Really, I AM Dying! (pt. 2)

Back at the mansion, Xavier, Magneto, and Wolverine were discussing the situation.
"I know all the kids here have had their booster shots," Logan said. "What about your bunch?"

"All except for Toad,"Magneto said,"and he was scheduled for his tomorrow."

"That's not good."

"Definitely not."

No, it was not good, as Todd was with Brenda at that very moment.
"How're you doing, babe?"
She looked up at him. "I feel horrible."
"You want me to bring you anything? A bowl of soup or a glass of juice or something?"
"No, but could you read to me?"
"Sure. What?"
"Something with Rincewind in it," she said. "I like Rincewind."
"Okay." He rooted around on his bedroom floor and found The Last Continent.

He was halfway through Chapter 6 when he started to cough.

"Scuse me," he said, putting the book down and going into the bathroom for a glass of water.
While he was there he happened to glance up into the mirror . . . and freaked at what he saw.

"Ah, no," he moaned. "No, no, no, no!"
"You gonna be in there long?"
"Huh?"

"I said, are you gonna be in there long?"

By this time he had identified the voice. "Lance?"

"Yeah, c'mon, I gotta go!"
"Uh . . ." Todd looked at his reflection again. There was no way he could hide this. "I think I've got that bug."

"What?"
Toad opened the door and showed him . . .

"Hoo boy."

Brenda looked up as the door opened. "Todd? Is that you?"
"Yeah, but I got a bit of bad news," he said.
When she saw his face, she didn't need to ask. "Oh, you poor dear."

"Yeah, I've got it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to--"
"Ah, don't worry about it. Least I'll never get it again." He sat down in the chair again. "They're gonna bring the rollaway in here so they don't have to keep running back and forth. So I guess we can read to each other."

"What do you want to read first?"

"Let's do more of The Last Continent. You do a really great Mrs. Whitlow."
"Oi say, do Oi really?" Brenda said, in the "voice" of the Unseen University housekeeper.

"Yep."

The situation downstairs was not quite so tranquil. In fact, it was close to becoming a riot . . .

Finally the doctor showed up.
"Oh, thank the Goddess," Storm muttered under her breath.

"'Bout time you showed up." Lance said.

"What exactly is--" the doctor began, and then a water balloon hit him smack in the face.

"Hoo boy." Cyclops muttered under his breath.

He looked up to see a rapidly disappearing Quicksilver and shook his head in amazement. "Some people."

The water-balloon barrage was only the beginning, however.

"Is it always like this?" the doctor asked Cyclops as they went upstairs to see Toad.

"I wouldn't know. I don't live here."

"Can you calm them down long enough to let me examine them? "the doctor asked, ducking another water balloon.

"It's okay, they're not aiming at you. I'll see if I can lead them outside."

"Please do."

The Brotherhood members weren't throwing water balloons anymore. Oh, they were still balloons, but the liquid they were filled with now wasn't water.

"Ewwwwwww!"

"This is, like, tomato sauce!" Shadowcat complained, as she looked down at her stained uniform.

"All right, knock it off!"

"You're at our house now, loser! You play by our rules!"
Another balloon bomb hit them, this one filled with chicken soup.

"Knock it off!" Lance whispered impatiently to Pietro. "You'll get the doc mad at us!"

"But I'm bored!"

"I don't care! The doctor's trying to help us! Now straighten up!"

Pietro reluctantly complied . . . and a spike just missed his head by less than half an inch.

"OK," the doctor said, "now that that's out of the way...."

Upstairs was relatively quiet. That is, except for Toad and Brenda, who were having fun with the "UU faculty on a desert island" scene. Todd did most of the senior wizards, while Brenda did Mrs. Whitlow and the narrator. The effect was most unnerving to someone who had no idea what was going on.
"How many people did you say were here?"

"Including you and me?"

"Well, yes."
"They're all outside now, so that leaves us and--"

BLEAH!

"That didn't sound good."

"Ah don't feel so good." Rogue moaned, leaning over the bathroom sink.

"Oh, no, not you too . . ."

"Yeah, 'fraid so."

"But I thought you had your shots!" Ororo said.

"Tell mah stomach that!"

"It may not be the same illness," the doctor suggested. "Let me take a look at her, just to be sure."

Rogue kept vomiting . . . .

Outside, the balloon war came to an abrupt end when Storm shouted, "Enough!"

The combatants stopped what they were doing and looked over at her.
"You all need to come in the house right now," she continued.

"We're busted."

When they came inside, the doctor took Ororo aside and told her, "I've got good news and bad news."
Not the kind of thing you want to hear from a doctor. "What is it?"
"Rogue definitely doesn't have measles."
"Is that the good news or the bad news?"
"That's the good news. The bad news is . . ."

"What?"

"Oh, no, don't tell me we're all gonna die! Again!" Pietro moaned.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

Just then a car pulled up out front.

"Who is it?"

"I forgot!" Pietro's voice took on a note of panic. "Wanda was at the library! We have to tell her not to come in."

Wanda stepped out of the car. In a flash, Pietro was at her side.
"Uh, we have a little problem . . ."