A/N: This is the next installment in the story. I have one more planned for now, but haven't decided if I'm going to end it there, or just take a break.
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any other Marvel characters. The only thing that is mine it the plot.
Boy-Scout or Rebel
Jubilation was feeling like the queen of the school these days. Not only had she been dating the hottest guy in the whole school for four months now, which made every other girl there jealous of her, but she was about to get her first chance to show the Professor and Raven that she was ready to join the team. So there was nothing that could possibly bring her down; that is, until she was exiting the locker room in the sub-basement.
"Seriously, Scott; she's just a kid." She could hear Jean say from the hallway outside. "I mean she just turned sixteen, for God's sake."
"So what?" She recognized Scott's voice, reply.
"So, she's not a 'mature' sixteen, Scott; she's still extremely immature." Jean said. "Geez, yesterday, she thought it would be funny to roller-skate through the house, using her powers to blast all of the lights off."
"Was anyone hurt?" Scott asked.
"Well no..." Jean started to reply.
"Then who cares." Scott said. "Jean, you said it yourself, she's sixteen; she's allowed to be immature sometimes. Hell, we're all allowed to be immature sometimes; we're still young, and in school. I can promise you, that when push comes to shove, Jubes will not let you down."
"Then maybe you need to grow up too; if that's how you think." Jean said. "You're supposed to be a role-model for the younger students, and whenever you're around her, you act just as bad as she does; she's a bad influence on you. God, they even removed you from second-in-command because of that whole motorcycle stealing incident. You're turning eighteen on Sunday, Scott; it's time to stop acting like a kid."
Jubilation could hear footsteps walking away, and stayed hidden just inside the doorway. She could hear Scott grunt in frustration, before his footsteps walked in the opposite direction, past the locker rooms.
She waited a little while, before stepping into the, now, empty hallway. The excitement of her test, was gone, and in it's place was a profound melancholy.
She walked down the hall, following the same path that Jean had taken, and approached, what the students had started calling, the 'Danger Room'.
"Right on time, Jubilation." Raven said, as she stood next to the open door. "That's a good start."
Rather than reply with some witty comment, Jubilation just walked past Raven into the Danger Room.
"So, I've talked with Charles, and we've come up with a series of tasks to test you; so we can see if you're ready to start training with the team." Raven said, walking over to stand next to her. "Based on your power set, the first test will be target practice."
Raven pressed a button on the controller she held, and a red and white bulls-eye popped up from the ground, about five feet away.
"It'll start out slow; stationary targets will appear, and you'll have a few seconds to hit them before they disappear." Raven explained. "Then the targets will start to vary in distance; before eventually they switch to moving targets."
Jubilation only nodded in reply.
"The goal here is to hit as many targets as you can, as fast as you can." Raven said. "The more accurate you are, the better; but don't sacrifice targets, because you're focused on trying to hit bulls-eyes. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Jubilation mumbled, just loud enough to hear.
"Okay then. Once I step outside, and close the doors, you'll hear a buzzer." Raven said. "When you hear that, you'll have ten seconds before the test begins. Good luck."
Raven turned around, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Jubilation heard the buzzer sound, and readied herself. Ten seconds later, the first target appeared.
The final buzzer sounded, and the remaining targets disappeared.
Jubilation rubbed her hands, while she tried to catch her breath. She had known, going in, that the tests would be taxing, but she hadn't thought that target practice would drain her so much.
The door opened, and in stepped Henry, with a bottle of water, and an orange. "Here." He said, holding them out to her.
She took the water, and quickly started drinking it.
"Take your time." He said. "Don't drink it all at once; and eat the orange."
She looked at him quizzically, before taking the orange, and peeling it.
"It'll help." He replied, to her questioning look. "While you eat, I'll explain your second task."
Jubilation watched him, as she munched on the orange.
"While the first task was meant to test your power set, you never know when you'll be in a situation without them." He explained. "The reason Raven had several of you signed up for those Martial Arts classes, was so that you could learn to defend yourself without using your powers. So, the second task will be to defend yourself from attack, without using your powers."
