. He relaxes a little. He even smirks at Laura's reaction to Jamie's entreaties.
And then someone mentioned Nightcrawler. "Rose, call to Halo. Looks like Sinister got to New York. Jack and the others need to know right now." And his own cell got nuked in Genosha. Thanks Magneto, the jerk.
He steps forward to help Jean with the purple elf-girl. Although besides helping carry her to one of the tables, there is very little he can do. "Jean, er... you closed the door, but really, we should take her to the medlab."
"A few minutes ago." Kaydin says, and then it happens. The walls changing an sealing, the phoenix fire from the woman, the barreling hairy man, an the realization that the atlantean was trapped made him feel very nervous, and very aware to something he didnt know: he severely didnt like the idea of being trapped on the surface in a sealed room. He tries to back up holding the girl but it was clear he was a hair's breadth from panicking.
Rose only hesitates when the doors go into lockdown and somewhere amongst the mass murmurings she hears 'quarantine' uttered. "Nate, you said nothing about a sleepover at ground zero." She says through gritted teeth as she weasels the phone free from (use your imagination, slinky dress, no pockets!) starting to pace. "How about this?? I can just /go/ to Halo, ya know. I'm fine. I feel fine..." The cell phone is ringing to Halo andher team, all the while Kaydin is not the only one about to try and pry the nearest crevice open with a spoon and dig their way out.
"Yeah," Jean says to Nate. "We do need to get her to the lab. But I don't want everyone else wandering off, in the meantime." That was the purpose of closing the doors. She regards him with frank eyes. "You know better than anyone here: Everyone's at risk, now." She sees the room begin to change and knows Kwa is here. ~ Shift! Lock down the whole property. ~
She lifts her voice both audibly and telepathically, now, addressing the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, please. Remain calm. I'm afraid we do have a bit of a situation. There's no reason to panic, however, we are currently implementing quarantine protocols as a precaution. So, I have to ask you to remain calm and remain here. We will have this resolved one way or another as quickly as possible."
It's the truth, too. Because, although she doesn't say it, they'll either cure it or it'll kill them all -- save, perhaps, for the Weapon-Xers.
Her mind reaches out to brush through the minds of those still in the mansion, heeding Blink's words. ~ Josh? ~ Jean calls to him, for all that he's probably only just becoming aware that she's both alive and home. ~ I need you, here. Now. ~ In the middle of the dance floor, by the fallen Clarice.
Ororo startles, badly, at the abrupt voice in her mind. A voice she'd expected to never hear again, much less like that. She turns to look across the room again, her eyes going white as she looks for the familiar red hair and instead sees Phoenix flames. Unlike Logan, she doesn't rush toward Jean, but that's mostly because she's still too shocked.
That's when Kwabena's fast thinking and accessing of the control console gets her attention. So she takes a deep breath and turns to walk hurriedly toward Shift as the room is put into complete lockdown. "Kwabena," she addresses the man in a language that likely only the two of them out of this entire room understand. "Is this the same illness as from Genosha?" Of course, even in other languages some words and names are unmistakeable.
And as panic... Or at least some confusion and a heck of a lot of concern makes its way through this party. And yet, as she catches a certain thing being muttered by someone else at the party, Laura tries to push her way clear of the Jamie clones, so she can go over towards Rose. heck, if she gets close enough and gets half a moment, Rose might have to worry, because Laura will /NOT/ hesitate to try and slice and dice that phone.
"Quarantine. No one leaves. Not unless you want your friends sick."
Voices in his head too? That seems to cause Kaydin to panic more as he sets Clarice down. He tries hard not to think of something and takes big breathes. "IT is difficult to remain calm when you are trapped in a room with nothing but air and heat." He says as he looks to the metal walls.
Jamie takes the hint and reabsorns all of his dupes, "Just trying to get you to have some fun." And then all the commotion starts to happen. And well with that Jamie just starts to look around, oh this isn't good. Maybe he should just go back to being a PI, he only had to worry about cheating husbands, he didn't have to worry about getting overly sick and stuff like that. "Oh this just isn't gonna be good." Hey maybe Jamie should get checked out, if he was going to make a group of people sick what better way than infecting a person who can become many people.
