cape_kore | 002 Video Day 78

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002 Video Day 78

[Jubilee looks fresh as a daisy. Her hair's up and washed. She's munching on something. Her feet kick up behind her.

For those that are really observant, though, there's the faintest trace of red in her eyes, and just the hint of strain around her mouth.

She at least swallows her mouthful before speaking.]

Logan is gone. I still have the pups, but he's... he's gone.

If any of the newcomers are lookin' for a place to stay, I've got a spare room. Bonus if you know how to cook.

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[She didn't name them. Blame Logan.

She wants to crawl into his lap and hug him. Jubilee wants the comfort of ~~human~~mutant touch and the familiarity of someone else making the demons go away.

There's a reason she's rarely on her own. She needs that friend, that protection, that security of knowing someone is so close.

And his question drives home that he's not hers. It hurts. Hers would know to just keep a mental ear on her, to keep a mental eye on that unique signature that screamed her.]

Mental tabs. Can you...

[She stumbles for a moment, not sure how to explain it. Jean had explained it once...]

A very low-level, unintrusive telepathic connection. Just something that you know is there, like a spiderweb thread that jiggles if something goes wrong with me? Jean explained it like spatial awareness, without the furniture.

Oh, yes of course.

[ He smiles a little, as though taken aback but relieved. ] I am sorry, Jubilee. I didn't even think to offer. Due to my reputation proceeding me and the reaction I had from some of the people here, I've been trying to keep to my own mental business.

[ He ducks his head, a gesture that is considerably younger than she might have ever known. ] My mutation is, well, I doubt I'm anywhere close to the man you know. But I can do my best to stretch the connection as far as we need it.

We all start somewhere, Prof.

[It's something her coach said to her. She'd fallen and hadn't wanted to keep trying. Coach had convinced her otherwise.]

And let me tell you, it's so weird knowing you're staying away from my head. I mean, I keep checking my shields, out of habit and just... it's weird.

[She's really trying hard not to tackle him and hug him and it's hard. Especially with the wolves gone.]

[ He doesn't tell her he's only know the others for such a short amount of time, only recently met Erik and fell into this world. He'd always thought there would be other mutants but finding them hadn't felt possible.

Until now. ]

I'm rather nosy in the future then? [ He still is. ] All right, will you allow me to get a feel of your signature?

Nosy's one way to put it.

[Downright manipulative is another. But she doesn't say that, not wanting to worry him about the future. There are some things she wants him to know, but they can wait.

She takes a deep breath, steadying herself. Lowering her shields is a conscious effort.]

Whenever you're ready, poke away.

[It takes her a moment, and with her powers burnt, the signature is lessened, but if he'd been paying attention, it's like the static on the TV suddenly disappearing in a silent room. Her shields lower and open her mind. There's still that fuzzy bit at the edges, like angry bees behind a wall. Blockable, but there. There are also paths through the buzzing, paths blazed by previous telepaths, one that feels almost feminine in it's gracefulness, another that's blunt and broken through.

Then the third. Elegant, simplicity. Walls are built around it, allowing a tunnel into her mind only if someone knows how to see it. The minuscule path was laid before the constructed shields around it. An open channel to see into her mind.]

[ He supposes the future Charles Xavier doesn't have a tell as obvious as his, fingertips to his temple and a look of concentration on his face. This is all very fascinating really, he half wants to explore it further. Each piece of her mind - how it is constructed - is so strange and alien to him and yet there is a sense of familiarity.

He follows the path and locks in on her signature and it's like securing a chain to an anchor. He sucks in a breath. ] Fascinating.

[She actually feels it latch into place. It's something she can tell with certain telepaths, but it's been a while with the Professor.

She opens her eyes and looks at him, cocking her head to the side. The proof in how comfortable she is with telepaths is what happens next. She says nothing, but the words are clear to him.]

Do you want to see? Since you're in here anyway?

[She can show him the X-Men, show him the joy she got out of going to his school, that help ease the tragedies.]

If you'd like to show me, yes.

[ Because he's careful about it now, cautious. The man she knows isn't the man he is. He's kinder. ]

[Her smile brightens the room, and it brightens her mind as well. The scenes whiz past for a moment, and then they're in a backyard. The mansion is behind them. Seen through Jubilee's eyes and ears, there's laughter and talking all around.

