Orientation
2.
The room was made for four inhabitants. Jubilee walked in and found just one.
A girl sat with her legs tucked beneath her, dressed in a black wool turtle neck sweater and maroon leggings despite the heat outside. The only thing bare were her hands and face. When Jubilee entered she didn't even look up from the book she was reading.
Jazz music streamed from a speaker on a desk cluttered with school materials and books. A simple lamp clung to dear life at the edge.
While the girl had the entire space to herself, she really only filled the corner where her bed sat. The other beds, desks, and walls were left barren and clean. Books stacked along the windowsill were the only exception. Jubilee wondered if she had just moved in.
"Look alive, kiddo."
At the sound of his voice, the girl looked up. Jubilee felt a jolt of recognition. Those eyes.
The heat of a car on fire, ash raining down from the sky, the thunderous clap of a giant metal limb slamming into the pavement next to her -
And a girl. With those eyes. Cold hands, cold as ice, burning, touching her face - and then darkness.
"Nooooooope."
Jubilee turned and smacked into the wall of the man behind her.
"What's the matter with ya -"
"I remember her - she was there!"
Jubilee had woken up face down on the floor of a jet heading to New York, with almost no memory of how she got there. She did not want to relive the agony of that hangover.
Those bear claws for hands grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her back around.
"She has a name. It's Marie. And Marie here wouldn't have had to use excessive force if you hadn't been so damn stubborn back there."
"Excessive force?!"
"Doc said it - two whole hands to your face. You tried to overpower each other. Damned sight I ever saw. You should be dead, Jubes."
She was taken out of her panic by the abrupt use of the nickname, looking back at him in disgust. "What'd you call me?"
"There ya go, already adjusting. Apologies, Marie, but you need a proper introduction. This is Jubilation."
The girl, Marie, shifted her gaze from the Logan to Jubilee, who shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, hands clenching and un-clenching at her sides.
She swallowed, meeting the girl's eyes.
"Hey."
"Hello." Marie's voice had a sweet, husky sound to it.
"What ya reading, darlin'?"
"Shakespeare," Marie replied. "It's for class. Honest." Jubilee frowned slightly at the southern accent.
"Good, I'm glad. They letting you back on your other courses?"
At the question, the girl turned her gaze to Logan. "Little by little, I guess."
"Oh. Good." It was his turn to shuffle nervously.
God this is so awkward. Every muscle in Jubilee's body wanted to flee - her mind was already weaving an escape back through those winding hallways and into the garage and hop on that motorbike she spotted while coming off the jet.
She couldn't be expected to just do this -
"Well," Logan clapped her on the back, sending her stumbling forward, "There's a drawer with some new clothes, I had one of the girls pick out some in your size." He turned on his heel to go.
"Wait - that's it?" Jubilee hissed.
Logan paused, his expression incredulous. "Yeah." And he was gone.
Jubilee stared after him, mouth slightly ajar.
"Where are your shoes?"
Jubilee felt her body sag. "I lost them."
"You smell like a fireplace."
"Should I open a window?" She turned, casting the girl a glare.
The girl had gone back to her reading. "Too hot for that. I'd throw the whole outfit in the trash."
Jubilee couldn't disagree, and trudged to a bed. A hand nimbly undid the buttons of the coat while another snatched off the sunglasses and tossed them on a nightstand nearby.
Normally she shrugged out of her jackets and coats. But as the cool air hit the abrasions on her skin, she hissed as she carefully peeled the coat away. Underneath she was clad in nothing more than a yellow crop top and blue leggings. Everything was in near tatters. She let the coat fall to a heap on the floor.
Behind her, a small gasp.
Jubilee cast the girl a withering glance before walking up to a tall mirror against a wall. Her shoulder had been shoved back into place and the bare skin was an ugly shade of purple and blue. It had been dislocated after taking the brunt of a fall almost two stories high. Her forearms were still raw from being thrown from a motorbike and skidding across an icy street. She turned slightly, sighing as other bruises bloomed across her back. Fingers trembling with dread gently peeled back the waistband of her leggings, and she scowled at the road rash and bruising on her hip.
Yeah. It was rough getting here. If she hadn't been a gymnast most of her life she would be in much worse shape.
