"First things first. What're we gonna do about all these unconscious people on the lawn?"
Jessie had calmed down considerably, and she gave Wolverine's question some thought. "Well, we can't bring them all inside. It'd take days. I guess we just have to grab some blankets and stuff and make sure they're comfortable. Sound good?"
"Well, it's a start."
The three headed inside to collect the bedclothes. As they stripped the sheets off the beds in one of the dorms, Jessie spoke up again. "Now, you said you both have healing factors?"
"Yes," replied Warren. "Mine's in my blood - I can transfer it to others." An idea struck him. "Maybe I could use it to revive them!"
"Wait a sec," interrupted Logan. "You can't give enough blood to revive every single person. It'd kill you."
"No . . . Maybe there's some sort of enzyme in your blood?" Mused Jessie. "Do you think you could give me a blood sample? Both of you - I might be able to find something." She tossed a pillow at Warren and grinned. "Here, put those fabulous pecs to use and help me carry these outside."
They strode back outside, loaded down with blankets and pillows, and began to cover up the prone figures on the lawn. Jess carefully tucked a quilt around the Professor, looking down at him sadly.
"Poor Professor - You're so powerful compared to me, and yet here I am, taking care of you." She chuckled. "It's ridiculous." The Professor moaned and shifted. Jess frowned and put a hand to his forehead. "Jesus Christ - you're burning up. Hey guys?" She called.
The Professor's eyes suddenly snapped open and he gave an inarticulate cry. Jess looked down in concern and they locked gazes. Her face went slack, and then, a split-second later, she reeled back, shrieking in pain.
"Jess!" Warren and Logan spun around. Logan ran toward her, dodging bodies, while Warren pumped his wings and took to the air. Warren reached her first. She was curled on the ground in the fetal position, trembling, glasses knocked askew. "Jessie, what happened? Are you okay?" He gently touched her shoulder, and she jerked away.
"Don't!" Her breathing steadied in a moment, and she sat up.
"Jess, what happened?"
"I don't know," she whimpered. "It hurt more than anything I've ever felt. Oh my God . . . ."
Warren and Logan looked at each other. "Sounds like the Professor mind-blasted her."
"It does." They glanced back at the Professor, who was mumbling incoherently. Next to him lay Storm, who was tossing and turning. Small thunderclouds constantly formed and dissipated around her head. All around the grounds, similar scenes were unfolding, as the students lost control of their powers.
Something sizzled and crackled behind them, and they whipped around. Wolverine yelled "Duck!" and grabbed Jess, pulling her to the ground. Archangel leapt into the air as a bolt of energy went roaring by. Wolverine jumped up and ran towards its birthplace - Jubilee. As he loomed over her, she cried out again and started to gather energy. Wolverine knocked her on the head and she fell still, the energy surrounding her hands dissipating harmlessly into the ground.
The three conscious adults looked at each other breathlessly. Finally, Warren spoke up.
"Whatever is in that gas is affecting these guys. Jess?"
"Huh?"
"Do you think you could analyze some of this gas? You've got a major in chemistry, right?"
"Yeah. Um, I might be able to. I'd need a pretty sophisticated lab, though."
Warren smiled. "We've got that covered. But before we show you the downstairs, we've got to deal with these guys." He gestured expansively at the delirious mass of mutants. "If we don't do something, they could lose complete control of their powers."
Jess licked her lips nervously. "Much as I hate to say it, the only thing that seems to keep them calmed down is knocking them out. Some of them, we might be able to just - I don't know, tie down, or something - but others, I think, need to be unconscious."
They split up and drifted through the grounds. Some of the students, whose main mutations were aesthetic, were left alone, while others - such as Nightcrawler and Storm - had to be knocked out.
While Wolverine and Archangel dealt with those who needed to be unconscious, Jess roamed quietly and checked on the students. They all had fevers to varying degrees - some were already shaking with chills, while others were just hot. Those who were awake seemed delirious.
Jessie paused when she reached Bobby Drake - Iceman. The ground around him was beginning to freeze solid, and Rogue, who was lying next to him, was shivering. Jess sighed. She remembered that Rogue's mutation was sucking the life force out of any human she touched, and the powers out of the mutants. Which meant that moving her was a tricky business, to say the least.
Finally, she wrapped her arms around the girl's waist (blushing as she did so - Rogue was seven different kinds of cute) and whispered, "Please don't kill me, I've had one near death experience tonight already." She hoisted Rogue over her shoulder, jogged several feet away, and dumped her onto the ground again, panting. The girl might be seven different kinds of cute, but when she was asleep, she felt like she was about seven hundred pounds, too.
Going back over to Bobby, Jess examined the ice that had formed around his hands. There - that was what she was looking for. The gas had condensed into a liquid on the cold surface. That would make it way easier to analyze - And possibly to contain, once Bobby comes to. She fell into thought, trying to figure out how Bobby could use his power to condense the gas into liquid.
"Jessie!"
"Huh?" Her head snapped up. Logan was calling from over by the school. He waved.
"C'mon, we'll show you downstairs!"
"Coming, just a sec!" She glanced downward and made a silent promise that she'd come back to the problem later before running to the door, dodging the still forms of sleeping students.
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A/N: If someone has a more accurate description of Jubilee's powers, PLEASE - for the love of god - tell me, because I'm almost certain that's not right.
One other note: Like everyone else, I love positive feedback, so thanks for the reviews! But it would be nice to get a little more feedback, instead of just "Please continue." I'm guilty of it too, trust me, but suggestions for improvement are always appreciated. And if there's nothing to improve, well . . . . *wink*
Oops! Nearly forgot. Merina (she showed up in the first chapter and was mentioned in the last one) belongs to . . . oh crud. . . the name escapes me at the moment, but she belongs to another writer on here who graciously let me borrow her. I'll make sure to find the name and tell y'all.