(BOC)
Ray's shocking ability fried out two payphones before Marie was finally able to place a call without incident. The phone rang once, twice, three times before someone picked up and Rogue was actually relieved to hear Scott's voice on the other end. "Xavier's Institution, Summers speaking."
"Scott, it's Rogue." Her tone said more in those three words than thought possible.
"Rogue? What's going on? Why are you calling from some hospital? What happened to the mission?"
"Scott, calm down. The mission has just been put on hold a bit. But listen, I need you to patch me through to Dr. McCoy."
"Sure thing Rogue, hang on." The line clicked and before the first ring could finish, the doctor picked up.
"Dr. McCoy here. What scientific break through can I do for you?" Rogue smiled in spite of the reason she was calling.
"Hey doc, it's Rogue."
"Ahh, my brilliant chemistry bond. How are things? Everything going swimmingly with the recruitment?"
"Actually, we ran into an old friend and now we're at some Princeton Teaching Hospital in Jersey."
"A hospital? Oh dear. Is your friend doing all right?"
"I suspect Victor is fine, rapid healing and all."
"Oh, ooohh. I see. Well how is young Berserker?"
"He's still in critical condition, and there are some things on his medical chart that don't seem right, or good for that matter." Marie twirled the metal phone cord around her fingers anxiously.
"What sort of things?" She sighed, repeating the notes the doctors had written to her fuzzy professor.
Meanwhile, In the Think Tank
"What's with this animal attack? Are we certain that's what it was?" Cameron inquired as she passed House his cup of coffee before settling between her fellow colleagues.
House caught Chase eyeing his caffeinated beverage with longing and slammed his cane against the desk. The young man jumped and his eyes flew to his superior guiltily. House held a cheeky look on his face as Foreman spoke, "we found an abundant amount of feline hair on John Doe and the wounds are consistent with those of a large animal, a mountain lion perhaps."
"What's so unusual about a cat attack?" House asked impatiently as he twirled his cane around his fingers. "Aside from the fact we're in Jersey and over an hour from the nearest one."
"It's not the attack; it's the reaction the machines were having to him. The electricity pulsing through his brain was off the charts, the EKG machine fried itself out, and we lost power in that room three times." Cameron read off her note sheet.
"Okay, since when do we link hospital malfunctions to patients that come in?"
"When they're a Martin case," Cuddy waltzed into the room and every head turned to her.
"Martin case?" Chase questioned.
House lost the smirk in his eyes as his boss' announcement. "How long have you known?"
"I was handed the results by Wilson just now." Cuddy passed a folder to him, paying no attention to the confused looks on the faces of the ducklings as House glanced through the contents without a word. Cameron's beeper went off, shattering the silence that had engulfed the room.
"Is that for the boy?" Cameron nodded at House's question as she moved to get up. "Don't answer it," he ordered her.
"But-"
"From this point on, none of you are to have anything to do with that patient." Cuddy's forceful tone struck the younger woman quiet.
House shut the folder and tucked it under his arm as he stood. "And Wilson?"
"He's too emotionally involved to be completely objective," he nodded at Cuddy's answer. "I have a specialist coming. He should be here within the hour," at that House hobbled out the door and Cuddy turned her attention to the remaining persons.
"The three of you will have Dr. House's others patients and his clinic duty divided amongst you until otherwise informed. Should any of you find yourself discussing the Martin Doe patient, I will suspend your medical licenses indefinitely and slap a lawsuit on you so big your grandchildren will be paying it. Do I make myself clear?" The older woman's glare was certainly intimidating. Chase gulped audibly as Foreman's eyes narrowed slightly in response to her threat. Cameron merely nodded her compliance and Cuddy left the room without another word.
Foreman was the first speak, once Cuddy was out of sight. "You'd think if they were going to label it, they wouldn't make the name so obvious. I mean honestly any ninny could connect the two together."
Cameron turned her to him, "what are you going on about?"
"You don't know what Martin case means, do you?" Foreman asked astonished and she shook her head. He waved to Chase who shook his head as well and Foreman slapped his forehead with his hand. How could they be so ignorant, so unaware.
"Okay, basically if the patient is a Martin case, that means the patient is a mutant." Foreman explained slowly, eyes shifting about, monitoring any reentrance of House or Cuddy. The other two doctors were shocked, struck speechless. Mutants in Jersey, who would have thought?