Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously. I am as poor as I am, for if I were any wealthier, I would not be as I am. Therefore, as it is inconceivable that a leech be gold, it is the same for a dizzy to be a Stan Lee. Each have their uses, some better then others. All character's (save the Simmons; you can have them if you want...) belong to Marvel and its many corporate affiliates. Thanks. Read!!!

Danger in the Mall

"Good morning New York City! It's another gorgeous day in the Big Apple as the skies bless us with sunny heat-" Jubilee snorted sleepily, pulling the covers tighter over her head. The past few months had slipped by in the way inevitability always did. She spent each morning dreading the march to school, her day dreading the march back 'home'. It was only the new bond she felt between herself and Logan that had made the time manageable.

Crawling out from the warmth of the covers, she peeked her head out the door. The fresh scent of fried bacon and eggs assaulted her already growling innards and she briefly pondered going down and joining in their delight. However, another quick sniff reminded her of the need to shower before the entire city choked on her stench.

"Rank," she mumbled, starting down the stairwell and to the vacant room. Shutting the door, she carefully removed her layers. Reaching out, she turned on the faucet, laying the thick folds in the fresh water. She allowed them to soak for a few moments before removing them, wringing them out best she could and draping them over the toilet to dry. Pulling a small metallic lever, she grinned as the steaming waterfall cascaded to the bottom of the marble tile. Stepping in, she let out an appreciative moan. "Indoor plumbing, what a gift!"

The water pounded her tiny frame, deafening her in cleansing rivers. It reminded her of a time, once when she was young. Her mom and dad were sitting next to her as she played jovially in the fresh sands of California. Every so often, a large wave would sweet over them, drenching them and they would laugh. She recalled how happy she felt then, how warm and safe...then that night when her father held her in his arms, her mother leaned against them both and they made their way slowly back home. Her heart ached in remembrance, and she bit her lip, refusing to allow tears to fall.

Suddenly, a loud crash interrupted her thoughts. She froze. The curtain ripped open and she grabbed what she could to conceal her nude form. "HEY!" she screamed. Looking up, Tia Simmons rolled her eyes and reached in, picking up a dripping container of hair lotion. Jubilee growled, wrapping the curtain tighter around her. "You can't knock?" she demanded. The blond strode to the mirror, wiping of the steam and checked her appearance.

"In my home?" She cast a sideway glance. "I don't remember giving you permission to use anything here." Her face enflamed, Jubilee shut the curtains, rinsing the remaining soap of her body before turning off the water. Reaching out to feel for a towel, her hands grabbed empty air instead. Sticking her face out again, she glared. Tia smirked mockingly, the terry cloth draped over her arm.

"Oh," she clicked. "Did you need this?" She dabbed her face delicately with it before throwing her damp cloths to the floor and tossing the clean cloth in the toilet bowl. "Your welcome." And she strutted out the door. Jubilee tensed, her whole body filling with enraged hate. The smell of smouldering plastic caused her to release the curtain, sparks jumping from her hands.

"Bitch." Stepping out of the tub, she concentrated on the heat, letting it come close to the surface. The room seemed nothing more then drops of steam as heat radiated from her, somewhat drying her skin. Striding to her discarded clothes, she dressed herself, their cool fibres easing her stresses. Standing, she reached out, her hand knocking Tia's endless array of products into the same fate of that towel. "Oops!"

Sneaking back upstairs, she grabbed her small canvas backpack (which contained all her belongings, few they were) before running back downstairs. Reaching the door, she noticed Mr. Simmons immense build blocking her way. Fidgeting in her dripping attire, she looked his way.

"Where do you think you're going?" he questioned. Lifting her brow obnoxiously, she sneered.

"School?"

"On a Saturday?" What? Subtly glancing across the room, she noted the circled date that was today.

"Detention." Brilliant. He stepped forward blocking her escape.

"Jubilation, we need to sit down and have a serious talk." His hand pressed heavily upon her shoulder. She didn't like the look in his eyes. "You leave before the sun, you return long after it sets...that's not what a family is." He crouched down lower, caressing her cheek endearingly. "In a family what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine-" Jubilee shrugged off his touch. A deep irritation took root.

"Don't." A hurt look crossed his face and, for a moment, she almost forgot what a wife beater he was. "I don't like being touched. And I'm not part of your family." Sidestepping him, she rushed through the door before he had a chance to say anything else.

The sun indeed shone brighter this day than any other. Spring would be coming soon. Grinning, she dug under her neighbours bush pulling out a pair of dirty roller blades. Pulling them over her sneakers, she skated down the sidewalk. First her pace was slow, almost cautious. Then she found herself speeding up, pushing her legs arduously into the heavy cement. Where before there was no wind, now her hair blew violently in her trail, gusts of dust swirling a curling along her path.

She skated faster, faster, faster. As cars passed her on each new intersection she tried with all her might to keep their speed, her breath deepening and becoming somewhat ragged. This was life. When one skates, there are no rules, no boundaries and the only way you stop is by stopping yourself. This was escape.

Hours melted away and only when her cramps transformed to biting pains did she slow. The greasy smell of Phat Franks and Junior Burgers invaded her nostrils and she was once again reminded of her stomach. Noting she had made it somewhere in the downtown area, she spotted a large mall. Heading in that direction she asked her stomach to hold its complaints. "Have to get money first, remember?" Her tummy gurgled, irate.

