Avenging Justice:

Two Worlds Collide

Part XII

Earth, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Jubilee walked into the truck stop, thinking about the time she had jumped away from a very interested ticket checker at the bus station. That was a normal reaction, when you hitched a ride without paying. She could lose him, she'd been doing it on her trip from California to New York. Not him explicitly, but others like him. There had been one train station attendant that had almost caught her, but she managed to get away.

The only problem was that she lost her backpack full of supplies. At least she still had the note, the one that another mutant had slipped her. On it was an address in upstate New York, a place where they said she could be around others like her. More importantly, she'd be safe there, a place she wouldn't have to hide. The mutant had called it, the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.

Ostentatious title notwithstanding, it was hope for her. Orphaned by a mistake, another Lee family had gotten on the wrong side of the mob. Which mob she wasn't sure, and she hadn't had the chance to find out. All she knew, was that her loving mother and father had been murdered. After that she had hidden in a mall, hoping nobody would notice. Of course they did, and when the security guard tried to catch her, well her ability appeared.

That was the day Jubilation Lee had become Jubilee, because that was the day she knew for sure that she was different. She'd been on the run since then. The kind mutant, that had given her the address, had found her in a teen homeless shelter. That was also how she had gotten just enough money to get her as far as she had. However, she was down to her last ten dollars, and was still so far away.

How she came to be sitting in some dinghy, run down, and dirty truck stop. That was a whole different story. One that dealt with having to hitchhike, close calls, and amazingly, a lot of caring people. There was one woman, very religious, who had Jubilee pray with her. When she was done, she put fifty dollars into the young teen's hand. Then there was the guy in the mustang, she loved his car. He got her a room at a motel, and then took her out for a real meal. As they parted ways, he gave her some money, but pressed a knife into her hand.

"This is no way for a young lady to travel," he said gently. "Use this if you get into trouble. You yell, you scream, you do everything to make a ruckus. I don't know what trouble you're in, or what you're running from. None of it will matter if you die, so stay alive."

Jubilee could see that he was close to offering her to stay with him, or at least calling the authorities for her. Which is why she had to disappear on him. She hoped he was okay, maybe one day she'd find him again and thank him. Little did he know that, his little gift had gotten her out of a sticky situation.

That was a memory that she tried to keep from reliving. Where Mr. Mustang had been nice, caring and paternal, Mr. Roman Hands was his opposite. He had given her a lift in Virginia, and at first everything seemed fine. Yet, the hairs on the back of her hair never went down when he was around. He was always offering her drinks, some alcoholic, but never wanted to eat. After a while he got a little handsy, and when she told him to stop, didn't take kindly to that.

Slapping her hard, he started to scream at Jubilee. Luckily for her, her hand landed on Mr. Mustang's parting gift. As the man tried to pull her closer to him, she pulled the knife and swiveled the blade out. As he pulled her face to his, she not so gently put the knifepoint to his throat.

"You're going to let me out of this car now!" she managed to utter.

He complied, before driving off, leaving her in the middle of freakin' nowhere. At the time she hadn't been ready for that realization, instead wandering off the road for a bit. She took refuge in a nearby barn, and immediately fell to the ground shaking all over. With the adrenaline fading, her mind and body were now coming to terms with her close call. She remained there till morning.

That was when the totally nice Amish couple found her. They took her into the house, and made sure she was fed. They also washed her clothes, which meant for a little while, she had to borrow a dress from the wife. At first she was quiet, understandable with what she had just gone through. Yet, soon enough, she was chatting away with the couple. There was a disarming quality about them. She still didn't relate that she was a mutant, but she did tell them of how she'd come to their farm.

The husband smiled, telling her that he'd give her into town. There the English could help her on her way. She was confused by this till his wife explained that is what they call all non-Amish. That night was the second night she'd had a full night's rest under a roof. The first being the hotel Mr. Mustang paid for. She also disputed the full night part, only because the husband woke her up before the crack of dawn, literally.