"What?" She asked, starting to feel nervous for the first time that day.
"You're going to have to defend yourself in three separate three minute rounds." He continued. "Surviving the full three minutes is more important that taking down your opponent; so don't try to do too much. If you are incapacitated, or you use your powers, at any time, you will instantly lose the round."
"When does it start?" She asked, looking around to see who her opponent would be.
"As soon as you're done." He replied, removing his coat, and stretching.
The first round had been a fight against Henry.
Jubilation had been able to tell early on that he was going easy on her. She had seen him move faster than he was right then, and he had made no effort to try and grapple her; which she knew would be an instant win for him.
Raven had been able to tell too, because Jubilation saw the dirty look she gave him, as she walked in for the second round.
Where Henry had been going easy on here, Raven was not holding back. Jubilation found herself on the defensive from the start, and was nearly pinned early on, when Raven had sweep her legs out from under her; but a quick roll, and she had escaped.
But not for long.
Raven managed to get behind her, and wrap her left arm around her neck. Then as Jubilation tried to pull the arm away, Raven grabbed Jubilation's right arm, and wrenched it behind her back.
Luckily, for Jubilation, the buzzer sounded, and Raven released her.
Jubilation rubbed her right shoulder, and winced.
"Get ready; third round's about to start." Raven said.
Jubilation looked up, and wondered if she was going to have to fight Raven again.
"Let's see if you can handle both of us." Raven said.
"Wait, both?" Jubilation asked, looking on in shock. "But that's unfair."
"Life's not fair, kid." Raven replied.
Jubilation didn't even have time to reply, as the buzzer sounded, and both her opponents approached her. She quickly backpedaled, trying to get some distance so she could think; but Henry didn't seem to be holding back this time, as he rushed her, forcing her to roll to avoid being tackled.
She barely saw Raven's foot coming down in an ax-kick in time to throw up her arms to block it. She tried to stand up, but Henry was on her again, and she had to roll once more.
This time, though, she had inadvertently turned her back to Raven, who quickly took advantage, and grabbed her just like she had at the end of the previous round; wrenching the same arm behind her back, painfully.
"Tap out." She heard Raven whisper into her ear. "I don't think you'll be able to stay conscious long enough this time; the buzzer's not going to save you."
"It's over, Raven." Henry said. "Let her go."
"It's not over, until she submits." Raven replied. "Those are the conditions of the test."
"Raven, she can't escape; it's over." Henry said, looking concerned. "Just let her go."
"All she has to do is tap my arm with her free hand." Raven said. "Or just wait until she blacks out; her choice."
Henry took a step forward, and looked like he was about to interfere, when Jubilation lifted her left hand to tapped Raven's forearm.
Raven immediately released her, and she collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily.
"That was, okay." Raven said. "A lot better than I expected."
"Raven, she's a kid." Henry said, bending down to check on Jubilation. "You didn't need to be so rough."
"Our enemies won't play nice because she's a kid." Raven replied. "The sooner she learns that, the better."
Henry turned his attention back to Jubilation. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." Jubilation replied, quietly.
"I think we're done for today." He said, helping her stand up. "The last test can wait."
"No." Jubilation said.
"What?" He asked.
"I said no." She replied. "I came here to get tested, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm not quitting."
Henry was about to say something, but Raven cut him off. "Okay." She said. "Take a small break, Henry will bring you some more water, and then we'll move onto the final task."
She nodded to Henry, who shook his head, and followed her out.
When Henry had returned, it was with the rest of the team, all dressed up for work.
Jubilation looked over at Scott, and he smiled at her. She forced a smile onto her face, but didn't miss the scowl that Jean gave her over Scott's shoulder.
"Alright, this is the final test." Raven said. "Teamwork. If you are going to be a part of this team, you need to show us that you can work with them to accomplish your goals. You also need to show us that you can follow orders, in the heat of battle."
