"AHHHH!" The pain had never been this bad before. It felt as though Logan had just punched me, with unsheathed claws. I could no longer hold myself upright.
I crashed to the floor, nearly blind with pain. I was so agonized; I never felt the hypodermic they finally got into my arm. Immediately, the agony began to fade.
Three hours later, it seemed to completely pass. I found they had gotten me down into another room. Logan was beside me, Kurt on my other side, with the professor and Rogue beside him. Scott and Jean stood at the foot of my bed.
"What?" I asked. "Am I just so adorable that you must stare at me for hours on end?" My brother grinned, and then sobered and said, "You nearly died, little one."
"What was my salvation?" I queried, curious to know. "Male saliva. Our tests show that it will work better if fresh," the professor told me. "So what are you saying, exactly? In English, if you don't mind," I insisted.
He gave me one of his "you-will-do-as-I-say-or-suffer" looks. "It's somewhat similar to insulin shots. You'll need one every one to two days, starting today. If you do this, it will pare your attacks down to once a month, but that one will be more painful than all the others put together."
I twisted my face in knots at the thought. "Do I have any other options?"
The professor continued, "Yes, you could continue to let the attacks come as they will, but they would kill you in a matter of months, if you didn't stop them. You would have to stop each individual attack with a fresh sample."
"Meaning?" I coaxed him to finish. "You would … well …" At his obvious floundering, Cyclops took over.
"Meaning you would have to literally French-kiss the nearest male. Or get him to spit in your mouth, which is far less appealing, don't you think?"
Now, I am not a perverted child, but the thought of being able to French-kiss a total stranger and have a medical excuse for doing so, both excited and disgusted me.
"Interesting. Are you sure there is no other way?" I pleaded, hoping that there was. But, my hopes were dashed as they shook their heads.
"All right. Give me a moment, and I'll give you my decision."