There was an odd mix of weariness and excitement permeating Madeline as she sluggishly made her way to the door, tugging down the oversized shirt she'd thrown on. She was tired, so very tired; it had been a long day even before this little encounter, and the subsequent burnout that was following her adrenaline spikes. Yet as much as she wanted to go grab the supplies Jennifer requested and get some rest, she found herself wanting just as much to stick around and further study what had happened to her mentor.
And, horrifying though this experience had been... she had at least some small bit of pride in herself right now. The retrovirus that had brought all of this about had originated with Xiao, but Madeline had put plenty of effort into developing and refining it. Granted, that meant that she had some responsbility for the doctor's mutations... but they had a chance to fix her. Beyond that? They'd be household names at least. Her mind fogged up just considering all the possibilities, all the ways they could apply this discovery... it was as close to truly playing god as any human beings were likely to get.
Such thoughts were dancing around in the blonde's head as she closed the door behind her, locking it just to be sure that nobody snuck in while Jennifer was potentially sleeping. They were engrossing to consider, taking up her attention so much that she didn't really pay attention to where she was going. What finally broke her out of it was bumping into what she thought to be a wall; turning her head, her face went pale on realizing that this 'wall' had a face, and a very familiar one at that.
"Dean Jacobson!" She hopped back, placing a shocked hand on her rapidly-beating heart. Even in the relative darkness of the hallway, she would recognize that tall, somewhat lanky african-american man anywhere. He reached up to adjust his glasses, his hand lingering so that he could scratch the salt and pepper beard before falling back down to rest by his side. Even at this early hour, he was put together cleanly, his pressed gray suit contrasting sharply with Madeline's oversized shirt, ragged jeans and messy hair.
He had an eyebrow quirked in curiousity, but as ever, his tone was friendly and even. "Miss Chambers." He ran a hand over his bald head. "I had to stay late working on some paperwork, and heard some commotion around here. Is everything alright?"
"Oh, uh, yes, everything's fine!" She never had been much of a liar. "Doctor Xiao and I, uh... we were just, working late, knocked some things over. No big deal!"
He let out a small hmmph, and it became immediately evident to Madeline that he wasn't buying it. "Cramming before the next review... hardly fills me with confidence, Miss Chambers." He was honest, at least. The words didn't seem meant to be hurtful - it was no secret that Jennifer's failure to produce results hadn't exactly pleased the administration. Oh, if only he knew.
"Uh, not cramming at all, sir... actually... I think we've hit a breakthrough." Part of her wanted to just open up the door and show him now, just for the satisfaction of seeing his face when he realized what they had here. "We uh... we got excited, lost track of time... but trust me, you're going to be super impressed!"
"I certainly hope so." He glanced down at his watch. "I should get going, then. It would be advisable if you both-"
He was interrupted by a sound that made Madeline's heart skip several beats. Glass break, impacting against something hard enough to shatter. Glass like the kind in their beakers or the containment cells for the bees - and it was coming from the lab. Her already-pale face was practically white in color as a million terrible scenarios played out in her mind about what the cause might be.
The dean was quicker than her to act, moving towards the door to investigate. On finding it locked, he quickly reached for his keyring, as Madeline's mental gears finally kicked in. It could have been a simple accident - Jennifer's new arms or wings knocking something over. But if it wasn't... if something else had happened... her eyes went wide, as she dove to try and stop him from barging in, for both her and Jennifer's sake.