There were more adventures before she arrived at the dinghy truck stop, but most of them were of the more mundane variety. Her latest ride was a scruffy trucker, who liked bubblegum pop! She was surprised by that, and even more when it turned out to be JPop bubblegum pop. Still, if that was the weirdest thing about the trucker, she could deal with it.

Unfortunately, this was the end of the line. He was about to head back west, and up into Canada. She thanked him, but now had the problem of trying to find a ride. The people at the stop were not giving off the good vibes she was looking for. Each one was hardened, grizzled and not very friendly looking. Which remembering her bubblegum pop loving previous ride, didn't mean anything.

First things first, her stomach as rumbling. She hated to spend part of her last ten dollars here, but she'd already scrimped on several meals as it was. The greasy, artery clogging hamburger wasn't something that she'd normally eat, but right now it looked like heaven on Earth.

"Kid, are you going to order or just sit there and drool?" asked a rather short man.

She turned to get a good view of the man, and decide if he was a threat. Grizzled didn't do this guy justice. His hair was wild, and seemed to spring up into two points. He had long sideburns that ran into his stubbled face. There was a wild and untamed look about him, especially the clothing. Jeans, undershirt and lumberjack's shirt unbuttoned, spoke volumes about him. It even smelled like the clothes were on their third or fourth day of being worn.

Still, he didn't send the hairs rising on her neck, "I'm just deciding."

"None of my business, but you have the look of someone running from something," the man said again. "Young girl like you shouldn't be in here with a bunch of degenerates."

She tried her best not to sound like a spoiled valley girl, and failed, "I can take care of myself."

The man smiled, and called over the waitress, "Sweetheart, why don't you get my friend here a burger and the closest thing you have to a milkshake. Put it on my tab, will ya."

The waitress looked at Jubilee and back at the short man, smiled and put the order on the spinner. She turned around and placed another large glass down in front of the man. The smell of cheap bear wafted from the glass, so Jubilee didn't have to guess the contents. The man downed it in one gulp, and ordered another.

"Look, I'll pay for the meal.." she started to say but was interrupted.

The man shook his head, "It's on me, kid. You got a name?"

"Jubilee," she answered back. "Listen I'm not looking for charity."

The man took a swig from his newly arrived glass, "Ain't like that. I've seen that look before, probably had it before myself. So, what's your story?"

"You'll understand if I ask who you are," Jubilee replied. "I've been on the road enough to.."

"To be wary," he interrupted again. "You can call me, Logan. Whatcha' runnin' from?"

For the next hour, they talked. She told him enough, but not everything. The burger really was an artery clogger, but damn if it wasn't good. Logan turned out to be a good listener, still there was something about him that was off. Not off in a weird, highway stalker weird, but like he wasn't telling her everything as well. Still he was good company, and the other customers seemed to give them a wide berth.

That was till, that guy, decided to push things. There is always one, and doesn't have to be a man all the time, who has to prove they're the big dog. This particular one was very interested in Jubilee, and she could tell not for the right reasons. She'd seen that lustful look in other's eyes, including Mr. Roman Hands. She felt for the folding knife from Mr. Mustang.

"Sweetheart, why don't you leave stubby here for a real man?" this particular brute managed to articulate.

Adrenaline pumped into her system, but she tried to keep her voice even, "No thank you. I'm just fine where I'm at."

The man obviously didn't like that idea, as he grabbed her arm roughly, "Listen you little tease.."

Logan was moving before the man could finish. Taking his glass of beer, he smashed it into the brutish man's face. That was when the man's friends decided they wanted a piece of the pipsqueak. The first fell when a savage punch hit him square in the gut. Vomit followed, as the man jerked on the floor. The second man hit Logan in the face, and Jubilee hear bone break. Logan sneered at the second man, and knocked him to the ground, hard. The second man still breathed, barely.

