Chapter notes from robbie: Can't believe we're already here, at the end of this fic! (And the beginning of a whole new universe, which, for reasons, we are now referring to as the 714 universe. Because.) I hope you've enjoyed this as much as we've enjoyed writing is, because we really, really have enjoyed writing it. Clearly :D

From CC: Okey dokey guys! Griezz, scruffy, JD and Ophelia! Hi there! So glad you've been enjoying it. Sore-y for the slow upload, but I was off hunting last week or this would have been up. I'll make it up to you. Promise. Somehow.


Chapter Twelve: "Jubilation: Keeper of the Speed Dial"


They were finally headed to New York and the mansion after they dropped most of the kids off with the Hudsons — though a few of the kids were still coming with them to the school and were curled up in blankets in the blackbird, completely zonked out.

Kate had just seen the last one - a little girl who was just in love with Kate after Kate let her braid her hair and wear her gloves, which were way too big for her — off to sleep, still wearing her gloves and promising that she wanted to be a superhero when she grew up too, when Kurt popped in to grin at her as she got out from underneath the sleeping girl.

"You seem to have a small fan club of your own," he said with a soft smile, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the sleeping little ones.

She smirked his way. "Well, us girls have to stick together, you know."

"I do not think you are getting those gloves back," he said, nodding at the little girl, and Kate just grinned wider at that.

"No, she can keep them. She said purple was her favorite color, and that makes her alright in my book," she said, turning back to him with a much more teasing smile as she said that last part.

The two of them made their way back up closer to the cockpit, where Henry and Logan were quietly talking in low whispers that wouldn't wake the kids, though when the two of them sat down and Kate just put her head on Kurt's shoulder with her arm through his as she settled in, clearly ready to follow the kids' lead and just go to sleep, there was no mistaking the smirk on Henry's face.

"I'm insulted that you didn't feel that you could trust me with the knowledge of your newest romantic endeavors," Henry said in a low rumble Kurt's way. "I thought we were friends."

"Oh no," Kate said quickly, trying to stick up for Kurt. "This is — this is new. Like, two weeks and some change."

Henry turned to look at her with his very best, most serious expression, his eyebrows raised as he looked over the top of his half moon glasses. "I'm afraid the lady doth protest too much."

"I know she doesn't necessarily look the part of a temptress, but I think this little lady here is trying to steal our little Elf's heart," Logan said quietly.

Kurt grinned at both of them. "Oh, I'm afraid it's much too late to prevent that theft."

"I noticed," Logan said with a significant look. "Right around Tokyo."

Hank raised his eyebrows higher at that and turned to look her over again. "Is that true? You couldn't have been gone for that long at that point," he said, narrowing his eyes and adding a bit of a growl to the next part. "How long have you been stalking our little defenseless Elf?"

She raised both hands with a nervous laugh. "He is so not defenseless. He — he's a horrible flirt. I couldn't help it," she said, gaining speed as she started to smirk at Kurt and try to turn it on him.

"I'm afraid they know all my tricks and all my weaknesses," Kurt said with a shrug. "And they know how some women have tried to take advantage in the past. This is not one of those times," he added, glaring pointedly at his two feral friends. "And you know that, Logan. Picking on her. Not very gentlemanly."

"Yeah, what happened to the giant hug magnet?" Kate asked, still trying to find a new target for the teasing that wasn't herself.

"Blue pointed out that you're threatening Kurt's virtues." Logan tipped his head back from the pilot's seat to look at her. "Evil purple seductress and all that. Tempting him with space pirates and flaunting swashbuckling under his nose."

She held his gaze as the smirk just kept widening. "Yes. Yes I am."

At that, Logan just looked at Henry with a smirk. "Toldja so. Twenty bucks. Pay up," he said, as Henry just started to chuckle in something like disbelief.

"Hey!" Kate looked between them. "Hey! What gives?" If she hadn't been worried about waking the kids, she would have been much more insistent and loud — even if she was already very much so.