"--they come a runnin just as fast as they can, cuz every," Josh sings to himself in his room, slicking a comb through his blonde hair. He's got it //all// down. He's got the black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a green tie to match the girl's dress that he's asked to Homecoming. He's even //fasionably// late for the affair. And, as most boys his age are, he's singing ZZ-TOP to himself while combing his hair. "-GURLS crazeh for a sharp dressed m--"
He blinks, hearing Jean's voice. Jean, the one rumored to be dead. Troubled? Troubled Jean is //bad// news. "Jean!??" He blurts out and turns, running for his door. Taking the stairs two at a time he races to where he somehow understands where the voice came from. Why is Jean at Homecoming? Who knows. Something is wrong.
It's not quite the entrance he hoped for, but with a green necktie flapping in the wind like Miley Cyrus' tongue, Josh races into the Homecoming room with a stoic, purposeful look in his eyes.
Logan was looking over the chaos the dance he tried to start up. Blurred Lines started to play but he ignored the song. Right now something foreign, alien and unexpected had descended down upon the dance. At the end of the day Logan was going to take blame for any grief people endure. For now he waited hearing all the cries of "Quarantine."
Logan ran his hands through his hair. "What can we do?!" Logan spat out angrily feeling helpless. He would be fine thanks to the healing factor. Laura too. Sadly the same couldn't be said for everyone else.
"I don't think you know my friends very well...." Rose states, the phone having beeped and waited for a recording that was not being given because an angry brunette is staring her down. Instead its recording the whole of it. But her words also had her thinking, remembering and looking back at Nate, who had succumbed to some sort of sickness, the same one here... now. She wasn't so sure anymore. "Yeah, yea, relax Laura, you're not making it much easier for me to enjoy my /cage/." She was trying for humor, sarcasm of sorts, but that final word wavered on a tinge of anger that is birthing from the anxiety.
As soon as the airflow to the gymnasium is secured, Kwabena punches a few more commands into the console, which activates a series of X-Gene sensors peppered throughout the room. This will alert the adult X-Men if any of the students try to use their powers, which might help to prevent any frightened youngsters from escaping. Hearing Jean's voice in his mind, he begins tapping even more commands into the console, going through the procedure of locking the entire mansion down. |"I'm on it."|
He hasn't even looked away to register Storm's presence, remaining so focused on the task at hand. The dialect is one of East Africa, and it is one Kwabena knows well. "Without a doubt," he answers her in the same tongue.
Dormitories, classrooms, outer doors and windows, everything becomes sealed airtight in a matter of seconds. |"We're secure"| It's a thought meant for Jean, and he trusts she will capture it.
Then, Kwabena's nice clothing simply falls to the floor. The Ghanaian has been replaced by an enigmous cloud of swirling black smoke, which gradually takes the shape of a human male. He's not sure if he'll be protected from what airborne diseases may already be floating about the gymnasium, but he doesn't exactly breathe when he's in this matter state, either.
The table is a good place for Clarice, for now. Hopefully someone's moved the food far out of the way, lest any attendees are stress-eaters. The non-fuzzy elf is wavering in and out of consciousness now. She's certain Jean will be able to get ahold of Josh. Breathing is labored- what was in that cloud?
As sickness often does, it brings up a lot of emotion. Namely the fact that someone she fought alongside in the past, against the same sort of things is now one of them. So on top of uncomfortable coughs into her hand -- each of which shows more blood -- there's tears as well. Blink's fresh, new, and -safe- world is now crumbling around her.
But then Blurred Lines is playing and she lets out a sudden, rasping laugh. Oh, cruel fate.
Nate also forgot to mention Rose the party was going to be in Xavier's school for mutant heroes. Because it is a secret, y'know. |"You know I would never take you to a boring place,"| he projects to the white-haired girl. "In fact, there is no reason to close the room, just make sure no one leaves the grounds, and no one else comes in. Everyone will have to go through the medlab, but if we are lucky, few will have to remain there. Shift and I should be pretty safe, I think we have more antibiotics in the blood than red cells."
