A/N: I originally intended this to be much longer, but as you probably know I haven't updated anything in forever, and if I don't publish this now it'll just keep stewing in my head and will likely never be finished.. I am still writing, I promise. My other stories, as well as this one, will be updated. Eventually. Enjoy!
Incidentally, the day Jubilee meets the Hulk is the same day everyone finds out about her fireworks.
She's been living with them for almost three weeks, and she should have known that she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. Since that awful day she was cornered in the mall, she hasn't lived with a real family. At the detention center, at the halfway house, at the state home, her roommates and guardians were constantly changing. Anyone who noticed her acting strangely was long gone before they could do a thing. Now, living in close quarters with a group of the most observant people on earth, she doesn't stand a chance.
It goes something like this.
She wakes up in the middle of the night with burning hands and restless, sparking energy coiled in her spine. Jubilee staggers out of bed and stumbles from her bedroom, hoping that movement might stifle the flares of heat in her palms. She's sweating and she's focusing so hard on containing the fireworks that she doesn't notice Bruce sitting up in the kitchen until he places his hand gently on her shoulder.
Jubilee reacts instinctively, startling out of his reach, throwing her hands up as if to warn him away. The millisecond she loses her focus is enough for the bursts of plasma to spring free from her fingertips. Bruce is enveloped by light.
Immediately, JARVIS sets off the Hulk alarm. Clint races out of the bedroom to find Hulk standing in the kitchen, holding Jubilee aloft, one huge hand around her waist. He stares at her intently, brow furrowed. Hulk casts his huge eyes towards Clint, grunting softly. Clint raises his hands and steps forward slowly, trying to appear nonthreatening.
"Put Jubilee down, Big Guy. C'mon, you don't want to hurt her."
Hulk sniffs, still clutching Jubilee. "Firegirl is sick."
Clint frowns and continues walking, slowly closing the gap. "Jubilee, Hulk. That's her name. What do you mean that she's sick?"
Hulk shoves Jubilee towards Clint, and Jubilee can't help the gasp that escapes her. "Firegirl is sick. Too hot!"
He deposits her on the ground. Immediately, Clint shoves Jubilee behind him. "Thanks, Big Guy. Now, why don't you let Bru-"
"FIX FIREGIRL!" Hulk roars, fist clenching angrily.
Clint turns to Jubilee, but she is already backing away, fists clenched and forearms taut, struggling to maintain control. She turns and sprints, flinging open the door to the suite and then to the stairs, racing up up up until she gets to the guest suite. She's in the bathroom, sitting fully clothed in the shower with the water running on cold before she calms down enough to breathe properly.
All she can think about is composing herself before Clint or Bruce find her. The frigid water steams where it comes in contact with her skin. She isn't sure how much time passes, but she is definitely not under control when Clint knocks on the bathroom door. He's worried, almost panicking, "Jubilee, are you okay? Bruce would never hurt you on purpose, you know that, right? Jubilee?"
Jubilee doesn't respond, just shrinks backwards into the corner of the shower, nails carving into the skin of her palms, not drawing blood but indentations evident.
"Jubilee? JUBILEE? JARVIS, initiate override protocol."
"Yes, sir."
Jubilee scrambles back, searches desperately for purchase on the slick tiles of the shower floor, but she's already against the wall and there's nothing she can do.
Clint rushes in and sees her, curled in a ball in the shower. He raises his hands in the same placating gesture he used earlier on the Hulk.
"I just have to make sure you're not hurt, ok?"
Slowly, he approaches her, but she shrieks, "No! Don't touch me!"
"Ok, ok. It's ok. JARVIS, do a full-body scan for injuries."
The room is silent but for the steady beat of the water.
"Miss Lee has sustained no injuries. Her temperature, however, registers at 104 degrees Fahrenheit."
Clint looks at her, tries to meet her eyes, but she refuses to make eye contact.
"Why don't you tell me what happened? Everything, from the beginning. Then we can go to the lab and get you some fever medication, and then, only if you want to, we'll talk to Bruce. He feels terrible. He thinks you're afraid of him."
Jubilee's head snaps up. "I'm not afraid of him! I just…just…"
Clint smiled sadly at her. "It's okay if you're afraid. No one will hold it against you. The Hulk can be pretty scary."
And now Jubilee is cursing herself, because not only has she royally fucked up any chance she had of a family, now Bruce thinks she's afraid of him. "Can you go get him?"
Clint hesitates. "I don't think I should leave you alone."
Jubilee closes her eyes and leans her head against the tiles. "Please? Jarvis can watch me. I'll stay here, I swear. Please?"