Nurse’s Office
Waking up was hard. Everything felt heavy. Jubilee’s eyes opened slowly, the task of it alone made her groan.
“She’s coming to.”
Everything ached - as if she had been womped over and over by giant ocean waves. The memory of that made her frown. She drew a deep breath, her chest screaming against the movement.
“Easy does it, Jubilation.” McCoy laid a surprisingly soft hand on her shoulder. Jubilee held onto the warmth of his touch, not wanting to pass out again, the edges of her blurred vision already darkening.
She managed a garbled sound as something small and cold was pressed against the skin of her chest.
“Breathe, Jubilation. Slow. Deeply.”
She closed her eyes and focused on her breath. The pain had subsided some as she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Her mouth was as dry as cotton.
“Water.”
The command was given before she could speak it. Jubilee opened her eyes, searching for the voice. She hoped it was Marie. Even Kitty.
The darkness of unconsciousness had brought on a sense of dread in Jubilee. She couldn’t understand why.
Instead, a swirl of red neared her, holding something out. Jubilee’s mouth felt the straw and immediately latched onto it, taking a long drink. She felt her chest hitch, and she stubbornly choked it down. The water wasn’t cold or hot, but it still tore its way down her throat.
“Fuck,” she coughed. Jubilee felt everything coming back - as if her senses had been turned down by a dial.
She blinked against the darkness. “Marie? Kitty?”
“They’re just outside,” McCoy replied. Jubilee heard the scratch of pen against paper.
She shifted, realizing she was propped up in a sitting position, and winced as her body objected. “I can’t see,” she croaked.
“You’re eyes are fine, let them adjust.” More scratching. “You’ve suffered a trauma, Jubilation.”
She closed her eyes, letting her head fall back against a pillow. “I feel like I wiped out.”
“You passed out from sheer exhaustion,” McCoy asserted. “It’s remarkable, really. The amount of strain you exerted would have crippled someone like me in minutes.”
Jubilee managed to glare at McCoy, who still looked like a mess of blues. “So you’re saying I almost died again.”
“Precisely.”
“I hate this place.”
“You’re exactly where you’re meant to be, young one.”
“What happened this time?”
“You had a reaction to another mutant,” McCoy said carefully. Jubilee noted the change of tone in his voice. “It wasn’t Marie, if you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t,” Jubilee snapped. “Who was it.”
McCoy fell silent.
“There’s a rule about not using our abilities against one another,” came that voice again. And to Jubilee’s dismay, she knew it well.
That swirl of red appeared again in her vision, and this time it had a face.
Jean was solemn as she spoke again. “It wasn’t intentional, Jubilee, but I’m sorry for...for this.”
“What’d she do?” Jubilee refused to acknowledge Jean further, the anger beginning to boil.
“Her telepathic range is broader than any other telepath in recorded history - it just barely inches past the Professor himself,” McCoy explained. “But Jean is young, therefore it continues to expand as she gets older and her abilities strengthen and change.”
“This is not answering my question,” an edge had finally returned to her voice. What the hell happened to her?
McCoy coughed lightly, “Jean can penetrate any mind. As far as we know there is no one she can’t reach. Except, apparently, you.”
Jubilee waited.
“Her mind collided with yours. It’s the equivalent of a battering ram to a reinforced door.”
“So she tried to read my mind.”
“That wasn’t - “
“And because I’m some kind of freak among freaks, she couldn’t do it and the effort almost killed me.”
“That is a simple way of putting it.”
“Get me out of this bed,” Jubilee demanded, her voice like ice.
“You need bed rest.”
“I need this bitch out of my face,” Jubilee snapped. “Or I’ll break that rule right now.”
“I’ll go,” Jean suddenly spoke. Her own voice was quiet, defeated.
“Jean.”
“It’s fine, Hank. Professor X wants to see me anyway.”
When Jubilee heard the door open and close, she turned to McCoy. “Why did she do this.”
“It wasn’t her intent,” McCoy answered. He sighed, setting down his clipboard on a nearby table. Jubilee realized he was sitting on a stool next to the bed. He crossed his massive arms, “Mutants as powerful as Jean can’t always control their abilities. She works very hard at it, I’ll admit it, but Jean is something...else.”
“I’m glad she’s a scientific marvel for you, professor.”
“Jubilation, that notion extends to you as well.”
“I️ don’t want to hear it.”
“Well I’m not going anywhere while these tests run, so bear to listen,” McCoy ignored her groan. “This information is invaluable to you.”
“How are you so excited about this as I’m laying here dying.”