"Nobody else has to get hurt," Logan said to the brutish man, who was bleed profusely.

The glass had shattered, lacerating his face in several places. Head wounds also tended to bleed, a lot. That didn't seem to slow the brute though, as he reached into his back pocket and produced a switchblade. Flicking the blade out, he held it out to intimidate Logan and Jubilee. That was a mistake.

Logan grinned like a hungry cat, raised up his hand and three foot long blades erupted from his hand. He screamed in rage as they did, rushing toward the brute. Knocking the switchblade away, he pushed the much bigger man against the wall. There, he pushed his claw tips into the man's neck.

"Listen, bub," Logan growled with barely constrained rage. "You're going to walk out this door and drive till dawn. If I even smell you within ten feet of the girl, I'll gut you like a fish. You even touch the girl, and I'll make your last days hell. Got it?!"

The brute of a man fearfully nodded, and then ran out when Logan released him. Jubilee caught the unmistakable smell of urine, very sure that it hadn't been that strong when she had walked in. She wasn't sure if she should be apprehensive of the short man, as she watched his metal blade claws slide back up into his arm.

"Sorry about that," he said. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "You're a.."

"In the truck," Logan started to herd her out of the truck stop.

He did make sure to leave money for their meal, plus a generous tip for their waitress. He led her to a beat-up old truck, that was old even when the Millennium had just turned. Inside there were several cans of beer strewn about, including in the passenger seat. Sheepishly, he threw them behind the seats. She got in, noticing that her seatbelt was threadbare at best. She also noticed the dog tags around his review, with "Wolverine" etched into them. He quickly threw those around his neck. However, any port in a storm came to mind.

Once on the road he turned to her, "Yes, I'm a mutant, is that going to be a problem?"

"No," she answered. "What are your powers?"

He looked at her, again sizing her up, "I heal, I've got these claws, and a temper."

She smiled at that, "I'll say. Thank you by the way."

"Anytime darlin'," Logan seemed to relax now that they were on the road. "Now how about you finish that story."

Jubilee took a breath, and let it out slowly, "Everything I told you was true. The only thing I didn't tell you, was that I was a mutant."

"Figured that much," Logan said. Then pointed to his nose, "Mutants and normal people smell different, call it enhanced senses. You smell like firecrackers."

Jubilee couldn't help herself, but had to laugh, "You could say that. Some guy in Gotham called it Lumikinetics or something like that. You'd like him I think, he was terrifying."

"Now you're going to tell me you ran into Gotham's Bat while you were there," Logan smirked, but decided he may have hurt her feelings. "Sorry, kid. No disrespect, but I don't believe in urban legends."

"He's real," she explained. "What he is, I have no idea and wasn't about to find out. Listen, where are you headed?"

"Rochester County, what about you, kid?" he was instinctively flexing his hand. The pain would fade, but he always felt the claws there.

"Xavier's School, in Salem Center," she said.

Logan looked at her, "Why is that?"

"It's supposed to be a safe place for people like us," she answered. Her tone dropped as she did, becoming lonelier and strained.

He looked at her, knowing he was keeping his own secret. For the last several days, he'd had the same dream. A bald man in a wheelchair beckoned him to follow, promising to help with his missing memories. Logan didn't remember much before he broke out of the Weapon X facility in Canada. Everything before was missing, or would only crop up in varying degrees of vagueness. This bald man had said he could help, said his name was Charles Xavier.

Every day he woke up, with 1407 Greymalkin Land, Salem Center, NY, written down, or scratched into a surface. It was his handwriting, so he knew it wasn't anyone getting into his home. The one thing he did know, the lure was perfect. He needed to know about his past just enough, that he'd be willing to chase a dream to New York. This Xavier better be able to do what he promised, because Logan had enough of charlatans and doctors with agendas.

"Well, kid," he said. "Looks like you have yourself a ride. I'm headed in the same direction."