"I said you'd admit to spending your time seducing him — he said no way. I won." Logan looked fairly smug about it as Henry handed him some bills.

Kurt just started laughing quietly at the three of them, shaking his head at their antics. "You're all horrible."

"At least Beast bet on my better side," Kate grumbled good-naturedly.

"Blue talked to you for all of thirty seconds," Logan pointed out as he pocketed the cash and settled in for the duration of the flight. "I've been stuck listening to this train wreck the whole time."

"Oh no." She pointed her finger at him. "This?" She waved her other hand between herself and Kurt. "This is not a trainwreck. I don't do trainwrecks. You're confusing me with the other Hawkeye."

"That's probably true, especially seein' as you spend more time at his place than your own," Logan replied. Henry's eyebrows rose to new heights at that one as Logan looked her way and tapped the side of his nose.

"Oh-ho? What say you to that accusation, Miss Bishop?" Henry asked with a serious expression.

She folded her arms and glared at Logan before she muttered, "That's where Lucky is."

"Right. And stability. Somehow," Logan said. "No worries though, Blue. Nothing fishy goin' on. At all. Ever. Unless you count Clint's lack of cleaning skills."

"Ever ever," she said with a nod firm enough to move the headband in her hair. "Never."

"I believe you, liebchen," Kurt said in a soothing tone. "No need to be so adamant."

She smiled and turned to kiss him on the cheek. "Oh, it's not you I'm worried about," she told him. "But these two will talk and I don't want Storm to think I'm some kind of…"

"Madam," Henry said, "I will tease. I will not spread around anything that will paint you as some scarlet woman." He tipped his head Logan's way. "And he has no room to talk. At all. Particularly about evil women bent on seducing away someone's virtues."

Kate smiled Henry's way for a second before she turned her gaze to Logan with eyebrows raised. "What, this adorable little cuddle bug?"

"Indeed," Henry replied. "You wouldn't believe his track record on evil seductresses in particular."

At that, Kate looked like it was Christmas as she realized the potential for ammunition there. "I'm shocked, great-great-grampa. Shouldn't you be telling us about the follies of youth?" She grinned wickedly.

He shrugged a little. "I tried to be good. Seems I got crap taste."

"So do I apparently," Kate muttered, looking him up and down. "I mean — not in my relationships. I mean in the mentor kinda way. Trainwrecks with crap taste who get way too beat up for their own good." She gave him a winning smile and a significant look, but he just looked like he was settling in for the tease.

"Clint's doin' his best," Logan said with a shake of his head. "Just needs to try wearin' a little better armor … and a helmet. He can't have too many more concussions left in him before he strokes out."

Kate tipped her head back and let out a long sigh. "I know. Don't even say it out loud, 'cause I know. Idiot." Logan smirked to himself as she half hugged herself and snuggled into Kurt's chest and said, loud enough for Logan to hear, "Mentors might be idiots, but I've got good taste in the kissing department."

"Be kind," Kurt said. "For most of them, he didn't know they were evil until it was too late. One even had the X-Men convinced that she was alright."

"Well, at least he wasn't knowingly dating psychopaths," she allowed, taking the hint to back off the slightest bit.

"Well…." Hank said with a long, drawn-out tone. "Dated, no. However … married?"

Both her eyebrows shot up. "No."

"It — that was not a real marriage," Logan defended. "It was to fulfil an oath of honor. I got her to give me a divorce as soon as I could."

"Not soon enough to convince Kitty and Jubilee that it was necessary though," Kurt pointed out.

Kate shook her head at all of them. "Yeah — you're not allowed to tease. Officially," she told Logan.

"I'm pullin' rank here — I'm going to tease anyone younger than me. Period."

"Well I'll put the entire population of the planet on notice, then," she countered.

"Make sure you're speedy about it," Logan shot back.

"I'll be quick. I have this little device in my pocket called a telephone. It lets me talk to people. I'll show you how it works someday."

"Oh, that might be too much for my old eyes to follow. Better just let you make my calls for me. Watch out for number five on the speed dial."