She peered closely at her face, relieved that it was mostly untouched, minus the small cut above her temple. Bags were forming under her almond shaped eyes, the hollows of her cheeks deep. She shuddered at memory of that icy touch sending her spiraling into darkness. She needed sleep. She needed food.
"If it means anything, I'm sorry."
Jubilee turned from the mirror and finally looked at the girl. Marie had sat forward, the book she had been reading forgotten. Her fingers absently picked at the wool sleeves of her turtleneck sweater.
All Jubilee could remember were those hands, but she was baffled that she couldn't remember that face. It reminded her of Egyptian busts of queens. She belonged on the cover of Vogue. Massive, thick black curls, cropped short, framed those regal yet delicate features.
"Did they put you here to keep me in check or something?"
Marie tilted her head slightly at the question. "Put me here? I've always been in this room."
Jubilee sharply looked around again. "This whole room was yours?"
Marie nodded. "I don't like to take up more space than I should. It's impolite, you know?"
"You didn't really answer my question."
"Which part?"
"The part about you using those hands to put me in a coma every time I act up."
"Do you act up a lot?"
"I do what I want, is that the same thing?"
Marie shrugged, "They just told me this morning that I would have roommates. That it would be you." She bit her lip, sizing up Jubilee again. "I told them that it might not be a good idea. Professor X seemed to disagree."
Jubilee frowned, "Why wouldn't it be a good idea?"
Marie looked away, "Because of what I did to you. It's complicated."
"Okay, you made me pass out, big deal, clearly I'm fine."
"I said it's complicated," Marie insisted, her voice thick with loathing.
Jubilee paused, "Dude, did you give me cancer?"
"What? NO! No." She rushed to explain. "Most people don't get back up like you did. Sorry, again. But it's like that with everyone. I'm still trying to control how much I take. And what it does to me."
This was getting more awkward by the minute and Jubilee was mentally double checking her escape plan.
"What…What did you feel?"
Jubilee hesitated, uncomfortable under the intensity of the girl’s gaze. That night was painful for a lot of reasons. She tried not to think of the kids she had called friends. The crew who had abandoned her without looking back. "Ummm...like I was sitting in an ice bath. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. Everything went in and out of focus. There's some stuff I couldn't remember when I woke up, like temporary gaps." Despite herself, she laughed, pretending to be interested in the bruises and cuts on her knuckles. "It totally sucked."
Marie cast her gaze to her own hands, clasping them together tightly.
"Are you like a vampire or something?"
Marie actually chuckled. "No. Could be a better alternative though."
"I don't understand."
"It's hard to explain."
"Show me."
Marie stared at her, guilt in her expression. "Don't be mad."
"Why would I..."
Jubilee watched as Marie opened her hands and held a bloom of bright, crackling energy.
Sparks.
Her words died in her throat.
"It's like I take a piece of what you have, and it stays with me," Marie's gaze was distant. "Not for long. Not forever. But...it's the memories that don't go with them."
Jubilee blinked. "Memories?"
The sparks faded, and Marie took a deep, trembling breath. She nodded slowly. "The Professor thought we might need to help each other...decompress."
Jubilee's expression hardened. "What do you mean by memories?"
Before Marie could reply, there was a knock on the door.
It swung open and a small, petite girl strode in with a smile and a suitcase.
"Hi! I'm Kitty, I'm you're new roommate!"
Jubilee and Marie didn't even look.
The girl paused, finally reading the tension and already back peddling, "Maybe…this is the wrong room?"
"It's fine," Marie replied softly. "You're in the right place." Her expression became neutral as she tore her eyes away from Jubilee. When they found Kitty, the young girl became stiff.
"Hey, Marie."
"Are you going to babysit us?" Marie drawled.
The small exchange was enough to pull Jubilee out of the storm swirling in her head.
Kitty scowled, "No. And I wouldn't if they asked me."
"I don't see why you're here, then."
Jubilee took in their new arrival. She was a small thing, about a head shorter, shoulder length brunette hair, and looked like she walked out of an Abercrombie ad. She screamed, All-American cheerleader with that stance.
Yes, this was the Top Girl.
Kitty huffed, "Hey, I said yes to this arrangement, okay? No one forced me here."