"Keep everybody here," Jean says to Logan as his ire starts to rise. "Keep them calm." Her green eyes meet his. There's fire in them, but it's the fire of purpose, not power. She knows what she's doing. ~ Did you get a briefing on Genosha? ~ This is sent to the adults in the room -- particularly the ones on the X-team. ~ Nighcrawler, Nocturne, and Monet St. Croix have been taken and transformed into Harbingers -- Pestilence, Famine, and Death. Blink has been in contact with Pestilence. We're talking weaponized cholera, small pox, tb, plague. Pick one. Pick them all. Everyone has been potentially infected. All of us. So, let's deal with this, first, and then we deal with the Pale Man and his horsemen of the apocalypse. ~
Her eyes dart to Kaydin. "Ororo?" she calls out to her best friend. A better reunion than this would have been nice. "Can you supply our guest with a bit of water to help put him at ease?" She can sense his thoughts. The atlantean is very, very close to panicking.
She strokes Clarice's hair, feeling her distress just as keenly. "Easy," she says softly to her. "Easy. You're not the first one this has happened to, and the rest of us survived. You will, too." She hopes.
As Josh arrives, however, the telekinetic opens the doors to admit him, though no others. "Josh! I could really use your talents here..."
Kaydin hearing more walls sealing causes him to draw his sword as he looks to the nearby wall. "I think I want out now." He says as he tries to stab one of the walls. Super human strength combined with the fact the sword is strong and sharp enough to cut into tanks, makes his stabbing bit stronger then normal
While Logan might think Laura is safe from this plague (and she might be) does anyone really want to find out? Odds are Laura probably doesn't, even if she knows it's more than likely true for her (OOC: After all, if someone with a Healing Gactor with the stat of 7 can survive being dropped from orbit and heal up fine, then odds are Laura and Logan will be fine in this case).
"Cage you can get out oif. Later." is said as Laura looks right at Rose, her claws pretty much vanishing.
"Any cage can be gotten out of. In time."
Josh doesn't blink at Jean, he doesn't ask //why// she's there, instead he's being asked for his talents which means that someone is //hurt//, and far beyond needing Neosporin hurt. It's something that crosses with immediate understanding on Joshua's face. He storms over, tugging the tie around his neck to loosen just a little.
"What happened?!?" Josh asks, strolling over to table, but when he sees lavender skin and a green dress, he nearly trips over his own feet. "Clarice? Oh no...no no no..." He bumps into the table and runs his hands over his face, looking down to her. He can cure most things, so he places his hands first to Clarice's shoulder, trying to take her hand. "Clarice, it's Josh, hang in there I've got you, F--Blurred Lines?" He groans as he closes his eyes and starts trying to channel his biokinesis through her.
"What happened to her, Jean? Sick? Internal Trauma?" He fires off while he works.
At Jean's announcement of the quarantine, Josie nods a little to herself and looks around quickly. She starts to make her way over to Laura, but when Laura moves to help with maintaining the quarantine, she ends up just walking past. Finally, she makes her way closer to the adults and asks, "Can I help? Somehow?"
Jean answers Josh, first. ~ Weaponized diseases, ~ she tells him, for lack of a more concise way of putting it. ~ Cholera, smallpox, plague... But Clarice is showing symptoms of TB. Josh... we have a full quarantine, here. I need you to pace yourself. She may not be the only one. ~ And these diseases start to work very, very fast -- which means that other people are very likely starting to cough and show initial symptoms as well.
Then, however, she glances to Josie, even as Kaydin goes for the wall. "Josie! I want you to meet Kaydin." She says his name sharply -- to catch his attention. No, they haven't been introduced, but she can read his mind. More than that, she can start to trigger those calming hormones to try to keep him from ripping the mansion apart. "He's from Atlantis. You and he should talk. Maybe you can show him some of the tricks you've learned?" Pretty please?
Hair stroking? Clarice is so disused to such things. Which means that it actually does the trick very well. The tears stop and the purple elf is soothed. She relaxes back against the table a bit, feet dangling awkwardly. The coughing continues, but otherwise the sheer panic does not.
And then there's Josh and relief floods her features. Even as her skin pales to awkward hues and the hand he grabs can only weakly hold back. "Josh, I'm sorry... We were supposedta meet-" She's not sure exactly how his powers work, but she stills as he starts working. Letting him do what he needs. She's definitely weak and definitely ill, but with what? On the outward surface, it appears to be a number of things. "Kurt is... he's Pestilence." A Horseman. Something from her past, as it were. And yet not.
Seeing that Josh has been let in and is rushing toward Jean, Shift quickly pieces a few things together. His body immediately reforms into flesh a bone with a sound of displaced air, revealing him to be clad in his gunmetal grey X-Men uniform.