Jubilation looked around at the others, and noticed that only Jean seemed to be looking at her.
"The scenario you will face, will be to rescue a target from a collapsing building." Raven said, while Henry punched in several commands into the console. "Since I'm going to be judging this, along with Henry; Jean will be the field leader."
Jubilation looked over, nervously, at Jean.
"You will follow her commands." Raven said. "As usual; expect surprises."
Henry finished punching in commands, and followed Raven outside.
Scott walked over to her, and placed a hand on her right shoulder; she held back a flinch at the pain it caused. "Okay, so your powers at distance based, like myself; so stick with me, and provide cover for the others."
"Ah, excuse me; but you're not the leader here, Cyclops." Jean said. "If you recall, you lost that position. I'm the leader now."
Jubilation could see Scott visibly flinch at the comment.
"I want Storm in the air, providing us with a bird's eye view of the situation." Jean said, turning her back to Cyclops and Jubilation. "Nightcrawler and Quicksilver, I want you on perimeter watch." She turned back to them. "Cyclops, you stay back and provide cover. While...what do we even call you?"
"Ah, I don't know." Jubilation replied. "No one told me I had to have a code-name."
"Fine, whatever." Jean said, shaking her head, and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'll call you Sparks."
"Sparks?" Jubilation asked. "That sounds kind of lame."
"Yeah, well it suits you, and you need a code-name." Jean replied. "You are going to be on rescue duty."
"Jean, you really shouldn't..." Scott started to say, but Jean but him off.
"I'm the leader, and this is my decision." Jean said. "I need to see just what she can do, and this is how I want to see it."
"It's fine." Jubilation said, stepping away from them. "Let's just get this over with."
The room shimmered, and suddenly the team found themselves in a war torn cityscape.
"Okay, team." Jean said, as she placed her hand on Jubilation's back and pushed her ahead of her. "Let's get this done. Storm take to the air. Nightcrawler, Quicksilver, keep me updated. Sparks, you're with me."
"I really don't like Sparks." Jubilation said.
"It's too late; that's your code-name." Jean said, shoving her forward. "Just keep quit, so I can concentrate."
Jean lead her towards a building in the center of the area, that looked like it had taken a direct hit from a mortar attack.
"In there." Jean said. "I'll keep the place from collapsing on top of us, while you get the target."
"Okay." Jubilation replied.
It wasn't hard to find the target; it was a factory, and they were trapped under some rubble in the middle.
"Go." Jean said, shoving her forward again.
Jubilation ran towards the target, and started removing some of the rubble that was trapping him.
"We have contact." She heard Scott say over the communicator in her ear. "Multiple bogies incoming from the west."
"Storm, see what you can do to slow them down." Jean said, as she concentrated on holding the building together. "Quicksilver, join Nightcrawler, and see if you can take them out. Cyclops, remain back, and provide ranged support."
"I really think that Nightcrawler should join you." Scott said.
"I'm the leader; this is my call." Jean said, none to nicely. "Do as I say."
Jubilation listened to the whole conversation while she finished freeing the target. Then she tried to pull him to his feet, but he was unconscious, and too heavy for her to lift. "Jean, he's too heavy." She said, as she tried to pull him along.
"Hmph." Jean sighed, as she reached out her hand, and used her telekinesis to lift the target. "I guess I have to do everything myself."
"Watch out! You have incoming!" Scott shouted. "Two bogies got through, and are headed your way. I'm coming to help."
"Negative." Jean said, slowly walking towards the hole in the exterior wall that they had used to enter the building. "Remain where you are and support the others; we're on our way out now, with the target."
"But..." Scott started to say, but Jean cut him off again.
"That's an order!" She yelled.
Any reply was cut off be the sound of two heavily armored men appeared in front of them.
"Cover me, while I get the target to safety." Jean said, moving to the side.
Jubilation reacted quickly, firing off a burst of bright lights into the faces of the two men; temporarily blinding them, and allowing Jean to move the target behind cover.