Gliding through the metallic doors, she wadded through the crowd until she found a nice little spot amongst other poor artistes. Tacking of her blades and bag, she set her jacket before her in a bowl like shape to accept donations. Poor buggers, she thought as she watched the half interested passer-buyers nod along sympathetically to the one-man band and destructive magician. Some people are just meant for the spotlight, I suppose!

Rolling up her sleeves, she spread her legs to a ballet second, deepening her stance to a Grande pliƩ her arms great arcs over her head. She hummed a quiet tune. Turning to her right she pulled her arms in front of herself, clapping them in the direction of a disconcerting crowd. Loud, pulsating music blasted from the malls main system and Jubilee set her beat.

Snapping her legs together, she bent over backwards, supporting herself in bridge, her legs one after the other magically coming off the ground, holding momentarily over her head before snapping open into the splits. Tilting her body down, she set herself down in the splits, crouched her arms, and lifted herself again into the air.

"How about some applause people, hmm?" The gathering crowd nodded, a couple hands coming together. From the peanut gallery she heard shouts of 'You suck!' and 'I could do that!'

Popping her shoulders, she jumped back onto her feet. "A challenge from the crowd, hmm?" she knew how to deal with hecklers. Motioning for them to come forward, the people opened to reveal two arrogant boys. Both stood around six feet, one with brown shaggy hair, icy blue eyes and a 'too cool for you' stare. The other gazed at her through deep indigo orbs, dark longish hair and slim build. "Well," she stared. "Now you have an audience; show them what you can do."

The brunette chuckled superciliously. High fifing his partner, they squared off, facing each other. First he attacked the slimmer one, delivering fast paced punches and kicks. The partner dodged them all, flipping, jumping and spinning away. Jubilee watched how he moved; it reminded her of a Russian trained acrobat she had met when she was younger. The attacker had a more American feel to his attacks- fast and hard. She had to admit; they were great.

When they stopped, the crowd broke into a thundering applause, money tossing itself in her makeshift register. The two bowed presumptuously, going forth to gather their gains. She stepped in front of them. Brief surprise crossed her face as she recognized the two from school, though she could not recall their names. "Fight me." The paler one looked surprised. The brunette however, just grinned.

"No offence, but you couldn't take us if you tried." She grinned.

"I won't have to." He seemed to think it over for a moment before conceding.

"Bobby," the other one interjected, a German accent lacing his words. "Nein, we can't." Again the cocky one shrugged.

"Relax Kurt." The crowd seemed to sense the sudden serious shift in the environment an backed away. Logan heard the familiar voice of the iceman and, as Jean, Marie and Scott stepped on, he held back. Standing at the edge of the balconies over view, the surprising sight of Jubilee squaring off against both Bobby and Kurt sent an unintended growl through his chest. He had come along with the others shopping for the simple reason that it kept him busy and out of harms way...mostly.

Jubilee took a deep breath waiting for them to come at her. Judging from their little spar, Bobby would go offensive, driving her to a corner where both he and Kurt would jump in. She made sure to pay extra attention to Kurt whose flexibility and tumbling skills almost rivalled hers. She would not admit defeat.

Bobby lunged at her quickly, throwing out a simple straight punch for her to counter. Instead, she used his arm as a vault and flipped over him, landing a sharp kick in his back. He stumbled forward, gasping painfully. Turning to look at her, both held looks of incredulous nature. The audience released their held breaths and applauded more as Bobby came to her again, reaching out with numerous kicks and punches. Kurt tried to close in from behind, throwing out less tense attacks as she twisted skilfully in the air. Immediately, she noted the difference in their technique; Bobby held very tense in each movement. He would be easiest to tire. Kurt on the other hand found it easiest to retreat, especially by using aerials. Formulating a quick plan in her mind, she dodged her head as a grab barely missed her.

As she thought, the cocky one began to take more laboured breathing. Leading him to the centre of the circle, she jumped, clearing his head and landed a swift roundhouse to Kurt's head. As he fell, she spun quickly again and swept her feet about, knocking the other to the ground. This whole time, Logan kept his eyes peeled, amazed at her abilities. She effortlessly kept the pace of both the fighters (as untrained as they were) and even matched Kurt's mutant aerials. As both landed in a crumpled heap, his eyes gaped wider a s he caught another scent emanating from Jubilee; gunpowder. It was then he noticed, as she raised her arms in victory and the crowd screamed in approval, the glimmering sparks at the edge of her fingers. Just as soon as they came, however, they disappeared leaving Logan confused.

No, he thought. I'm sure of what I saw. Gazing down, his eagle vision focused on the small girl gathering the tossed money and coins and heading to a burger stand to order. But that would mean...his mind clicked. Suddenly, he saw her in a different light. He understood more her reason for recluse, indifference. She's a mutant.

DUMDUMDUMMMMM!!!! Whew, it's been quite a little while, huh? Well, really no reason, except that my dad's house doen'st have a nice big COMP like this. Hmm, pretty PC. Oh, I love my computer....I've missed it so much!!!! I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter and I hope you come back for more. Anycomments? Ant at all? PLEASE REVIEW!!! I like them...reviews I mean. They make me feel important.

Ya'll are wonderful!! Until next time, toodles 0_o

dizzy