Perhaps the students will think of him as school security?
He takes a gasp of air, then pats Storm on the arm quickly, eyes darting toward Kaydin. "Mind de students, I've got dis." As he quickly crosses the way toward Kaydin, he's already got his palm-shaped X-Communicator in hand. "Pete Wisdom." The simple name causes the communicator to chirp to life, though he discards it on a surface nearby to Kaydin. He's got an idea of what the guy might need. "Hey," he says to Kaydin. "We need you to stay here. Is it watah you need?" He tries to catch Kaydin's eyes with his own, which are both calm and stern at once. "To drink, or to see?"
The DJ must of left their equipment going as people started to panic, because Rick Astley singing 'Never Gonna Give You Up' starts to play in the background.
 
Hearing the run down on the Horsemen Logan knew the first person to hunt down. "Anyone that can hear this," Logan said in a serious voice. "Mystique is the number one person to hunt down. She knows about what Kurt got into before things went to hell. Everyone keep an eye out. Use Cerebero if you have to," Logan said to anyone within an earshot. The Queen of Genosha was going to have a lot of explaining to do. She knew things and that's why Logan was asked to keep Kurt safe. Mystique knew something and kept that to herself.
"Understood, Jean." Josh's long, blonde hair whips to the side as he looks down the plane of his shoulder in the direction he came from, to where all of his fellow students are. His jaw slackens as he tries to get a headcount. "I guess, uhm...have them form a line and tell them not to touch their faces?"
Taking Clarice's hand, Josh's all-white eyes look down to her and he gives her a reassuring smile, though the tension of the moment wears heavily on his brow as he fights through his myriad of confidence issues. This is one he doesn't want to screw up. "It's okay, it's okay, you look //great//, prettiest girl I know just -relax- and take a deep breath, okay?"
As his powers flare and a golden light surrounds his hands on her, Joshua lets out a deep breath and connects with Clarice's physiology. His head turns from left to right, eyes shifting beneath closed lids, as he searches for the source of the problem and finds all of the foreign germs in her blood. His eyes tighten as his powers rush through her blood, temporarily altering Clarice's white blood cells to strengthen and devour the diseases at a superhuman rate. A bead of sweat forms on his brow as the contagions are mutilated and killed, and then her body returns to normal, the white blood cells never knowing any differently. Josh gasps and his eyes flush open, more tired than he was before.
"Can someone, like, bring me some orange juice?" He calls out, his work on Clarice done. One down. X-mansion to go.
Jean's head snaps up toward Logan as he makes his announcement. "Actually," the telepath says, "she's not." Her eyes flash. "And nobody in this room needs to go hunting after anyone."
Her mind snaps out to him, now. ~ Students, Logan! You know what Mystique is capable of! We are not sending kids after her! ~ A beat. A little more focussed. ~ Besides, I'm pretty sure she has nothing to do with this. The man want? He goes by the name of Sinister. ~.
Josie nods quickly to Jean then and turns towards Kaydin, even as Shift is moving to stop him, "You're from Atlantis? That's so cool. I wish I could see it." As Shift asks Kaydin if he wants to see water, she holds up a hand... that hand being made of water, now, the sleeve of her dress starting to get soaked.
And who hears Logan? Probably those closest too him. But also well...
Laura hears him. And nods once at him as Rose apparently heads off. That is before she looks directly at her 'genetic donor' and...
Well, it looks like she's about ready to go (once it's safe to do so), when Jean calls that off.
"Meant for the teachers," Logan was seething with anger. So many things were going wrong and leaving him the ball of anger people left him. "Belay that students. She would get you without thinkin' twice," thankfully Jean reeled him in for being like Cyclops with the Sentinels. "Mystique knew of what was going on with the Elf. She asked me to keep an eye on him days ago. Said he was getting over his head. If we want to strike at them we gotta find her, figure out what she knows about Sinister," Logan said firmly. The timing was too coincidental to not matter in some way.
As Elixir works his magic, Clarice relaxes. She closes her eyes and just lets him do what he does best. She knows she's in good hands now; there's no reason to keep fighting it.