The two men recovered quickly, and one charged at her, while the other charged Jean.
Jubilation barely had time to roll out of the way of the first attack, while Jean seemed to be able to hold her opponent back with her powers. She sent another bust of bright lights into her attackers face, but it didn't seem to faze him, as he punched out, and hit her squarely in the chest; knocking the wind out of her.
He pressed his advantage, and she immediately went on the defensive; dodging what she could, and trying to block what she couldn't dodge. But she was being pushed back into the building, further away from Jean.
"We've got this handled, here." She heard Peter say. "Cyclops can head over to you, if you need him."
"No need." Jean replied. "We have this under control."
Jubilation disagreed, but didn't want to say anything, for fear that it would make her look weak; so she just kept trying to defend herself, while looking for an opening.
She saw it in the form of a piece of industrial machinery that was sitting just to the left of her attacker. She concentrated, and fired off a huge burst at the machine; igniting the propane tank at it's core. The resulting explosion was larger than expected, and not only sent her attacker crashing into the opposite wall, but threw her back off her feet; where she landed with a thud in the middle of the factory floor.
The explosion also did a number on the already weakened structure, and it started to collapse.
She jumped to her feet, and sprinted for the exit; dodging bits of debris that came crashing down around her.
"What the hell was that?" She heard Ororo ask. "That sounded like an explosion."
"The building is collapsing." Jean replied. "Sparks is still inside."
"I'm on my way." Quicksilver said.
"Ja, me too." Nightcrawler added.
Jubilation was just about out of the building, when a chunk of concrete hit her in the back, and knocked her down. She rolled over to see the ceiling coming down on top of her.
Then it just stopped; as if held there by an invisible hand.
"Get up!" She heard Jean shout. "I can't hold this forever!"
Jubilation jumped to her feet, and ran the rest of the way outside; collapsing to her knees once she was clear.
Jean let the building collapse, and turned to look at Jubilation. "What the hell did you do?" She asked. "We failed the mission because of you."
Jubilation looked up to where the target had been left be Jean, and saw the other armored man standing over him, with a smoking gun still in his hand. She tried to stand up, but Jean shoved her to the ground as she walked past her.
"Ow!" Jubilation cried out on pain, as she landed squarely on her injured shoulder. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she started to cry.
Just then the landscape disappeared, and they were back in the Danger Room.
Peter and Kurt were standing nearby, looking at her as she knelt on the ground, holding her arm, and crying. Ororo landed next to them.
Scott came running up to her, and she could see Henry and Raven rushing in from the hallway.
"Jubes, are you okay?" Scott asked, as he knelt down next to her.
Embarrassed, and feeling like a failure, Jubilation didn't reply; instead, she got to her feet, and started running for the exit.
Henry who had been about halfway to them, stopped, and followed her out. "I'm going to need to take a look at your arm." He said. "Follow me to the infirmary."
She never saw that look that Scott shot Jean; nor did she hear his furious words, because the door closed behind them, cutting off any sound.
If someone were to say that Jubilation was avoiding people, they would be correct. After Henry had taken a look at her shoulder, and diagnosed it as a sprain, with a really nasty contusion; he had put her arm in a sling, and given her some mild painkillers. He had then escorted her back to her bedroom, and told her to get some rest.
But as soon as he was gone, she left her room; not wanting to be found by anyone. She went to the one place that she knew no one would think to look; the library. She spent enough time there to know that it was usually empty at that time, and that if she hid herself behind one of the second floor bookshelves, no one would find her.
There, she sat down, with her back to the wall, and started crying again.
The day had started out with so much promise; she was going to show everyone that she deserved a spot on the team, and then her and Scott would go find somewhere secluded to celebrate by making out. Instead, everything had gone wrong; Jean had told Scott how immature she thought Jubilation was, and that had distracted her throughout the entire try-out. Then to top it off, not only had she done so bad, that they failed the final test, but the whole team, and more importantly Scott, had seen her crying like a little baby because she had gotten hurt.
