Here We Go Again

Several hours later in a hospital…

"We searched the surrounding area," Fury told Jubilee. She and Logan were in Brad's hospital room. "It's highly unlikely she could have gotten out of the house before…" He stopped not wanting to finish the sentence. "Well at least she took out some major scumbags with her."

"That doesn't exactly comfort me right now," Brad's voice was hoarse.

"I can't believe it," Jubilee sat down on the chair. "This is all so surreal…"

"I'm sorry, kiddo," Logan put his hand on her shoulder. "Boy we X-Men really know how to pick 'em don't we?"

"For what it's worth, Hope was really proud of you, Jubilee," Brad told her.

"Brad I'm sorry," Jubilee got up and hugged him. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Logan," Fury made a noise with his throat. "It's time."

"Come on kid," Logan put his hand on his shoulder and guided her out of the room.

They left the hospital room in silence and met up with the rest of the X-Men in the lobby. They were all watching television waiting for news. The rest of the X-Men had arrived just moments after the explosion, too little too late. "Jubilee I'm sorry," Jean gave her a hug. "How are you holding up?"

"Not really well, but I'll live. So what's going to happen to Brad?" Jubilee asked.

"SHEILD will take him into custody, probably indefinitely," Logan saw no need to spare her the details. "Try to get as much information as they can from him."

"How long do you think he'll be in jail?" Rogue asked.

"He won't go a regular prison," Logan told her. "SHEILD will hang onto him. He won't even get a trial. In cases like this SHIELD is judge, jury and executioner."

"Executioner?" Jubilee gasped. "You mean they…?"

"They won't kill him," Logan sighed. "He's way too valuable."

"He'll just be locked up for the rest of his life won't he?" Jubilee was very sad.

"Unless he's able to make a deal," Logan sighed as he hugged her. "I'm really sorry kid."

"It's not fair," Jubilee sobbed. "It's just not fair."

"Tell me about it," Kitty sighed as she watched TV absently. "Just when I think we've finally met someone normal in our lives…Oh no!"

"What?" Logan asked. "What is it now?"

"Oh goody," Rogue said sarcastically. "We're on the Six O'clock News again!"

"An explosion rocked the upscale suburbs of LA today," The announcer spoke. "Reportedly one of China's most dangerous assassins Hope Lee, AKA The Black Mantis was apparently killed in a violent shoot out with a rival gang. Also at this shoot out were the Misfits who were trying to apprehend the Black Mantis and the X-Men. The X-Men's role in this conflict is unclear but it has now been confirmed that one of them, a Jubilation 'Jubilee' Lee is the niece of the Black Mantis. We now go live to Trish Tilby in New York for more details.

"We are so cursed…" Kitty rolled her eyes.

"How did they find out about this so fast?" Jean asked.

"According to sources from the Bayville First Bank…" Trish spoke. "The Xavier Institute deposited a very large donation from Hope Lee several months ago."

"Hank…" Jean glared at him. "Did you ever say anything about this to Trish?"

"Well I did mention that Jubilee was going to see her Aunt Hope," Hank gulped. "And I might have dropped a hint about her giving us a check…"

"I knew it," Rogue groaned. "Thanks a lot Beast!"

"Yeah this is going to help my case with the shareholders," Warren sighed. "'Okay so the Institute recently accepted money from a known assassin. That's still no reason not to make me head of the company'. I can hear my father screaming for the lawyers as we speak."

"Your case?" Jean looked at him. "Think about what I'm going to hear the next time I go to class at NYU!"

"Will you guys stop thinking of yourselves for one minute?" Tabitha snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, Firecracker's got her flame put out big time!"

"And it's not just Aunt Hope is it?" Kitty realized.

"You really liked Shane didn't you?" Amara asked.

"Yeah," Jubilee sighed. "Yeah I did. That's another person who's let me down."

"To be fair he was on the run from the cops at the time," Kitty said. "Not to mention the last I saw of him the Misfits were chasing him down."

"Wait, the cops?" Jean blinked. "Who exactly is this Shane?"

"Somebody I probably will never see again," Jubilee sighed. "If he's smart."

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"I knew I should have put more oil in that trap door…"

Hope crawled out of the sewer hole that she had remained hidden in. "I hate sewers…" She hissed. "And I really hate getting blow up!"

She looked down at herself. Her clothes were torn and her right leg was missing from the knee down. Of course since it was a cybernetic leg wires dangled from it, sparking. The other cybernetic leg was equally damaged but somehow intact.

"Great…" Hope looked at her mangled body. "And I just got those things tuned up. I guess its back to the shop…"

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Back at Misfit Manor…

"I really feel bad for Jubilee," Wanda told them as the Misfits watched the television footage in the war room. "I mean losing her aunt like that."

"Hey, at least we got credit for tracking down her aunt and all those bad guys," Pietro was nursing a sprained shoulder with some ice. "Now Fury ain't mad at us for losing the Runaways."

"To be honest I don't really care about that right now," Angelica glared at him.

"Neither do I," Althea said.

"Well at least one good thing came out of this," Todd told them. "At least we got a new recruit."

They looked over at Shane Shooter sitting on a bench with Roadblock standing next to him. "You never would have caught me if I hadn't tripped over that damn dog," Shane grunted. "Stupid reject from Taco Bell."

"You're just lucky we were able to make a deal with the authorities," Roadblock reminded him. "Or else they would have handed you to the GRSO and threw away the keys."

"Don't remind me," Shane grunted. "I know the score for mutants. I either pay my debt by fighting for my country or I end up in a lab somewhere. Some choice."

"Better than no choice," Xi reminded him. "Trust me on this." He took a picture of Shane. "Smile!"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Why do I have the feeling I would have been better off in jail?"

Next: As the newest Misfit adjusts to his new life, more events unfold including one that will force two X-Men to face their past nightmares! What happens? Wait and see!