So the next deep breath the purple elf takes? Does not result in coughing splattered with blood. Instead, her chest expands and falls and her color has returned. No longer does she look pale and rapidly deteriorating. Clarice sits up and reaches a hand out to Josh, twining her fingers into his. She can't offer literal strength, but she can offer emotional strength. If white eyes could show weariness, hers certainly would.
She does look at Wolverine, taking a moment to really take in his attire for the evening. It's certainly out of character... at least in her reckoning. "I want to go," she says suddenly, voice raised a bit. Firm now.
Nate throws an apologetic look to the kids and then returns to Rose, "let me talk to Jack, he is immune to disease," and to telepathy, hence the cellphone. A brief conversation follows, mostly about a certain mutant hero turned monster plague-carrier. He gives the phone back and heads to talk with the kids. He is good talking to people, like most telepaths, and he being so completely calm does help reassure them.
Meeting Josie's eyes, and then her hand, Kwabena forms a rueful smirk. "Nice trick," he remarks to her. Meanwhile, his own feet have begun to change into liquid--not the color of water, mind, but the color of oil--and he begins to sink down into the floor while apparently melting.
Meanwhile, his X-Communicator comes to life with a voice on the other end. "Wisdom."
"Pete," says Kwabena, his eyes never once leaving Kaydin. "Pestilence and Famine have hit Metropolis. Unknown location yet, but I bet you heavy you'll find out where if you grab up de MPD emahgency bands." Without missing a beat, he turns and looks toward the commotion taking place between Jean, Logan, and Laura and Clarice by proxy. "Patience," he recommends, his heavily accented voice still calm and controlled. He's been through this before, after all. "We will make a game plan and we will find dem."
Hearing Wolverine, Jamie decides to at least volunteer to do that thing. He heads on over to the guy, "I'll see if I can track her down. Some of my contacts in Mutant Town are bound to know something." Hey he is a PI, this is the type of thing that he'll feel useful doing. "If she has any information best to try and find her now before she disappears or something." Of course finding someone that can be anyone is really a tough thing to do...
Jean shakes her head, wrapping her conversation with Logan up in a telepathic cone of silence. Because... seriously. Too many kids about. Let the X-Men hear. Fine. But, not the kids. ~ Logan, I've brokered an alliance with Magneto. We can't go after Mystique. Not unless she attacks us first. Sinister played them as much as anyone else. ~ She grimaces. ~ I can't believe I'm saying this, but, believe it or not, they're actually mostly innocent in all this, for once. ~
She reaches out with telekinesis, now, to bring a glass and jug of juice over to Josh. "Here," she says to the young healer, her smile that of a proud big sister. "Good job, kid."
Her attention returns to Blink. "No." she says, equally firmly. "You're not going anywhere. No one is. Not until the quarantine is lifted." A mental pulse to the girl, ~ And we've had a proper debriefing. ~
"See? I told you that you were gonna be just fine. You're clear, stay away from the others, okay LeeLooDallas?" Lacing his fingers with Clarice's, Josh reaches out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and give her a hard, relieved look. The smile comes a second later, then disappears as he looks over his shoulder to get to business.
"Jean, she's clear, but whoever did this, if they're spreading this, it's gonna be //bad// news." Josh announces, letting out a soft breath as his eyes scan the room. "Laura? L--no you're probably fine. Mr. Logan he's probably fine too, right, Jean? I don't need to check them out?"
Catching the juice, Josh lets go of Clarice's hand to sit on the edge of the table and pour himself a glass, listening to the //adults// talking. "God, wait, so there's someone called Pestilence just hitting people with this stuff? Guys, that stuff that was in Clarice, that'll spread. Fast." He pauses a beat. "Who's next? Who do I look at, guys?"
He stops stabbing the wall when he felt calmer, but the feeling calmer only seems to make him feel more out of place. When the two come to him, he takes a deep breath. "When you go under water, you hold your breath or you drown. I normally can not breathe air-" He says before all of a sudden he begins hacking, not seeming to be able to breath. "Serum wore off." He gasps out.
There's a slightly defiant set of Clarice's jaw. A handful of years and a whole other timeline ago, she'd just *blink* out and make sure things were handled. Or try to. But she's learned better. People have died. People close to her. Instead, she just swallows, nodding a bit.
As Josh removes his hand from hers, Blink slides from the table to a chair, folding her hands in her lap. "Kurt... is Pestilence. Whenever he bamfs, the cloud..." She shudders a bit, looking up to Jean, then Logan. "It's already spreading through downtown. Tell everyone to avoid going there."