"Again, still don't know why you're here."
"Because," a voice behind Kitty was followed by the entrance of the most beautiful woman Jubilee had ever seen in her whole damn life.
She towered over Kitty, broad shouldered and elegant in her simple navy blue pants suit. Jubilee never thought anyone could pull off a pantsuit but this goddess clearly proved her very wrong.
But the most startling of her appearance was her hair. It was white. It sprung from her scalp in long waves, sprawling down her back and shoulders, a contrast to her dark skin.
She peered at the three young women with bright, icy blue eyes. "I am tasked with building teams of three," her voice was deep and sounded like how velvet feels. "You're slated to be one of the strongest combinations based on skill and abilities."
She gave Kitty the slightest nod, smiled at Marie, and when her eyes landed on Jubilee, her expression became unreadable.
"You must be Jubilation."
"I am."
"Logan made an impressive case to enroll you in this school."
"I guess I made an impression."
"We've yet to see that."
Jubilee felt herself sour at the words. "So you're like our teacher counselor or something?"
"My name is Ororo. I am one of the Professors here. You'll be in my classes."
"Professor," Jubilee recognized the brown nosing tone in Kitty's voice and suppressed an ugly scowl. "Is there any other reason why we were grouped? I was the only one reassigned from my last team."
"And I was never placed in a 'group,'" Marie said that last word with some disdain.
"And I have no idea what any of this means," Jubilee chimed in.
Ororo shrugged. "Logan requested the exchange. You can take up your inquiry with him."
"Logan?" Their voices rang out in unison.
Amusement brightened Ororo's face. She raised a brow at Jubilee, "Do your best to clean up. I'd like to see you in my office shortly." She exited with a small wave to the other girls.
Kitty finally looked Jubilee up and down. "What happened to you?"
*****
Jubilee half walked, half jogged down the long hallway, zipping up a slightly oversized hoodie as she avoided the curious gazes of other students.
Whispers followed her as she turned sharply into a corridor, noting the "Offices" sign that Kitty had mentioned.
Running nervous hands through her damp hair, she paused to take a breath.
Her shower had been quick, but filled with growling and cursing as the water felt like a swarm of bees against her battered body. She gritted her teeth while pulling on the clothes she had on now.
She tried not to think about Marie's eyes on her the whole time.
This was happening too fast. Yesterday she was on the west coast, homeless and scraping by doing street tricks, today she's a student enrolled in some kind of private school for mutants.
For mutants! The country was losing its mind as thousands of people were being outed by their friends, family, and neighbors. That thought stung Jubilee. Her own friends. What she had thought to be a new family. They completely abandoned her to be scooped up by a giant robot thing and right now the only person in the world who seems to have her back was a giant hairy man with metal claws.
She just met that dude. Like the other day.
And now she has roommates. Two of them.
Jubilee sighed and knocked on the door.
When it opened, Jubilee's sullen expression screwed into confusion. A young woman with red hair and the greenest eyes Jubilee had ever seen stood in the doorway.
She took a step back, "Uh, wrong office?"
The girl offered a strained smile. "Not at all, the Professor was expecting you."
They seemed to both have a moment, their gazes quickly sizing each other up. If Kitty was head cheerleader, this girl was valedictorian, first in her class, queen bitch of the school.
Jubilee could spot the type from a mile away. She couldn't help the sneer pulling itself across her face.
The girl regarded her with narrow eyes then, suddenly very intense. Jubilee frowned.
She stepped back, pushing the door open. Jubilee took a step in, giving herself some distance from the girl, rolling the tension out of her shoulders.
Ororo sat at a simple desk with a glass top. Paperwork and a small laptop sat on the surface. She stood as Jubilee entered, gesturing to one of the chairs across from her. "If you'll please."
Jubilee sank into the plush leather, wincing.
Ororo noted the reaction. "A few bumps and bruises getting here, I see."
"Yeah."
Ororo took her seat, and looked up at the red head. "Jean, that will be all, thank you."
"I'll see you tomorrow, Professor."
When the door closed, neither spoke. Ororo was quickly sifting through folders until she found the one she needed, and turned to her laptop to enter a few keystrokes.