“I’m a man of science.”
“Kill me now.”
“I️ have to tell you there was an accident when you lost consciousness.”
Jubilee started, “What?”
“Ever shake a can of soda and open it?”
She stared at him - well, squinted mostly. Jubilee closed her eyes, trying to pull the memory. There was nothing but darkness. “Did anyone get hurt?”
“Kitty had grabbed hold of Marie and phased through the explosion - yes, explosion. So they’re fine. But there’s an entire wing of the building that needs a remodel.”
“Dude.”
“There were some treatable injuries, though the very intensity of the blast temporarily blinded a majority of the students in the vicinity.”
Jubilee said nothing else, her hands gripping the sheets of the bed at her sides.
“Has this ever happened before.”
“No.”
McCoy hummed in acknowledgement, nodding as he picked up his clip board and made his notes. “The energy of your sparks, as you call them, runs at a very high frequency. It’s kinectic but unlike other mutants I️ know, it’s not destructive at it’s most basic level. It’s almost like a fire that burns too bright to be hot.”
Jubilee swallowed what felt like a rock down her throat. “Great.”
“On the contrary, what is great is what happens when that energy is stored at a high volume and then released. Resulting, obviously, in your accident.”
“My accident.”
“I️ took a brain scan just after you arrived and -“
“McCoy,” Jubilee groaned, “Can we do this later.”
The professor had been rifling through files and paused. “I️ thought you’d like to know you’re practically immune to psychic abilities. Of any scale.”
Jubilee waved a hand, “Right now I️ don’t care.”
McCoy grunted, rising to his full height. Jubilee suppressed the need to shrink away from him. He was, after all, a Beast.
“I’ll allow the girls to see you, but you’ll remain in observation for the week.”
“Dude I️ have like 3 exams.”
McCoy chuckled, a surprisingly pleasant sound that tumbled from deep within his massive chest as he moved to leave. “Hardly a thing to worry about. I’ll come around later, but your friends will have to keep this visit short. You require a full recovery.”
“Fine.”
The door had barely been cracked open and McCoy had to jump back as the disembodied head of Kitty Pryde appeared just above the doorknob.
“Oh hey, Professor,” she offered that melodious charm to her voice, “We thought we heard you were leaving.”
The professor cleared his throat, “I know we’ve discussed this behavior, Miss Pryde.”
“Oh, right!”
Kitty’s head sunk back into the door and not a moment later she was pushing the door open, “Oh hey, Professor -“
“By the gods, just come along.”
“Oh, thanks!” Kitty barely spared him another glance as she moved to her friend’s bedside. Marie appeared in the doorway, and Jubilee could make out a small, sad smile on her face.
“‘Sup, guys,” Jubilee greeted.
McCoy gestured for Marie to enter, exiting as she did. He hung back for a moment, enormous as he hunched down in the opening, his voice stern, “One hour, students. No more than that. She - “
“Needs rest,” the trio finished for him.
He tried to frown, but they saw the smirk on his mouth before he closed the door behind him.
“You look terrible,” Marie spoke first. She was already climbing into the bed with Jubilee, gingerly settling around her feet.
“That’s so rude,” Kitty mumbled, placing a large paper bag on the bedside. She gave Jubilee a once over, smiling, “You do actually look better though.” Her hands nudged the bag forward, “I figured you’d be hungry when you woke up.”
Jubilee groaned in pleasure, taking it from her, “You didn’t have to, Kitty.”
She opened the bag and almost cried at the smell of food wafting out of it.
“Marie made your favorite. Breakfast omelet and her own special of hash browns.”
Jubilee looked at Marie, who grinned despite herself. “I made Logan drive us all the way to the supermarket just for egg whites.” She nodded to the bag, “He left you a small gift, too.”
Removing the container of hot food, Jubilee laughed as her hands fixed on an ice cold glass bottle. When she pulled it out, a small note was tied to the neck. It was a craft beer.
“‘The best cure for hangovers is to keep drinking’,” she read. Jubilee rolled her eyes, grinning.
“Poster child for perfect parenting,” Marie mused.
Jubilee sighed, “Thanks for visiting.”
“We’re just glad you’re not dead,” said Marie.
Kitty growled, “They wouldn’t even let us come with you in the infirmary. Or wait with you until you woke up.”
Jubilee shook her head, “McCoy said it was really bad. I thought he was going to tell me you guys got hurt.”
“Kitty saved us,” Marie looked at the girl with a warmth that had never been there before. “She phased both of us through the blast, and was the first person to go to you after.”