The voice comes over Shift's X-Communicator once more. The first syllable is an F. Seems Kwabena knew it was coming, for he's snatched it up on sheer instinct, pressing it against his ear to listen and mute the vulgarity from the other end.
Because, students. You know.
"Right, I'm here," he says into the communicator, before lowering it and looking pointedly toward Blink. By now, he's stopped sinking down, the lower half of his body existing as a puddle of black-ish goo upon the gym floor. "I need you to tell me where dis happened," he asks of her. "Specific intahsection. Den, I need you to tell me de exact route you took back here. Which streets, bus lines, trains." He lifts the communicator indicatively. "I have someone on it now!" he urges her. Then, a glance is cast Josie's way, his eyes pleading for her to see if she can help Kaydin as he begins to choke.
Josie's eyes widen at Kaydin's dilemma, but she thinks quickly, and her hand suddenly spreads to a big balloon of water, and she brings it up to surround Kaydin's head. "Long as my lungs are still human, the water parts of me should have air in... I hope."
Jean gives Josh a rueful smile. "You're going to need to give everyone a once over. But, it would be helpful if you can check the instructors, first. We need to be able to move around. I need to get down to the lab to activate the decontamination protocols." Because, even if immune systems are bolstered, clothes and skin can still carry the contagions. As can the air.
That said, she gives the young man a grim nod. "It's a little worse than that," she says. ~ But, we'll talk about it later. ~ In a proper debriefing, away from the students who shouldn't be involved. These two? They've just been bumped up the short list... at least within the safety of the Institute grounds. Beyond that? We'll see.
Kaydin breathes the water she envelops his head in and a hand moves to his satchel along his side. He pulls a clear mask out of his satchel and moves to put it on over his face, backing from the water, a bit calmer. "My thanks young one." He says, looking to her with blue eyes. "Atlanteans cant breathe air. We breathe water. This mask and the serum are the only thing keeping me from drowning in the air of the surface." He explains a bit more calm.
"Alright, then, you first." Josh glances back to Clarice one last time, giving her a protective look before he steps over to Jean and reaches out for her shoulder. "Because clearly you're not dead and I'm glad to have you back. You guys just tell me where you need me, I don't want anyone getting sick." There's a soft glow at his hands, and then he shakes his head. "You're clean, but burn your clothes." He squeezes her shoulder and then heads over to Shift, offering to lay his hands on the man's arm.
"Guys?" Josh raises his voice. "I don't think I can make people immune for the time being. I mean, I might be able to, I think, but I...Ohmygod do you think I should try to make the disease try to feed on the disease?" He looks over to the others. "I mean, maybe, like...I could make it so that whoever's sick, //their// sick will attack the other sick and burn out the disease?"
It takes a moment of thought, but Blink does finally remember the proper intersection. "Right in Midtown. Not far from the park. There was... a bus, all dead. Others, too. Lots of ambulances arrived as we left." She fusses slightly with the smooth fabric of the skirt of her dress.
That fidgeting soon turns to Clarice crafting javelins. It's not a bad habit to have, really. Except when you have nothing to store them in. "Came straight here," she tells Shift, looking towards the communicator. "Kaydin and I both, through a portal." So at least there's that: they didn't spread the contagion on their way. Plus, she followed the right set of instincts and rushed back to the mansion to tell the proper authorities, as it were.
White eyes shift to Jean and Clarice gets to her feet. "Do you need a quick way there?" There is a glance towards Kaydin and relief that he has found someone who can help him.
It's Josh, really, that gets most of her attention. Not just for healing, but the way he goes about trying to find ways to improve their battle of the diseases. Clarice's eyes are big, round, and there'd totally be little derpy hearts if it were possible. 
A squawking, British voice comes through Shift's communicator. "Can't f---ing raise anyone. Still immune. Going up to-"
Shift smacks the communicator back to his face, his eyes clearly annoyed even though his face and voice maintains its mixture of urgency and calm. Noticing Josie's trick, it even brings a smirk to his face. He rises back to his full height, that liquidy... stuff... reforming back into his legs again. "Getting the feeds now," he says into the X-Communicator. "Midtown," he repeats into the comm. "Not fah from Central Pahk. Bus, filled with victims. Abudance of ambulances and first respondahs." He smiles at Clarice when she mentions using a 'portal' to come 'straight here'. "Good," he says to her, then back to the communicator, "Dat's it. Dey used a portal to reach my location, no transit areas have been contaminated."
