"You're claiming that you have, hidden under this school, not only extremely advanced chemical apparatus, but a jet, a huge mind-reading chamber, and a room where you get missiles and such launched at you?"
Wolverine and Archangel glanced at each other, before Wolverine shrugged and said, "Yeah, that about covers it. Not to mention the surgery and so forth."
A smile quirked the edges of Jess's mouth. "Dude. Sweet."
Wolverine grimaced at the surfer-talk as the elevator doors slid open with a soft bing. The three stepped out into the cooly-lit chrome corridors of the subterranean section of the school. Jessie's eyes widened as she looked around.
"How big is this place?"
Archangel stepped out of the elevator and led the way, as Wolverine answered her question. "Dunno. Wheels is probably the only person who knows for certain. No, I take that back - Jean probably knows, too."
"Here we are," interrupted Archangel, opening a door and gesturing them through. Jessie stepped through the door and gasped.
An array of chemical apparatus was spread on the table before her - everything she could ever need: Bunsen burners, test tubes, chemical indicators, distilling mechanisms. It was a chemist's paradise. She stepped forward and started to examine the equipment wonderingly.
"So, do you need anything else?" Inquired Archangel.
"Uh, yeah . . . I need blood samples on you two. I don't suppose you've got a couple lying around somewhere?"
They shook their heads.
"Ah, crackers. Oh well. In that case, could someone get me two syringes and two vials? I'll need to do it myself."
Wolverine nodded and headed down the hall for the surgery. Archangel watched, amused, as Jessie moved about the lab, fiddling with knobs and switches, running her hands over arrays of beakers, and generally looking like she'd stepped off the elevator into heaven.
Wolverine came back shortly with the syringes and vials, the hypodermic needles covered in sterile plastic. Jess grimaced.
"I hate needles," she commented as she turned on a sink and washed her hands. "You guys will forgive me if I stab you or something, right? 'Cause I'm not a doctor or anything . . ."
Archangel smiled. "I should hope we could both deal with a little stab. Right, Logan?"
Wolverine gave a non-committal grunt.
Jess smiled back. "Well, okay. I'll apologize in advance, then."
Forty-five minutes later, she finally sat back, trembling slightly from nervousness. The vials sat in front of her, each close to full with blood. Jessie took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
"Okay, I'll get to work on these. But first, can we get something to eat? I don't think I've eaten anything since, like, five o'clock. It's gotta be nearly ten."
They headed back towards the elevator, and Jess, at least, was exhausted. But she wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing that blood was sitting down there, just maybe possessing the key to the cure . . . . But she was so tired. Maybe she could just close her eyes for a few minutes . . . .
She sank down to the floor of the elevator and closed her eyes, fingers still tapping nervously. By the time they got to their destination, she was lost in a doze.
A/N: AAAAGH. I was reading through the reviews (Inspiring myself to write this chapter, finally) and really noticed Princess Alexandria's comments for the first time. How could I miss such a gaping plot hole? Hey - how could you guys miss such a gaping plot hole? No, never mind, I'm kidding. . . . Anyway, thanks so much, Alexandria, I'll have to figure that out.
As for the breakneck speed of the plot - Although it wasn't intentional to begin with, I kinda think it works well. In this sort of disaster, I should think time would either seem to slow down or speed up for the participants - one of the extremes. Plus, I'm skipping over a bunch of stuff that I think might drag the story away from what I want it to be about. But who knows? If there's enough demand, I may go back and talk about Jess's first few weeks at school, etc.
Anyway, hope this chapter helped you guys catch your breath - it certainly seems to have helped Jess. :) See ya next chapter! - Adiva