"I hear she's the best Hawkeye," Kate said easily.

"Definitely the best Hawkeye," Logan agreed without hesitation. "Has a thing for acrobats though. Draws the mind to kinky conclusions."

"Just the one acrobat oh my gosh. I can't unthink that." She pulled a horrible face and for dramatic effect buried her face in Kurt's chest, very, very tired of being teased about her circus brat former mentor.

"I meant the bug boy," Logan said with a wicked smirk. "But seein' as you put it out there …."

"How do you make him stop?" Kate asked Kurt's chest, slightly muffled.

"In all these years, I have no idea. Normally I'd bribe him with whiskey, but since there is none to be found here — I don't know what to tell you," Kurt said. "You can try to outdo him, but I can't guarantee that he won't get worse. He can be vividly detailed when he wants to be. You should hear the question and detailed answer session when his history class hits the world wars."

She picked her head up. "Okay. I kinda want to hear that now. But I am not enrolling, because I'm not a student. That's not a thing," she said with a teasing smile.

"Oh, certainly not," Kurt agreed, matching her smile with one of his own.

"You can sit in on my class," Logan offered. "If you can behave. And if you give me whiskey when we get back."

"After I get my Storm sleepover. Then whiskey."

Logan gave her a long, suspicious look. "Alright. Fine."

She grinned brilliantly at him and then laid her head back on Kurt's shoulder, tipping her head up the slightest bit so that she could whisper in his ear: "He'll have to wait a bit, though. I still haven't seen your place, and right now, that sounds better than a Storm sleepover."

"I have to agree," Kurt said with a nod before he turned to Logan. "When you were passed out at Clint's place, Storm checked in. Your old room is waiting for you." Logan just nodded at that as Beast started to go into all of the gossip that had been happening around the mansion, less than half of which Kate felt like she was able to follow — at all.

When they arrived at the school, Henry took charge of the kids to make sure they got where they needed to as Kate took in the sights again — this time in daylight, where there were more people up and about and plenty of activities to draw her attention as they walked through the halls. She had to laugh as Logan took the first opportunity to try to slip away from the crowds, and she and Kurt did actually lose track of him for a while as Kurt gave her a more comprehensive tour of the place... before the tour came to abrupt halt as Jubilee came right around the corner, Logan's phone in hand and an expression of murder.

"Who exactly is this?" Jubilee asked with a glare as she gestured to Kate. "Is this the person that thinks she rates center spot on my Wolvie's cell?"

Kate had been thrown off by the sudden change from peaceful tour to verbal assault but quickly stuck out her hand. "Hawkeye," she said by way of greeting. "You can call me Kate — and if your Wolverine would call people when he says he will? I wouldn't have raided his phone."

"That is entirely beside the point. There is a reason I clean out all sorts of strange women out of his phone. Who do you think you are anyhow, Hawkeye? What makes you think you should even be here?"

"Well I just spent a few weeks traveling the world - and going to space - with the guy, and also, I'm dating his best friend, so…" She shrugged with a smug smile as she let the explanation taper off and speak for itself. "And as for who I think I am, I'm a superhero. So chill."

Jubilee crossed her arms again over her chest and stuck her lip out a bit as she looked her over critically. "If you hurt Kurt, I will literally snap you in half."

Kate raised both hands in a gesture of peace. "Good thing I'm never going to do that then," she said quickly.

"Jubilation," Kurt said, soft and quiet, and she turned his way with a curious sort of expression when she saw the look on his face. "Henry can cure your vampirism now," he said carefully. "You won't be able to snap anyone in a few weeks."

She looked downright surprised for a good long moment, just staring at him until he nodded subtly to show that, no, he wasn't kidding. "Oh." She stared Kurt's way for what felt like an eternity as she seemed to chew it over before she took a huge breath and went right back to her usual self as she drew herself up. "I'll find a way if I have to," she said with one hand on her hip and the other pointing Logan's phone at the both of them. She gave them her most menacing smile before she stuck her hand out, palm up, under Kate's nose. "Phone. Now."