"Man, you were not easy to find." She heard Peter say from beside her. "Took me a whole two minutes."
"Leave me alone." She replied, keeping her head buried against her knees.
"No can do, Jubes." He said. "Scott gave me specific instructions to look everywhere until I found you."
"I don't want him to see me...like this." She said, struggling to keep her voice in check.
"I don't really think he cares, Jubes." Peter said. "He's just worried about you. He tried to go see you in the infirmary, but Raven wouldn't let any of us go until she was done ripping us a new one, and you were gone by then. He went to your room, but you weren't there either; so he recruited me into 'Operation Find Jubes'. The name could use a little work."
Despite herself, she couldn't help but laugh a little; Peter had a way of doing that to her. "Is he mad?" She asked.
"Oh yeah." Peter replied. "But not at you. He is furious with Jean, and was letting her have it, until Raven finally managed to get him to shut up long enough to rip into all of us."
"I guess I can kiss my spot on the team goodbye." She said. "After that disaster."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Peter replied. "Raven seemed to be more upset with us, than anything. She never even really mentioned you in her tirade. I think she saw...uh...nothing; forget about it."
"What?" She asked, looking up. "She saw what?"
"Well, I had just got to you guys as the simulation was ending, but it kind of looked like Jean shoved you to the ground; hard." He replied.
She thought back to what happened, and couldn't really remember what had happened in the heat of things, but she did remember slamming into the ground at the end. "She did?" She asked.
"That's what it looked like to me; and what it might have looked like to Raven, because she held Jean back, after she was done with us." He replied.
"Why would she do that?" She asked. "I mean I know she thinks I'm immature, and probably doesn't want me on her team; but I thought we were friends."
Peter looked at her sympathetically. "Now, this is just my personal opinion, but I think she's a little jealous of you." He replied.
"Jealous? Of me?" She asked. "But why?"
"Well, what's the one thing you have that she doesn't?" He asked her.
"A sense a style?" She asked, causing both of them to laugh.
"I was referring to Scott." He replied, when he stopped laughing. "This can't really be a surprise to you; I know you're observant. You have to have noticed that a large percentage of the female population here is a little jealous of your relationship with Scott. I, personally, don't mind; if he's off the market, that just leaves more girls for me."
She sat there, thinking about what Peter had just told her.
"Look, don't let what happened in the Danger Room get you down." He said, patting her knee. "We've all failed a bunch of times before, and we're still on the team. I do, however, think you should let me go get Scott, and bring him here; poor guys going to worry himself sick, if he doesn't get to see you."
"Not yet." She said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I look like shit."
"Oh please." He said. "I've seen the way he looks at you; there's no way that you could look that will turn him away. Dude has got it bad, for you."
She smiled, and nodded.
Peter was gone in a flash, and minutes later, she heard someone walking up the stairs to the second floor. She looked up to see Scott walk around the corner, looking relieved.
"Jubes, there you are." He said, sitting down next to her. "I was worried about you."
"I'm fine; just a sprained shoulder." She said. "And a bruised pride."
He took her left hand in his, and interlocked their fingers. "Why?" He asked.
"Because." She replied, not looking at him. "Because I made us fail the test; because, I cried in front of everyone."
"You didn't make us fail the test, Jean did." He said angrily. "And who cares if you cried in front of everyone, you were hurt; you aren't the first person to cry when they got hurt, and you won't be the last."
"But it just goes to prove that I'm still just an immature kid." She mumbled.
"Why would you say that?" He asked, having heard her. "Wait; did you hear what Jean said before your test?"
"Maybe." She replied, looking at her feet. "But it's not just her; Raven and Henry both called me a kid during the tests." She glanced over at him, before looking back at her feet. "Even you said I as immature."
"I did, because you are." He replied, then reached for her chin to force her to look at him. "But so am I. We're all still young; so it's okay to be immature. We'll have our whole adult lives to be boring, and mature; we're allowed to be immature right now."