“My hero,” Jubilee gushed. Kitty blushed in spite of herself. “Guess those extra sessions with Danger are really paying off.”
Kitty’s blush somehow managed to reach the top of her ears. “Sure, I guess.”
“Looks like I’m top freak on campus,” Jubilee winced as she straightened up in the bed. “Pretty sure I’ll get us booted off that ranking list.”
“It’s the opposite,” Marie’s eyes sparkled. “Ororo just spoke the words X-Men and Logan almost fainted.”
Jubilee scoffed, “No way.”
“Way,” Marie and Kitty replied in unison. The three exchanged surprised expressions.
The pause they shared broke into laughter. Jubilee and the girls began tearing into her meal, Marie stealing bites of the omelette, Kitty testing the hash browns and exclaiming they were the best she ever had.
It was needed, this moment. For Jubilee, who had only ever been alone when her life came crashing down, not much else could have held her together.
They gossiped and giggled and debated on the infirmary bed, her pain forgotten, the world outside of the room forgotten.
“Listen, what happened wasn’t nearly as bad as Bobby Drake’s accident in the pool,” Kitty insisted, sipping the craft beer they had cracked open only upon the agreement that they shared it. “Stuck his junk in one of the pumps.”
“Don’t continue,” Marie pleaded between laughter.
“Bobby ‘Ice Man’ Drake got his dick stuck in the pool drain?”
Kitty almost choked on her last swing of the bottle, nodding past tears.
“What a nerd!”
“I had to phase him out and give CPR,” Kitty groaned, a hand going to her face. “We landed in the hangar below, right on top of Logan’s workstation. So imagine like your dad walking in on you on top of some boy giving mouth to mouth.”
Jubilee and Marie exchanged sad smiles, but urged Kitty on.
“I had to do detention for like a week. With Bobby. Who tried to stick his tongue down my throat after throwing up chlorine. Ugh.”
“Hasn’t he been crushing on you since?” Jubilee pressed with a sly grin. “Bobby practically chases you everywhere.”
Kitty shook her head wildly, “I can’t even look him in the eye after he was exposed like that.”
“Is Kitty a prude?”
“Kitty is a prude.”
“I am not!”
“You blush for everything,” Jubilee insisted through a mouthful of eggs.
“Straight arrow,” Marie added.
Kitty’s face flushed even more, “You guys think I’m such a goodie two-shoes.”
Jubilee nudged her, “There’s gotta be one in every trio. You’re like Bubbles.”
“Bubbles?”
Both Kitty and Jubilee stared at Marie.
“What like she’s soap bubbles?”
“Did you never watch Powerpuff Girls?”
“Is that like a TV show?”
Kitty huffed, “You always live in your own world, Marie.”
Jubilee shrugged, “Honestly I’m envious of that.”
“Students.”
The girls turned their attention to the doorway, and there stood Ororo. Dressed, to no one’s surprise, elegant as ever. Jubilee absently wondered if the woman even owned sweatpants.
“Getting on well, I see.”
Jubilee nodded once, “McCoy is great.”
“Do you need us to leave?” Jubilee pondered Kitty’s hand wrapping tighter around her own.
“McCoy sent me to ensure you weren’t exhausting Jubilee. Unfortunately your time is up.”
“Sure,” Marie agreed, climbing out of the hospital bed, giving Jubilee a playful tug of her big toe through the sheets.
“I expect you to make a full recovery by the end of the week,” the professor stated. “You have your first squad evaluation.”
Jubilee frowned, giving Kitty a parting squeeze of her hand. “Squad evaluation? Don’t I have detention or something?”
Ororo raised a brow. “I’m sure your peers informed you of the ranking you all received. Blinding half the school is not an excuse to miss your given curriculum.”
“But I almost died.”
“And yet you did not die.” Ororo halted the two visitors with a firm hand as they approached the doorway. She gave them a once over with that clear blue gaze. “Is that a beer?”
“No,” the three replied in unison.
Kitty didn’t even blink as she moved her hand behind her back, the bottle almost empty in her grasp.
A small hiccup escaped her.
Ororo’s eyes slid closed, arms crossed over her chest. “Logan.”
Marie was practically shoving Kitty through the doorway, “Good night, Professor, see you in class tomorrow!”
When Ororo leveled her gaze on Jubilee again, her tone softened when she spoke. “Rest, Jubilee. I’ll visit tomorrow.”
“‘Kay.”
“And I’ll make sure you can make up for your exams next week.”
“Oh my god.”