"Why?"

"Just hand it over," Jubilee said. "If I'm supposed to blindly trust some girl Kurt dragged home than said girl can hand over her phone."

Kate held Jubilee' gaze as she reached for her pocket. "Let's get one thing straight," she said. "Kurt didn't drag me anywhere. I came perfectly willingly." She held up the purple-cased phone and slapped it into Jubilee's palm.

Jubes gave her a glare for half a second before she started typing something into it rapidly - and for a long, long time. Just about the time that Kate was ready to ask what in the world she was doing, she picked the phone up and held it at arm's length to give her best, brightest smile and snap a picture before she handed it back. "Now you have all of us in there too," Jubes said. "All of us. No reason to say you couldn't get in touch if something happens to you or Kurt or … my Wolvie if you're around him. Someone has to be responsible for them."

Kate broke into a wide grin. "Heaven knows I tried. I even," she leaned in a bit, "got Kurt to agree to drink water."

"I'm sure they snuck more than you know about," Jubes assured her. "Logan guzzles it if he's lost enough blood." She zipped over to give Kurt a quick kiss on the cheek before she looked Kate's way again. "Slumber party Friday night. You don't get to hog the weather goddess."

"Only if you promise to bring your best, most embarrassing stories, because I need ammunition against them. They're horrible." Kate was starting to grin and relax as she got the feeling that maybe she'd passed the Jubilee test. At least... if a sleepover invite was anything to go by.

"Who do you want stories on?" Jubes asked. "I have stuff on everyone." She gave her an honest grin. "Benefit of being the youngest around here for ever. I was six months younger than Kitty when she joined, so I hold the record for youngest X-Man." She said it with a proud kind of tone as she raised her shoulder to her ear with a smirk.

"How'd you manage to get an invite to the team so young?" Kate asked with a grin and a laugh.

"Didn't take too much," Jubilee replied with a wave of her hand. "Just single-handedly saved Wolvie's butt all on my lonesome."

"I'm adding that to my mental list of stories I need further details on," Kate said with a grin. She stuck her thumbs in her belt and leaned forward. "I helped break him out of SHIELD to get invited here."

"Not a half bad way to get an invite," Jubilee admitted. "After we got out of Australia, we did pretty much everything adventury for like five years straight."

"Well, I'm not even at three weeks yet." Kate grinned ruefully. "Guess I gotta step up my game — but Kurt here is just so distracting," she added in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, well... thankfully I didn't have anything like that diverting my attentions while I was utterly stealing all of Logan's attention from Kitty," Jubes said.

"Well you were, like, 13."

"Yeah... but still — even now … I really don't think so. He's the best big brother ever."

"He's a giant hug magnet," Kate said with a little grin.

"For the right people? Totally."

"Oh, I like you." Kate grinned. "Yes — keep agreeing with me and we'll get along great."

"I'm sure." Jubilee gave her another appraising look before she broke into an even wider grin than before. "See you on Friday, number Five — for now. And that's only because I can't decide if I want number one for myself."

Kate grinned. "Well tell me what you decide when I see you Friday. The anticipation is killing me."

"Oh right. I'm sure that's where your mind is hung up."

Kate drew a halo over her head with one finger. "Yes. For sure."

"Horrible liar," Jubes said. She leaned forward and added in a stage whisper, "Go suck the fur off your boyfriend's neck. No judgement."

"JUBILATION," Kurt hissed as he all but glared at her, his tail swishing behind him. "You're not too big for me to take you down."

"Oooh, look at the little vampire skittering away the direction she was already going. So scared! Keep talking like that," Jubes replied over her shoulder. "I'm sure it's a super turn on to hear your boyfriend talk like a sixty-year-old." With that, she just gave them a little wave with her fingers and bopped down the hall.

Kate shook her head with a little laugh as she watched Jubilee leave before she finally turned to Kurt and slid her arm around his waist. "Well — only one death threat. That went well," she said, chuckling quietly.