Turning to Josh, Shift offers the man a firm smile of gratitude when he lays a hand upon his arm. "You may find I am still immune," he remarks. Indeed, the disease has not yet taken hold of him... seems that red 'juice' given to him by his magic-wielding associates is having a lingering effect.
Jean nods to Josh, now, and smiles wryly. "Yeah, well, I wasn't that fond of them, anyway." She rises, and glances over to Clarice. Her brows rise. "Excellent idea, Blink," she tells her. "Here. Let me show you where you're going..." Because most teleporters need directions, and Jean doesn't really expect the girl's been down into the X-Base all that often. She's not talking about the school infirmary, after all. She's talking about the underground bunker.
She pulses a telepathic image at Blink of the lab's environs -- an eidetic memory of what it looked like the last time she was in it -- about 4 days ago. So, it's probably safe enough.
Josie pulls the water back into a hand-shape, then it is, once again, a real hand, as she smiles to Kaydin, "I understand. Glad I could help. I breathe air, but when I turn water I don't breathe at all, so I can live in either water or air. 'Course, when I'm waterr underwater, nobody can see me."
Jean glances to Josh, however, as she finally catches up with his idea. A brow arches. "You can do that?" It's an interesting idea, certainly. "If you think you can," she says. "But, monitor it closer. I don't want to create a secondary contagion that backfires on us."
"Yeah, you're totally clean, man." Josh claps a hand onto Shift's shoulder and then looks down to Clarice. Catching the look she's giving him, he smiles awkwardly and smooths down the front of his shirt, straightening his tie. He bares his teeth to her, waggles his brows, and then turns back to the staff at large. He claps his hands together, then reaches for his jug of orange juice.
"I'll need another sick person, Jean, let's hope I can find one. Clarice, Jean? When you're done with your clothes try to bag them but don't clean them. Maybe I could, I dunno, get it off of that. It'll be hairy, but I'll need a non-Clarice guinnea pig." Josh looks back to them and then whistles. "Alright, the non-sick are in here, the not so sure are out there. Form a line?"
There's a nod to Shift, but Blink is now a bit distracted. She has a small pile of javelins in her lap and is receiving an image from Jean. Her eyes narrow a bit as she takes it in and there's finally a small nod. /That/ lab. Okay. She doesn't need a perfect image (she's made it to the moon, afterall), but it certainly helps. Especially to avoid landing on anything pointy.
Getting to her feet, the purple elf in her green dress trots over to Josh and plants a kiss on his cheek quickly. Before he's too close to another infected. "Thank you for saving me," she murmurs, before returning to Jean. There's a glance to Shift, to ensure there's no need for more details. Details she may not have- it all happened in a rush.
With javelins bundled in one arm for safe-keeping, she looks to Jean. Head tilts a bit. "Ready?" Once given the signal, she opens the portal for them to *BLINK* to the lab.
A rueful smirk is given to Josh. "Well, guess I'm just lucky dis time." He's not about to explain the whole story. Perhaps later. During a 'staff meeting'. "Confirmed, a portal," he says into the X-Communicator again. "Alright, keep on it. I'll let you know what action we're taking soon as we get my location quarantined and cleared."
As Blink appears to be ready to depart, Shift gives her an earnest nod, then seeks to meet Jean's eyes for a moment. An unspoken message. |"We clear this. Then, we've got work to do. I'll mind the students with Storm."|
Turning, he moves back toward Storm, who is still minding the nervous students. And for those with keen ears, they might notice a quiet curse hissed into his communicator.
Jean gives Josh one final nod. "Will do," she concedes. There's a decontamination shower downstairs, anyway, and extra uniforms. They'll cope. She sends one last telepathic note out to her teammates. ~ We need a debriefing, ASAP. As soon as this is clear. ~ And, with that, she follows Blink into the portal, and off to finish decontamination.
If/when Laura's checked out, she's found out to be fine more than likely, and needs to be deconned.
Until then, she's just silent, and off to the side like she has been, and will be until then.
Category:Log