Her eyes started to get watery, and she tried to cover her face, before he saw her cry again; but Scott leaned his forehead against hers, and kissed her nose.
"Besides, I seriously can't see you ever becoming boring." He said. "Mature, yeah; but never boring. Me on the other hand..."
She giggled, and leaned into him. "Yeah, you'll probably turn into a stiff; dressing all preppy, and being all about the rules." She said. "Total bore."
"Probably." He said, with a laugh. "But hopefully, not for a long time."
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. "Maybe you should be somewhere more comfortable; let your shoulder rest."
"I guess; but only if you stay with me." She replied.
"Sure thing." He said, standing and helping her up. "Where too?"
"How about my room?" She suggested. "It's still early, so I won't get in trouble for having you in my room."
"Okay." He said, as he took her free hand, and lead her down the stairs.
Jubilation was lying on her bed, using pillows to prop her up enough to look at Scott who was sitting next to her, with his back pressed against the side wall. He sat cross legged, with her feet in his lap, and he was busy rubbing them.
"You have the cutest little feet." He said, as he massaged them gently.
"I get it; I'll small." She said, with a laugh. "I'm Chinese; we're not exactly known for breeding giants."
"I know, but still; these have to be the cutest little feet in the world." He said, with a smile.
"Just keep rubbing them, and telling me how awesome I am." She said, blushing profusely.
"Oh, don't even get me started on how awesome you are." He said. "That could take all day."
She giggled, and tried to pull her feet away, as he ran his fingers along the bottom of her feet with a feathered touch; but he held them in place.
"Okay, I'll stop tickling." He said. "I promise."
He got back to rubbing her feet, and she watched him carefully. There was something that she wanted to know, but was afraid to ask.
"I think you really impressed Raven today." He said, as if he had somehow read her mind.
"Yeah, right." She said, shaking her head. "I failed the test; I'm sure of it."
"I don't know." He said. "When she was yelling at us, after you left, she didn't even mention you once; well not in a negative way. She only yelled at Jean for using you in a way that went against your power-set. I think she was impressed that you followed Jean's orders, even though everyone knew that they were wrong, and that you nearly managed to pull it off."
"Yeah, well, even if that's true, I doubt I'll be getting an invite to join the team." She said.
"Maybe not right away." Scott replied. "But I think she might have you start training with us regardless, and she'll probably give you the test again in a couple of months. At least, that's going to be my suggestion when we have our next meeting."
She tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes.
"Jean got demoted, so I'm second-in-command again." He replied, with a smile. "Raven felt that, even though I had shown a serious lack in judgment when I stole the Professor's motorcycle, I had proven to her that when it came to the team, I was a professional."
"So, are you going to suggest that to Raven because you think I'm good enough, or because I'm your girlfriend?" She asked.
"Jubes, I'm going to be completely honest with you right now." He replied. "When I'm Cyclops, you're not my girlfriend; you're just a teammate. I think you have what it takes to be an X-Man; but you need some training, and you'll benefit from training with us."
"Thank you." She said, with a smile. "That's what I wanted to hear."
"It's the truth." He said, getting back to rubbing her feet.
"Scott?" She said.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"When I woke up, I kind of had this idea about how the day was going to go; I'd ace the test and get invited to the team, and then we'd go somewhere and make-out to celebrate." She replied. "And even though I didn't ace the test, or get an invite, and I got hurt and cried in front of the whole team; I still feel like the day went well, and kind of want to celebrate."
"Well, I can't really argue with that." He said, smiling at her.
"Then why don't you come over here, and we can celebrate." She said.
Scott shifted until he was lying down next to her, and leaned in to kiss her.
"We only have about a half-hour, though." She said, before he could kiss her. "After that, we'll be dangerously close to 'getting into serious trouble' range."
"Then we should probably stop talking, and start kissing." He said.
He leaned in, and started kissing her.
THE END