"As well as can be hoped for," Kurt agreed, shaking his head before he leaned over to kiss her cheek. "If it makes you feel any better, she's never had it in her to kill, even when her vampirism was fresh and hard to resist."

"No, she doesn't strike me as the type," Kate agreed. "Too nice. I like her."

"You'd like her more if she wasn't a bloodsucker," Kurt said as a slow smile started to spread across his face. "She had the most beautiful mutation."

"Then I'll have to stick around for a while," she said, holding onto his arm with a sedate smile as they finished their tour at the teacher's lounge, both of them dropping into the nearest couch, as it was currently empty. Kate leaned over and put her head in his lap, grinning up at him as he answered any questions she could think of about the school now that she'd seen most of it.

Storm and Logan entered a short time later as she was already working on nailing him down with which classes he'd be starting right away — to keep him out of trouble. But when Storm saw the two of them cozied on the couch, she hit Logan's chest with the back of her hand. "You didn't tell me that they were so... comfortable with each other," she said with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Logan just shrugged and found a chair to drop into.

"Figured everyone knew by now," he defended.

"I didn't get the message," Storm said, turning to them. "How could you keep them out of trouble while you were being charmed by this scamp?" she said to Kate, though her eyes were sparkling with laughter.

Kate grinned crookedly and sat up a bit. "Oh, I was charming him," she said. "I am an evil purple seductress." She raised her eyebrows Logan's way. "At least that's what I've been told. I must have some persuasive powers."

"I doubt that somehow," Storm replied with a little laugh. "The seductress part. I'm sure he was happily willing."

"That much is entirely true," Kurt agreed, grinning. He looked over at Kate and grinned a bit wider. "Though you should be happy to hear she tried to get us to drink water at every available opportunity."

"Yes, well, I knew that was going to be a losing battle," Storm replied with a sly smile. "Though I do appreciate the effort that went into it."

"All that work," Kate said with a dramatic sigh. "And you knew it wasn't going to happen."

"I'm sorry," Storm said, though she didn't look the least bit apologetic as she grinned Kate's way. "But it's fun to try sometimes."

Kate grinned right back. "This is true. Snowballs are an effective water delivery system."

"You didn't." Storm was beaming at her.

"I did." Kate grinned broadly. "Arrows aren't the only thing I'm good at aiming."

"Then I look forward to our sleepover — when you get a chance, of course. I understand how distracting the charming Elf can be."

Kate laughed at that. "See, that's why you're in charge. You know what's up." She glanced over Logan's way with a little smile. "Oh, and Jubes is letting me stay on number five. Temporarily."

"Temporarily. What's she waiting for?" Logan asked with a little frown. "She's usually pretty decisive about this stuff."

"She can't decide if she wants to steal my spot or be number one. I understand it's a tough call." Kate leaned back against Kurt with a little smirk.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she reprogrammed it so that she was the speed dial on all of the numbers," Storm said with a smirk. "She might put Kitty on seven — just so she can't complain about not being there."

"Or zero," Kurt added with a little laugh.

"She better leave me on there," Kate said with one eyebrow arched. "How else am I going to get into trouble with this one?" She waved her hand Logan's way with an impish grin.

"Likely by going through the Jubilation Lee screening system," Kurt said.

"She was awfully excited to get to the lab once she heard Henry had figured out a cure," Storm added before she rested her hand on Logan's shoulder. "Which means she'll need you down there soon." She looked up at Kate with a little smile. "You may need to avoid the lower levels until that is over. The students are already going to be banned from them once we start that process."

"Duly noted," Kate said, smiling, then tipped her head to look up at Kurt. "As long as you don't live on the lower levels, that shouldn't be too much of a problem," she added in a teasing whisper.

"No, I'm in the teachers' wing," he said with a little smirk. "As well you know."

"Well I only saw some doors and hallways. How would I know that's your actual room?" she teased, with a smirk to match.