Jubilee allowed herself to glance around the room. She supposed if you could order a professor's office out of an RH catalog, this would be one of them. It was minimal, one wall was dedicated to shelves lined with books. Behind Ororo was an arched window with a view of the school grounds. It was a big place. On the other wall were dozens of hanging objects - the kind of stuff you saw in museums. African art, tribal masks, even photographs. There were a few certificates, highlighting academic achievements.
"Are these from your home?" Jubilee nodded at the artifacts.
Ororo nodded, still typing away. "I've called more than one tribe my own. Home is a subjective term for me."
"Makes sense."
"I called you to my office for a private conversation regarding your enrollment."
"Sure."
"Logan gave us as much detail as possible about where you're from, what's happened to you, and that fills in the many gaps of your public record. Tested high in state exams, star athlete with a strong candidacy for the Olympics, recently homeless, and an arrest record for theft and public disturbance."
"Glad they omitted that prostitution charge."
Ororo didn't even blink, ignoring the joke. "Your temporary displacement in child services pushed you into five different homes."
"Uh-huh." Jubilee was used to this - the offices, the counselors and officers and all of the conversations that revolve around being a ward of the state. Another number, another statistic.
"This information helps me provide the support that you may need here."
"Okay."
"Your parents were murdered."
The corner of Jubilee's mouth twitched.
Ororo gauged the reaction carefully. "This is a safe space, Jubilation."
"Okay." Jubilee was impressed with her own composure. But she clung to Logan's words with everything she had. She pushed out the images flashing in her mind that haunted her sleep.
Ororo nodded, accepting defeat on the topic, picking up a sheet of paperwork. "Blood work came back with regular results..."
Jubilee started, "When did you take my blood?!"
Ororo raised a brow, "Your prolonged contact with Marie raised a great deal of alarm. Medical treatment had started on the jet before they realized you wouldn't die."
Jubilee scowled, "Without my permission?"
Ororo shrugged, "Logan was very determined to keep you alive. And to be clear, we have no interest in losing lives we can save."
"What is it exactly that goes on here?"
Ororo turned, giving her full attention to Jubilee. "I'm sure you've realized we're not just a school, a haven for young mutants."
"Right. You're also the X-Men."
"Yes."
"So the X-Men pluck me out of LA, my home city, and keep me here as one of their many young recruits to become a soldier for mutant freedom and all that stuff."
"No. You have choices."
"I don't see how."
"I'm sure you've spent the last few years without choices. You're at the legal age to do as you please. We don't have to keep you here, but Logan was adamant about this. If you do stay here, we can provide schooling and training. If you're not interested in our facility, you can go."
"I can go."
"That's right."
"Like right now."
"I cannot stop you."
"Like just leave."
"Mmm."
Jubilee stared at her. "And so if I stay..."
"Are you saying you will remain with us."
"If I stay what do I do."
"Again, the choice is yours. You dropped out of school, and off the planet for that matter, so you have the right to complete your education."
"Beyond that?"
"What is it that you want, Jubilation?"
Jubilee sat back, shrugging. "Trying to see what my options are - since I'm officially outed as a mutant I guess that limits my chances for a normal life."
"Nothing will ever be normal again. And I agree. There are many things happening in the world, and we're at the edge of another change. Mutants are at the center of it all."
Jubilee chewed the inside of her cheek. "I'll stay, for now."
Ororo stared at her.
“Is...that okay?”
"What did he promise you?"
Jubilee blinked, "Who?"
"Logan. What did he promise you?"
She shrugged, "Just to give me a safe place. Help me get on my feet."
Ororo's gaze was penetrating. "Logan is not known to bring home strays. The last time he did this, Marie was enrolled under similar circumstances."
"Do you mean he has a thing for snatching underaged women from their homes?"
"Yes, actually."
Jubilee paused, genuinely taken aback. The fuck? “Well that's interesting."
Ororo sat back in her chair, giving the her a once over. "I hope this was not a mistake, Jubilation. We have strict policies you may not take well to. If you do anything to disrupt the work we are doing here, I will not allow you to stay."
"Go to school, get good grades, don't burn the place down," Jubilee recited the promise given to her earlier. "How hard is that going to really be?"