The professor is sitting in a wheelchair near a table, earnestly playing chess with a statuesque woman with brilliant white hair. There's a man in red glasses manning the grill, smacking the hand of a blond man that tries to steal a hot dog off the coals. A woman with brilliant red hair is lounging on a deck chair with a drink in her hand, giggling with another blond man who chills her glass. A man with giant wings is throwing a ball in the swimming pool with a man who has bright blue fur.

Logan is relaxing with a beer. SPARKPLUG! He raises his cigar after calling her name. PAFs fly from her fingers and light the end of the cigar. There's a puff of blue smoke and a man with a spaded tail and glowing yellow eyes appears out of it, carrying another beer that he gives her. A woman with a white stripe in her hair lands near by and nudges a guy with black and red eyes away from the buffet table.

There's a sense of happiness in everyone around. This is a party, for something, or for nothing, the memory isn't clear. It ends when Jubilee is picked up and thrown over someone's shoulder and is then airborne and lands with a splash.]

Every single person's life there was saved by your school. All of them. They're alive and happy because you made a school, made a place for them.

[ There's a great wealth of affection within her memory. He gets a sense of how dear she holds each person. He also gets a sense of each person she shows him. Including himself. He keeps his own thoughts from polluting the channel in which he speaks with her, caught momentarily by the thought that everyone told him about his hair and yet no one told him about the sodding wheelchair. ]

It's a very beautiful memory, Jubilee. You all seem very happy.

[She changes the memory, for just a moment. Because, she's a shit and it's hilarious to her.

The mansion is surrounded by falling leaves. The air is warm, but there's a nip to the air. Jubilee looks down, jumping over a small rock in the driveway to the mansion. She stops, seeing the Professor standing in the lawn. The words aren't heard, but they definitely speak.

She holds up a pair of bright yellow and pink rollerblades. Then, she's holding his hand as they wobble down the driveway. She looks up at the Professor and he's laughing, his eyes sparkling in the cool air. The memory ends as they both fall, water splashing up around them.]

We are. All of us.

[ If his confusion flickers across his face, he makes it vanish soon enough. A smile lifts the corner of his mouth and eyes and he's shaking his head. ]

I had hoped I'd keep some of my style.

[Images flash past of the garage at the mansion, before zeroing in some very fancy, very sleek cars. All of them are the Professor's "personal" vehicles.]

You do.

Ah, much better.

[ He laughs at that. ]

[She grins, leaving the image in her mind.]

You're selfish with them too. Only the O5 can drive them beyond you. Totally not fair.

[That's when a picture of the original five appears. Bobby and Hank derping around. Scott with his arm around Jean. Warren behind them just rolling his eyes at them.]

[ He grins a little. ]

Well, one has to be careful with beautiful vehicles like that.

[Jubilee just sputters out a laugh.]

Actually, I think the reasoning was you made them look good, so we were to keep our paws off. You came by your nickname honestly.

Nickname?

[Jubilee grins, her blue eyes mischievous.]

Wheels.

One day I'm sure someone will come up with an imaginative nickname.

[ He's teasing. A little. ] Professor X and Wheels? Honestly.

No consolation, but I called you Baldy for like the first six weeks I lived with you. Because, I never heard your name before that. And Logan doesn't use anyone's name.

[Yep. She's Logan's kid.]

That's just as bad.

I didn't know anyone's names!

[Scott was Boy Scout, Hank was Blue, Jean was Red, Banshee was Irish... she just called them what Logan had said their names were.]

[ He chuckles. ]

I see. Logan's a very peculiar kind of teacher.

[There's a bit of a rewind. The view is of a pier, stacked with shipping containers and warehouses. Her gaze rests on one of them in particular. Next to her is a beautiful Asian woman who's saying something about Jubilee being sure.

They talk for a moment, before Jubilee accepts a huge stack of pizzas and approaches the warehouse. Once inside, her fingers lash out, spreading light through the warehouse. Flashes of a fight follow, the Asian woman dropping through a skylight to attack from behind, and get Logan from where he's tied up.

At the end of it, he sits at a table and munches on the pizza, introducing the group of mercenaries to the pair of them. An arm drapes around Jubilee's shoulders and drags her out. "We're going shopping."

Jubilee holds up an array of credit cards. "It's on them, anyway." The pair laugh.]

He did that so Betsy and I would work together. It was one of the many lessons he gave over the years.

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