"You're right. It was incredibly rude of me to simply give you a tour of the house when you only were interested in one. Single. Room." Kurt was grinning impishly at her.

"So very, very rude," she agreed, matching his grin as she tipped her head even further backward to look at him. "You'll have to make it up to me somehow."

"Then don't let me hold you up. Logan has somewhere to be, and you need to correct your lack of hospitality, Mr. Wagner," Storm said with a laugh. "Be sure to lock the door."

Kurt and Kate both turned to grin at her for just a moment before, in a poof of blue smoke, they were both gone from the couch.


For the next week solid, Logan, Jubilee, and Henry were all missing as they put their efforts into fixing Jubilee. Kurt would occasionally teleport meals to the three of them and report back to Storm and the rest of the staff waiting patiently to hear what was going on, but for the most part, the three of them were simply holed up together..

Kurt's reports were usually short, and occasionally followed immediately by a second or even a third trip back to the lab with armloads of food and a quick explanation of 'he's got to heal', but finally, after a little over a week, Logan came up from the lab arm in arm with a pale — but not nearly as pale as before — Jubilee. She had a pink blush to her cheeks and she looked beat.

Logan walked with her over to the kitchen table and the two of them took a seat together, with Jubes leaning on him just a bit as he looked up at Kurt. "Why don't you order in? We could both use a bite, and no offense to Pete, but I sure as hell ain't in the mood for whatever he's cookin' up." Logan looked worn out as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Water?" Kate offered, trying hard to hide the hopeful look on her face.

"You're not funny," Logan said without opening his eyes.

"He already drank nearly a gallon," Jubes said, closing her eyes too. "Oh my gosh. I can't remember ever being this tired before."

"If people start inexplicably running up to hug you, it means you got more Logan than you bargained for," Kate teased lightly as she slid Jubes a full mug of coffee and Logan flipped her the bird.

"How do you feel?" Kurt asked, though it wasn't immediately clear which of the two of his friends he was talking to.

"Tired," they both answered at once.

"I gathered as much," Kurt said, shooting Kate a look as she looked like she could hardly contain the grin. "And besides that?"

"I could so go for a cheeseburger?" Jubilee said with a growing grin as she picked her head up. "And a chocolate shake."

"I know just the place if you're interested," Kate said, matching her grin. "It's one of my favorites."

"Please!" Jubes said before she turned to Logan and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Want us to bring you something back?"

He just shrugged in response and let out a deep breath. "You girls have fun. Try not to get arrested. That's all I ask."

"He did just say 'try'," Kate said to Jubes in a low whisper. "What do you think, Number One? Care to spend some time getting to know Number Five?"

"I think … that is totally warranted," Jubes said with a nod. "Hey, big kahuna? Mind if we take your jeep?" She directed to Logan, who just reached in his pocket and tossed the keys her way.

Kate laughed as she slid her arm through Jubes. "You're gonna have to teach me your ways," she teased. "So I can get him to do that too — the whole no arguments thing."

"From what I can tell? Um … it's just me. Sorry," Jubes said. "He argues with Kitty and pretty much everyone else. Of course — being half drained of all his blood for better than a week might contribute."

"This is true. Softened him up first," Kate said, tapping the side of her nose. "There's a great burgers and shakes joint across from my place in Jersey. Feel like a ladies' night road trip?"

"Sounds perfect to me," Jubes said with a bright grin. "Take care of your best friend Kurt — he needs someone to babysit him tonight." Before either of the men could protest — either at the charge that Logan needed babysitting or at Jubes leaving so soon after being cured when she was so obviously tired — Jubilee just pulled Kate along by the arm, and both women were outright laughing by the time they hit the door.


Final notes:: Thanks for reading this one - we had a blast writing it, and if you enjoyed it, I would like to point you to robbiepoo2341 here on ffn. You will find Volume Two, "Dating an X-Man is Hazardous to Your Health," of this series on her page, and then come back here for Volume 3 when we get there. And so on and so forth.